#Pride and protest
So here we are in June, and the start of the strangest #Pride month I’ve known: no mass celebrations, no marches, no chance to get together with community and friends to celebrate and support, protest and defend - and hardly a word from all the normal Corporate sponsors and ‘allies’ who would be rushing to show their ‘support’ for the #LGBT+ community with their #RainbowFlags (which many have now simply whitewashed and appropriated as the #NHSRainbow instead, without a word). But this year gives us all a chance to remember what #Pride is actually FOR - it’s not simply an excuse to party, or to rainbow-wash and make money: #Pride started as a protest - a RIOT: led by black drag queens and disadvantaged Queens and Leathermen who had finally had ENOUGH of brutality and intolerance from the police and the state, who refused to lie down quietly and rose up to DEMAND their visibility, their rights, and their HUMANITY. 2020 is the International Year of LGBT Rights - in a world where being ga