Pride Month is a celebration of the LGBTQ community to promote self-affirmation, acceptance and equal rights. The month of June was chosen to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots, when abusive police officers raided New York City's notorious gay bar The Stonewall Inn, and the outraged customers fought back. 50 years later, great strides have been made for LGBTQ rights, but members of the community still face unfortunate discrimination.
As revelers across America plan raucous gay pride parades, three men in Boston are making plans for a controversial counter-event: a straight pride parade. The Washington Post reports that organizer Mark Sahady filed a discrimination complaint against Boston for permission to fly a straight pride flag. On Facebook, he claimed the city is working with him to throw the Straight Pride Parade on August 31st.
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According to Sahady, the Straight Pride Parade will include floats and vehicles and follow the same route as the Gay Pride Parade.
"For [the political left] everything is based upon identity and whether or not one is categorized as a victim or an oppressor,” Sahady explained in a Facebook comment. "If you get victim status then you are entitled to celebrate yourself and expect those with oppressor status to defer to your feelings."
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Reports of the proposed Straight Pride Parade sparked immediate criticism on Twitter. "Gay Pride was not born of a need to celebrate being gay, but our right to exist without persecution," tweeted @OOOlson. So instead of wondering why there isn't a Straight Pride parade, be thankful you don't need one."
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@JohnJSalomone agreed, writing: "Straight pride is every f***ing day. Every time you hold your partner's hand in public and don't get put in the hospital for it. Every time you express your gender/sexuality the most natural way to you and the entire world caters to it. LGBTQ+ people are murdered for EXISTING."
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Also, several people hilariously mocked the concept of a Straight Pride Parade. Here are some highlights:
Bon voyage[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/failnaut/status/1135951099821772800]]
Wicked pissah![[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/morninggloria/status/1135929336110784512]]
And I would have gotten away with it, too...[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/kiwi_maddog12/status/1135987895787851777]]
More like the checkout line at Walmart[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Druncan_Hines/status/1135950230455750656]]
It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Derek Jeter[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BriannaWu/status/1135984766690439168]]
She's so brave for sharing this[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/evaandheriud/status/1136019996436508673]]
No costume required for them to dress up like dicks[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/1ibby/status/1135984393359507456]]
*tips hat* Well played[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/adamcbest/status/1135949126905094144]]
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) declined to address the proposed Straight Pride Parade, but issued a statement supporting Gay Pride.
"Every year Boston hosts our annual Pride Week, where our city comes together to celebrate the diversity, strength and acceptance of our LGBTQ community," Walsh said in a statement, per The Post. "This is a special week that represents Boston’s values of love and inclusion, which are unwavering."
