There’s something an anti-LGBTQ extremist recently stated that every person who considers themselves decent and human, and who believes that Pride Month is an extraordinary thing, a good thing, needs to know. You need to pay attention because it signals something we possibly haven’t seen before.
The quote comes from Candace Owens, who if there was an Avengers of hate, she’d be a founding member. This is what she said: “I think that my colleague, Matt Walsh, probably said it best in this tweet. He wrote, ‘The goal is to make Pride toxic for brands. If they decide to shove this garbage in our face, they should know that they’ll pay a price. It won’t be worth whatever they think they’ll gain. First, Bud Light, and now Target. Our campaign is making progress. Let’s keep going.’ And he is absolutely right. It is making progress. And it’s absolutely right that we have them scared. As I said, we have them backed into a corner, and now is absolutely the time for us to pounce. So do not shop at Target or else you’re gay and you’re a pervert. And that’s all I have to say about that.”
There’s a lot of ugliness there. It’s telling how she uses the language of aggression and violence. “Scared.” “Backed into a corner.” “Pounce.”
But this sentence is possibly the most problematic: the goal is to make Pride toxic for brands. While I loath to amplify someone like Owens, it’s important to do in this instance, because like a Bond villain who outlines the many ways he’s going to destroy the world, Owens gives the game away. We must listen to her and those who believe what she does.
Read more commentaryWhat ESPN’s Sam Ponder calls ‘fairness’ is plain old bigotry
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.
The Washington Post recently said that the right is launching a guerilla war on Pride. But that type of action implies sporadic bouts with limited resources. The right is using a vast array of powerful weapons including television networks and a Twitter that’s more bigoted under Elon Musk. Owens, for example, has 2.7 million followers on the site.
That power is then amplified by politicians who see trying to crush the LGBTQ community as an opportunity to gain power. That’s why hundreds of anti-trans bills have been introduced across 49 states. Not all Republicans even believe the hatred they’re pushing but they know it gets them on Fox and other right-wing networks.
None of these boycotts makes sense but it’s not designed to. Hatred is illogical. The only goal here is to inflict pain on any company that offers even a modicum of support for queer Americans. They are doing exactly what Owens states and they are doing it cruelly, ruthlessly and with little regard for facts or the humanity of the people they are trying to destroy.
Fighting all of this is the only option and we each should do it in our own small way.
There’s another reason why opposing the raw bigotry we’re seeing is important. It won’t stop with Pride. They will attack anything representing Black History Month next. Or AAPI month. They will attack anything that celebrates our diversity and unity.
They will expand their war on all fronts because their goal is to drag us back to the antebellum.
It’s Pride now, but it could be something or someone else next time. Maybe you. Or you. Or you over there who thinks it will never be you.
So let’s fight them, together, and never stop.
