Why I Attend Pride as an Ally

So why do I go to Pride? I will never have to come out. I won’t have sleepless nights when I’m tossing and turning with the worst case scenarios playing themselves over and over in my mind. About friends that I may lose. About parents and family that may disown me. About work mates that may now be uncomfortable around me. About people not knowing now how to act around me or not wanting to be around me. I will never have to hide who I am and who I love for fear of those things happening. Or worst. I won’t have to deal with the names ~ slurs ~ condemnation ~ violence from beatings to rape to death ~ religions wanting to condemn me ~ organizations that believe I can be converted ~ governments that will sentence me to jail or death because of who I choose to sleep with or want to marry. Every day I get to be myself without fear ~ without limit.

I believe in the “more perfect union” espoused in our Constitution’s preamble and want to work towards it. I want to eliminate bigotry and celebrate our differences while also recognizing that there’s more that binds us than separates us. So I attend Pride because I thinks it’s important to be an ally. To say that love is love and should be celebrated. To give people a safe space and the freedom to be who they are. To let them be themselves without fear ~ without limit.

I had a date ask me that first question tonight because he couldn’t understand why I would go to Pride. “Why would you go to Pride? If you like men, then it makes no sense for you to be there” ~ he told me. ‘It makes it even more important for me to be there’ ~ I responded. ‘We make progress because we recognize power imbalances and try to fix them ~ as individuals, as a society, as a culture. The world isn’t a zero sum game so it takes all parties coming together to create that more perfect union. And it’s in that the same way that it’s vital for men to become allies in the me too movement. It’s not just about being on the right side of history ~ it’s about ensuring that the arc and momentum continues in the correct direction’.

I pulled out my phone to show him what Pride was like and I saw that three years ago today, while in Ljubljana, Slovenia I happened upon a pride celebration. We were watching the parade pass and had people ask if we wanted to join in so we ended up dancing and marching with them. And that’s the thing about Pride ~ it’s this incredible energy and celebration of love and acceptance and that’s something that I will be always want to be a part of. It’s about continuing the fight towards equality but also recognizing the milestones of the journey. Plus the music and dancing ~ completely my scene. With love and light always, Rosemary🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈💛💛💛

PS I’ve been asked about the conclusion of the date. There wasn’t a problem because we had differing views on this issue ~ I’m completely open to learning why someone feels the way they do on a particular issue. I really do love civil discourse and think that we all should engage in it and probably all need more exposure to it. BUT I do not appreciate being mansplained at WHILE I am trying to explain my position ~ my thought process. So no dessert and no second date…thank you next