Pride and Perspective

The raid was supposed to be routine. NYPD officers would just swarm the place, shake down the owner for more cash, snag some hooch, bash some queers for the quotas, and call it a night. This time around, things didn’t go quite as planned.

On June 28th 1969, at the Stonewall Inn bar in Manhattan, enough was enough. As thirteen gay patrons and employees were being frog-marched to the paddy wagons, all hell broke loose. Neighbors in Greenwich Village converged on the scene and expressed indignation at the manhandling of the arrestees. From the rapidly gathering crowd they pelted the arresting officers with pennies, which quickly turned to bottles and other detritus. The barrage was enough to force the police to retreat into the bar. The indignant neighbors pursued and attempted to push through the barricade hastily erected within, even attempting to set it aflame. When the smoke cleared, it would be a new world for the gay community.

Fifty-six years later, there is much for which to feel pride. Homosexuality per se no longer legally disqualifies one from any employment or association. No longer may hospitals exclude visiting partners because they happen to be the same sex. Nor is homosexuality disqualifying for adoption if all other determinants are fulfilled. All the years of hard struggle have achieved a status whereby LGBTQ+ individuals can meaningfully participate in and contribute to society without being defined exclusively by their sexuality.

That said… the paradigm is beginning to reverse itself. Instead of LGBTQ+ citizens seeking recognition of their valuable contributions to society, increasingly they seek recognition of their sexuality itself. Whereas the first Pride marches were organized to destigmatize homosexuality, modern day Pride is about proselytizing the LGBTQ+ orientation. It’s one thing for Mr. Homeroom Teacher to tell his students in passing that he’s married to a man (which is commendable normalization). It’s quite another for Mr. Homeroom Teacher to assign books detailing the intimacy between LGBTQ+ partners. Were any straight teacher to do this, s/he would be Title VII’d five ways to Friday, and deservingly.

The Pride movement was founded to demand equal treatment, regardless of orientation. Let’s get back to that noble undertaking!

Originally published on June 4th, 2023.