Unless you just arrived by starship from the other side of the galaxy, then you undoubtedly know it’s pride month. With all that’s taken place over the past few months, it’s hard to wrap one’s mind around what could shape up to be an exponential increase in pride and pride related activities. It feels like the pride dial is already cranked up to eleven, but it’s surely about to go even higher.
What should be a surprise to no one is that some people are beginning to experience some pride fatigue and are even pushing back a little. By pushing back, they’re mostly just refusing to participate while a few are also voicing their opposition. This insufficient embrace of pre-pride pride has resulted in more than a few pairs of rainbow underpants working themselves into a tightly knotted bunch. The following excerpt appears in USA Today under the headline “The right-wing is waging war on all things Pride. We can’t let them win.”
“In the past, the right often ignored Pride Month, and Pride events. Or just mocked them. That’s no longer the case. Now, we’re seeing a war on all things Pride. That word, war, is not used lightly. It’s accurate.
“It’s a war they’re playing for keeps. They like the viciousness of it. The idea of it. The power of it. The pain it causes. They like that it terrifies companies and people alike. There is no goal other than to bash the LGBTQ community and force companies to capitulate. If you don’t believe me, just look around.
“First, it was Bud Light after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoted a March Madness contest. Then it was Target that, well, I’m still not exactly sure what Target did other than sell some rainbow-themed merch.
“Now, it’s Chick-fil-A. And, again, I’m not sure exactly why the right is targeting them. It has something to do with the hiring of a DEI officer. One that got the job…in 2021. Not to mention the company is one of the most culturally right-wing in the nation.
“Then of course there was the attack on the Dodgers for inviting (then disinviting and subsequently re-inviting) the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a civil rights group. The right has spent months going after drag queens and are attempting to ban trans athletes.”
What all these examples have in common is that consumers simply refused to buy what these companies were selling, which is a bunch of values with a product attached to it. If you’re a Bud Light drinker, you couldn’t just buy a can of beer. You had to also promote the likeness of a ridiculous, cartoonish social media clown with your purchase. Target has been selling rainbow-themed merch forever. This year they decided to set up a pride shrine and then were shocked when families turned down the opportunity to adorn themselves in coordinated pride wear. Nobody’s boycotting Chick-fil-A. Along with gold, Chick-fil-A is what you find in the pot at the end of the rainbow. To Mike Freeman, the author of the USA Today piece, what is the appropriate amount of pride expenditures families should engage in before they are no longer guilty of bigotry?
As for the Unwavering Adherents of Unceasing Narcissism, if you want to honor a group of satanic clowns with their own night at the old ball park, go right ahead. But are you really shocked when a large segment of the public takes offense and declines to support or participate in its mockery of Catholics and the Christian faith? Is that what pride month is all about?
If there is something 