proud

Tonight marks the end of another Pride weekend. Not that I took part in any of the festivities. I have been to one pride parade, about 6 years ago. And before that, once, I volunteered at the AWSF booth on a Pride Saturday. Mostly, I try to avoid the crowd and traffic that seem to accompany such events. So it's not the weekend, per se, that moves me.

Not that it isn't fabulous!
photo courtesy of google images

Though I don't usually attend the festivities, in my heart I am so proud of my LGBT brothers and sisters. I cannot imagine how difficult the life of someone on the "other team" can be. The stirrings in childhood of feeling different, other, alien ~ with few (or no) role models. In adolescence/early adulthood, the courage that it takes to come out. The endurance that is required to be in a group that is still, in most places, routinely discriminated against. For those who are closeted, the fear of being found out and the oppression of not feeling able to fully be their complete and honest selves.


It is true that some LGBT persons do not succeed at these challenges. In particular, gay teens account for a disproportionate number of the homeless, prostituted and suicidal. The failure, one imagines, is in the family when a child turns to these conclusions. It's the saddest thing, isn't it? For a family to allow a child to be lost for such a thing as love or attraction to "the wrong person"? Many who survive their adolescence still bear the scars of a traumatized beginning. There are hundreds of thousands among the walking wounded in the US, victims of the intolerance, hate, misplaced religious fervor, ignorance and abuse.

While all of that is true, there are even more success stories. There are families who love their children for who they are, no ifs, ands or buts. Thank God. Gay people fill every role in our society ~ teacher, doctor, construction worker - really everything from congress person to dog catcher. The world is changing, and in a very good way.

gotta love PFLAG
photo courtesy of google images

What we honor in June, Gay Pride Month, is the beginning of true change for the LGBT community in the US: Stonewall. In 1969 it was common for police to raid gay bars and arrest all those inside. The men in the Stonewall bar had had enough one June night, and began a protest that would last several days and change the world.

a drag queen striking a pose for the camera before the paddy wagon door is shut at Stonewall.
photo courtesy of google images

The courage that a bunch of drag queens exhibited in that time equals, in my mind, the members of the Civil Rights movement in the 60's,

clockwise from top left: W.E.B. DuBois, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
photo courtesy of google images

or those who worked against apartheid in the South Africa of the 80's and 90's.

President to-be Nelson Mandela
photo courtesy of google images

What has always offended me about people who discriminate against our gay brothers and sisters is that they use God to justify their hate. I mean, just look at that sentence. In what universe could God ever justify hate? And yet, people seem to think that God is this small. (An extreme case, to be sure, and you might even think that site is a joke, but it is not.) Westboro bunch may be overt, but they are no less hateful - and likely do less damage - than the ex-gay movement. Whichever, they do it in the name of Christ - who, I believe, weeps whenever a gay person is abused in this way.

Matthew Shepard memorial, Wyoming
photo courtesy of google images

The antidote to this, for me, is to work from within the Church for change. There is an ever-growing number of organizations, who are gaining in number and power, who help us to see the light. Mel White's Soulforce was one of the first. Virtually every Christian denomination - Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Latter-Day Saints (to name a few), as well as other world religions, have specific groups to fight against religious intolerance. As we do this work in our churches, there are many more resources available. My group has found this to be especially valuable and informative. I am encouraged that the church is making larger strides towards healing the wounds we have made on the innocent children of God who do not identify as heterosexual. It is a very slow, and often frustrating journey. But, as the great Dr. King said about the inevitability of justice:

"I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Amen, and amen. †