Pride Month

I’m oftentimes surprised at the level of hate and intolerance that we, as a society, have risen to – or perhaps have sunk to.

As you probably know, June is Pride Month. According to Wikipedia, the month is dedicated to the celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and has since spread outside of the United States.

While I question some of the special days and months set aside for various causes, I understand the reasons behind Pride Month. After all, the Stonewall riots resulted from incidents of hate against gay and lesbian people. It gets to a point when a person has to say, “Enough!” To me, it’s very similar to the prejudice shown Black people – just because they’re Black. And again, to me, it’s ridiculous and stupid behavior that can turn dangerous.

When I was working at a nearby college, I was told by a co-worker that a fellow worker was gay. The information didn’t faze me; why should it? I’ve always said that whether a couple is hetero or gay, overt public displays of affection make me uncomfortable. I mean, have you ever been to a restaurant where a couple were going at it and basically needed to get a room? I don’t need to be seeing that, regardless of whether or not it’s a gay couple, a hetero couple or whoever. My co-worker wasn’t acting in an unprofessional manner so why would I care if s/he were gay, straight or whatever?

To me, the idea of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” made sense. I mean, what business is it of anyone what two people do in the privacy of the bedroom? I’ve come to learn, however, that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” targeted gays in the military. How dumb is that – not allowing able people to serve in the military who wanted to serve their country? Makes no sense.

I’ve come to learn that not all people share my simple (simple-minded?) ideas about personal preferences and my attitude about people’s gender identity. And while I don’t think people prefer to be gay or straight, many people do prefer tall over short, blond over brunette, etc. so preferences is the correct word in that context.

I’ve shared with you before my thoughts about the degradation of a society as portrayed in “The Walking Dead.” Until COVID I thought that people would naturally want to help each other during a societal catastrophe; the pandemic opened my eyes about that. People were nasty and ill tempered – many still are today. That type of bad behavior is now acceptable by many people. All I can say about that is for shame. We’re here for a short time and while here we should lend a hand and help each other. That would give each of us a sense of pride.