At one point in queer history lesbians found courage to run into a riot to defend trans women and gay men At one point in queer history a drag queen would tackle a police officer to the ground and beat him with her shoes At one point in queer history pride was about showing closeted people that we weren’t hiding in bars with secret codes Pride was about facing the police in body armor surrounding our safe space and looking them in the eyes and holding the hands of our loved ones Pride became the way queer people recognized that we are a tribe with strength flowing through our history And when the queer community was being devastated by HIV/AIDS, Pride became education Pride became the actions of every day and not just demonstration Pride became giving a home to the sick because they had no where safe to die Pride became celebrating our bodies even as they were being decimated and made pariah And Pride, most of all, has always been about loving yourself and never sneaking around, because our family is everywhere and you don’t sneak around family So whatever you do for Pride, remember that this isn’t about politicians campaigning or bars advertising or stores giving out samples Pride is looking into the eyes of a person with tears or blood or both running down their face after being beaten and oppressed by the people in power and knowing whether you’re scared or not, you’re going to have to jump in. Happy Pride!!
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 12:12:32 +0000