On social media, Chris Evans spoken out about everything from Alabama's ‘absolutely unbelievable’ abortion bill to Kanye West's ‘maddening’ MAGA rant. Now the Captain America star is weighing in on another polarizing news item: a proposed straight pride parade in Boston.
For years, the LGBTQ community has celebrated Pride Month in June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The incident catalyzed the gay rights movement, which has made great strides over the past 50 years, but sadly, discrimination persist. Recently President Trump banned transgender people from the military, and 26 states still do not expressly protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
As a result of this unfair reality, gay pride parades are thrown around the world to promote self-affirmation, acceptance and equal rights. (As well as to memorize the poor souls killed for being gay.) The events are welcome to all, including straight people, which is why the internet was baffled (and amused) by yesterday's report from The Washington Post: Three Bostonian men are planning a straight pride parade, complete with floats and vehicles.
Organizer Mark Sahady said on Facebook that is tended to mock the "identity politics" of "the political left." "For [the political left] everything is based upon identity and whether or not one is categorized as a victim or an oppressor," he explained in an FB comment. "If you get victim status then you are entitled to celebrate yourself and expect those with oppressor status to defer to your feelings."
The proposal sparked widespread criticism and mockery on social media. "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." @JohnJSalomone agreed, writing: "Straight pride is every f***ing day.... the entire world caters to it. LGBTQ+ people are murdered for EXISTING."
On Wednesday, outspoken actor Chris Evans, who was born in Boston, slammed the 'homophobic' men planning the 'straight pride' event. "Wow! Cool initiative, fellas!!" he sarcastically tweeted. "Just a thought, instead of ‘Straight Pride’ parade, how about this: The ‘desperately trying to bury our own gay thoughts by being homophobic because no one taught us how to access our emotions as children’ parade? Whatta ya think? Too on the nose??"
Upon getting a flood of ignorant comments from the loud and misinformed, Evans posted another tweet: "Wow, the number gay/straight pride parade false equivalencies are disappointing. For those who don’t understand the difference, see [the Facebook post] below. Instead of going immediately to anger(which is actually just fear of what you don’t understand)take a moment to search for empathy and growth."
In the tweet, Evans linked to a Facebook post by author James Fell, who aptly summarized the issue:
"I'm straight. I like being straight. A big reason why I like being straight is that I've never once experienced bigotry for my sexuality. I didn't have to fight for my right to marry the person of my choosing. I didn't have to concern myself with being beaten or killed because others didn't accept who I wanted to sleep with. I didn't have to stay closeted out of fear, or worry about the reaction of my family, friends, or colleagues by coming out."
"I never got called a slur for being straight. No one told me I'm going to burn in hell for being straight. There aren't any programs where I could be sent to be tortured into no longer being straight. There aren't any countries where you can be put to death simply for being straight. There is nothing I ever had to fight for, or struggle against, because I'm straight. And therefore, there isn't any reason to take pride in it. Grateful for the privileges I get? Sure. But pride? I don't see it."
"What I do see is that this parade is misnamed. It's not a "Straight Pride Parade." It should be called a 'I'm a homophobic piece of sh*t' parade."
LGBTQ rights are a personal issue for Evans, who has a gay younger brother, actor Scott Evans. "It’s important to understand," the Avengers star told Time Out in 2016,"whether it’s growing up with women, whether it’s growing up with other ethnic groups, it’s important to experience anything different from what you know, to encourage and cultivate compassion and understanding."
