Break Time’s Over

So Pride was nice. It was fun. It was jubilant. OK, not all of it. A~ wrote about the extremely unpleasant family who sat in front of us and tried to own space like she and I don’t do that for a living.

So that didn’t work out so well for them.

I got to hold a rainbow bordered BLACK LIVES MATTER sign that some people had an extra of. A~ went to get it for me and then I claimed and held it because one of the very few privileges of Blackness is that I get to carry the BLM signs. Lots of people responded extremely well including Senator Franken whose hand I have been trying to shake for two years. I got to shake it this time. So that was nice. We had fun, got candy, met some nice people on the route like we do every year.

And then we came home, because I don’t eat street food and I don’t love huge crowds of strangers. So we didn’t go to the park and we didn’t see the #BlackLivesMatter protesters who stood up and spoke out for both the lives of People of Color today and the People of Color who risked their lives in the past so that all Gender and Sexual Minorities can live out and proud.

I’m glad I wasn’t there to see it because my reaction what happened after they got up to speak would have probably led to some sort of bail requirement and we don’t have that kind of money.

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK? This isn’t the only thing. There were a number of people on the #TCPride feed whose primary reaction seemed to be “why can’t we just have fun and celebrate?” Sadly I didn’t get screen shots of those people and their tweets. If I had I would post them because they should be shamed and if they aren’t I am more than willing to help them along.

Because fuck their entitlement, that’s why. Because we exist and if part of them having fun requires us to stand silent then, no fun for them. Because PoC started this whole fucking movement. Because we exist. Because we have value. Because we are dying at a prodigious rate and that is not something that anyone should ever ignore. Because we are part of this fucking community. Because we did a hell of a lot of work to get this community as far as it has gotten and you’re damn right we expect you to do the same for us. Because anyone who doesn’t have the basic human compassion to both feel joy and concenr about someone else’s pain simultaneously shouldn’t be allowed to interact with other humans unsupervised and certainly isn’t on my team.

Because even under all those rainbows and glitter and tears and joy, I’m still in danger every day not only because I am a woman in a relationship with another woman but because of my skin. All day, every day, even during Pride.

So here’s the thing, I’m happy that you’re happy. I’m happy too. We’re all happy. And now that the rainbows and glitter have been cleaned up from the streets, we still have a ton of work to do until the GSM community and the Black community come anywhere close to real, full equality.

I’m glad you had fun at Pride. That is good. That is part of what Pride is for. But here, at least, Pride is over now and so is your break.

Let’s get back to work.