jawnbc | In times of Pride... (Reply)

I am a gay man, living in Vancouver British Columbia Canada. I can (and have) marry my male partner. We can adopt children or seek fertility services to sire some. We are protected in civil law with respect to discrimination. If we are proven to be victims of a hate crime, the perpetrator is liable for a higher penalty. And even though all of Canadian society hasn't endorsed my and our rights to a peaceful, open life as gay men, to espouse antagonism towards us is increasingly socially unacceptable.

I take none of this for granted.

But my trans brothers and sisters aren't specifically protected--yet. Not everyone who fought for my rights was a gay guy. Nor should it wholly rest on trans folks' shoulders to secure their entitlements. My political party of choice [the New Democratic Party of Canada] has, through private member's bills, sought to ad these protections federally. And a handful of cases in various provincial jurisdictions will most likely lead to one of two things: either gender identity will be added as ground for protection, or the existing protections based on gender will be read as including gender identity. If you're not aware, Canada's North West Territory added gender identity to its human rights law in 2002.

Outside of Canada, and a handful of "like-minded" countries (Scandanavia, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand), things range from "not great" to "horrendous". Every day our sisters and brothers face harassment, extortion, violence, rape, torture and death. While some communities fight for civil rights, others cannot even safely assert their existence, let alone their rights.

So today...this week, month or summer...as you watch your local Pride event, look past the corporatism, the vanity, the gawdiness--if only for a moment. And remember.

Remember, if you can, the terror, the shame, the despair. Remember reaching the point where doing nothing was no longer an option, even as doing something scared the lights out of you. Remember allowing yourself to hope. Remember allowing yourself to laugh, and dance, and participate.

If your house is in order, how then your neighbourhood? Community? Nation? The World?