Not my original content, but something I stand by
Why no cops?
In the US cops:
- Take trans kids away from supportive parents in states with laws against that
- Selectively target LGBT people for unequal enforcement of often unconstitutional laws (ex: obscenity laws)
- Disproportionately use force against trans people (more than 1/4th according to the ACLU).
Imagine how much it would fuck you up if a cop kicked you around, threw you in lockup with the wrong gender, and then you see the shit stain getting paid to be at Pride.
And just being there, getting paid to do nothing is the best you can hope for. Plenty of times they just watch bigots harass or attack the people at Pride and either do nothing or arrest the victims.
Cops who want to come to Pride out of uniform on their own time because they’re LGBT+ or whatever, most people don’t care about that.
More importantly, Pride itself a reference to the Stonewall Riots, in which cops brutally assaulted LGBTQ+ citizens with great malice and the citizens fought back.
June 28th, 1969
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots
The first Pride Parade was a year later, on June 27th, 1970
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_parade#First_pride_marches
The reason cops shouldn’t be allowed at Pride is because cops violence against the LGBTQ+ community is why Pride fucking exists to begin with.
It’s a bit of a general issue. The police in itself is good, however… it’s a job that puts people into a position of power. Power corrupts, and if you factor in that they’re not well paid (because tanks and so on are better ways to spend a budget…) but are supposed to put their lives on the line, then get treated either like the enemy or the “thin blue line” I see how things can go bad. Being a public service, they’re managed by the government and sent to deal with trouble accordingly, and the definition of trouble varies with whoever is at the top. Sprinkle in some dangerous levels of nationalism, the US being a super power and you most certainly get to hear about their unrest, while the stuff going on in your own country might be less flashy.
A small trivia bit that you might or might not know: at the beginning there was this organization that was created to protect the people from abuses by local lords. Everyone knows what an unholy shitfest that got corrupted into, given that I’m talking about the mafia…
I’m gonna get eviscerated for saying this, but take what you hear here with a grain of salt.
Lemmy doesn’t exactly reflect the experience of the average American.
I understand, but also with no cops we wouldn’t have this beautiful teardown
Stonewall was caused by NYPD, soo… it might feel weird to have police at Pride now?
Because the police enforce the laws of the state, often with violence. If the law dictates that a person being open about their identity is illegal regardless of the fact their identity harms no one, and everyone involved in their actions consents, than it is the responsibility of the cops to oppress them. One year the cops might march alongside people at pride, and then the laws might change and they’ll be there to bust heads of anyone who shows up the next year.
And yeah, there no doubt exist LGBTQ+ cops, or cops whose friends and/or family whom they love are LGBTQ+, but so long as they wear the uniform they represent an organization used to oppress marginalized and minority communities.
Fundamentally, pride is not just a party, it is a protest.
Fundamentally, pride is not just a party, it is a protest.
Rainbow parades or Rainbow bricks.
Ain’t no one going to let Stonewall happen again without a fight.
Fundamentally, pride is not just a party, it is a protest.
And people often tend to say “but why do they need the parade if we let them be?” Because otherwise it’ll be a couple of years before someone will start lynchings.
I just hope the society will sometimes be free of fear for everyone