I also live completely outside the LGBT community as a social structure, and honestly, I’ve never felt drawn to it. But in my heart, I’ve always known that its members are fighting for me too, protecting my rights alongside theirs. And I am so, so sincerely grateful to them for that.
To be honest, in my country (which is Ukraine), we don't really have a Pride Month, and there are no big, colorful parades. There are only modest, quiet attempts to hold private gatherings or short, small walks. But even those rarely succeed.
You see, every single time, groups of young, athletic men dressed all in black and wearing balaclavas show up. They call themselves 'defenders of the traditional family,' and if it weren’t for the police, they would brutally beat those brightly dressed, peaceful souls who are only asking for one simple thing — freedom for everyone.
Thank you for this, it puts the whole thing in perspective rather sharply. A short quiet walk that needs a police cordon around it is a very different proposition to a parade with a bank's float in it, and a good reminder of what the parades were originally for. I hope those walks get easier.
I also live completely outside the LGBT community as a social structure, and honestly, I’ve never felt drawn to it. But in my heart, I’ve always known that its members are fighting for me too, protecting my rights alongside theirs. And I am so, so sincerely grateful to them for that.
To be honest, in my country (which is Ukraine), we don't really have a Pride Month, and there are no big, colorful parades. There are only modest, quiet attempts to hold private gatherings or short, small walks. But even those rarely succeed.
You see, every single time, groups of young, athletic men dressed all in black and wearing balaclavas show up. They call themselves 'defenders of the traditional family,' and if it weren’t for the police, they would brutally beat those brightly dressed, peaceful souls who are only asking for one simple thing — freedom for everyone.
Thank you for this, it puts the whole thing in perspective rather sharply. A short quiet walk that needs a police cordon around it is a very different proposition to a parade with a bank's float in it, and a good reminder of what the parades were originally for. I hope those walks get easier.
This is my favorite piece that you’ve written, happy pride Stevie
Thank you Be, that's lovely to hear. It was the one I was least sure about, which is apparently how that works. Happy Pride.