June was the pride month. And it started off, as a month that celebrates the LGBTQ+ Community. The Gay pride parades are outdoor events that celebrate the LGBTQ community. But as an answer to Gay pride, now the straight white men want to run a “Straight Pride”.
This controversial issue received a lot of limelight and not for any good reasons. A planned straight pride received approval from the city of Boston. And to our surprise, the city approved the event application for the group “Super Happy Fun America”. And the parade takes place on 31st August.
Even though the city approved, it still needs approval from Police Department and the licensing board. There are many who see this event as a mockery of the gay pride parade. The democrat Mayor Marty Walsh is critical of the event. And he even denied the permission to hoist the “Straight Pride flag” on the city’s flagpole. Walsh won’t be attending the parade either.
Walsh expressed his reason for denial. He said –“ Permits to host a public event are granted based on operational feasibility, not based on values or endorsements of beliefs. A city cannot deny a permit based on an organization’s values. Whatever outside groups may try to do, our values won’t change. I invite each and every person to stand with us, and show that love always prevails.”
The organizer of the event Super Happy Fun America said that the reason for celebration is to recognise the history, culture and contributions of straight community.
But the announcement of such an event received a lot of backlash. A twitter user posted- “The Straight Pride exists for the same reason as Men’s rights and White Pride: to denigrate and belittle the progress made by the marginalized. It’s nothing less than the mockery of the oppressed and should be treated as such.”