We are faced over and over again with opportunities to ask what does it mean to be an LGBTQ community? As society changes the answer may change, and we need now as much as ever before to be doing the hard work to keep asking and sorting out the answers.
And from my perspective, the Mayor has shown by his statements following the incident and now today, that he is committed to doing things differently. This is good news for the residents of Pittsburgh! Thank you Mr Mayor!
Just received via Twitter the below announcement. This follows a tweet I sent regarding my blog post from yesterday which went to the Mayor. I’m looking forward to reading the announcement, and appreciate the Mayor’s efforts to do things differently than they have been done in the past.
The real questions to be answered surround the officer’s actions. Were they justified? Did he break any policy, rule or protocol? If he did not- how is the City going to assist the residents of Pittsburgh in understanding that, and if he did, what is the City going to do about it?
The Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s was one piece in a larger struggle against racism which is and must be ongoing. Today LGBTQ persons label ours as a civil rights movement is to accomplish legal and legislative changes similar to those which were achieved by the African American Civil Rights Movement.
Ultimately, what can be done to insure that the LGBTQ community receives the appropriate treatment and support of the Pittsburgh Police in each and every situation?
The idea of “winning” and beating down our opponents is a powerful desire that many appreciate. And here I am claiming that it is the wrong way to go. Empowering people is the real path to success, even if it is hard at some points to see the progress or success it is causing.
Remember that the real value of Pride, isn’t just what happens at Pride or during Pride month, but the value is found in the ways we carry that celebration, energy, resolve, self awareness and love into the entire rest of the year and all aspects of our life! Now, get out there and make the most of Pride!
Today few members of the LGBTQ community make that struggle for Justice and Equality so visible. Recognizing Chelsea Manning as Grand Marshall links us to our past and reminds us of how far we’ve come as well as how far we have to go.
When you call gathering some people together for a rally a RIOT, you dismiss and offend Queer History and the hundreds if not thousands of folks in the past who didn’t have the freedoms and fairness we share today. When you call gathering some people together for a rally a RIOT you disrespect the way the queers in 1969 placed EVERYTHING ON THE LINE to demand change and the most basic fairness.