During the Pride parade, thousands of people were given the opportunity to do something that few people have the luxury of doing: they were able to walk out in the open, as themselves, without feeling any sort of judgment. Well, almost free of judgment.
While I was walking in the parade, I noticed a sign at the corner of Yonge and Wellesley that said something akin to Pride coming before destruction and yadda yadda yadda generic Bible quote taken out of context for the sake of “validating” someone’s personal opinion.
It turns out, the guy was about as pleasant as you would expect from someone who shows up to an event just to trash it. Look, normally when we cross street preachers on the corner of Yonge and Dundas, usually we just avert our eyes and pick up the pace a little so we don’t have to talk to someone who stands around shouting about Jesus all day. (Quick side note here: for an all-powerful being, god has a terrible marketing and PR department.)
Look, I respect people’s right to believe whatever they want to . . . to an extent. If you’re telling me that I’m going to burn in a lake of fire forever if I can’t change a fundamental and unchangeable part of myself, the least you can do is keep it to yourself. It’s like if a man went to a feminist rally and said, “Hey, shouldn’t you be back in the kitchen?” You’re purposely forcing others to listen to you be an asshole; of course people are going to identify you as an asshole.
The sad thing is, there is a right way to talk about these things. However, showing up to a Pride parade with a sign telling everyone that they’re going to bring about destruction is not “peaceful discussion.” Don’t piss on the parade and tell me it’s raining.
Why you can trust Xtra
