In the waning days of Pride Month 2019, there was a flurry of national and local activity. In Wausau, at the seat of Marathon County, the local County Board voted 20-15 to pass a resolution officially declaring June as Pride Month. An opposing board member, Romey Wagner, objected, arguing recognizing the oppression of LGBTQs would be as meaningless as giving left-handed people the same honor because they, too, were once discriminated against.
To be fair, Wagner has a point, but more so to indeed give lefties a day of remembrance or, at the very least, a branch of Ned Flanders’ Leftorium Express kiosk in the Wausau, Wis., mall (if there is one). After all, they, like LGBTQs, suffered indignities as well. Anyway, the fact that a rural central Wisconsin county has passed a Pride Month resolution may seem as a surprise, but it shouldn’t. In fact, in 2012 The Wausau River District Theatre produced The Staircase, that play about the gay couple I mentioned in my previous column. Our country cousins are out, about and proud even in the wilds.
Meanwhile, also in the last week of June, Elaine “forgotten-but-not-gone” Appling of the Wisconsin Family Council, bless her cold, hateful heart, apparently managed to inspire 10,000 Wisconsinites to sign her petition to remove the Rainbow Flag from the Madison capitol building. Gov. Tony Evers ordered the flag raised there to celebrate Pride Month earlier in June. Given Gov. Evers’ election win with 1,324,307 votes, Appling’s unbiblically proportioned effort calculates to 0.76% of that number (or .37% of the total 2,672,328 votes cast for both gubernatorial candidates), proving the historic raising of the flag was, if not embraced by all the rest, a non-issue for most.
Elsewhere, Pride parades and celebrations throughout the country marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Aside from World Pride in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and St. Louis among many others (including Stevens Point, Wis.), held local pride events that drew millions in recognition of the advances made in LGBTQ equality. Democratic presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris rode in San Francisco’s Pride Parade, and Pete Buttigieg appeared at New York City’s World Pride, where he accepted the endorsement of the LGBTQ Victory Fund. And, in a sign of the times, national news networks covered the festivities with gushing enthusiasm.
But the current reality of the times is not all rainbows. Earlier in the month, we saw armed homophobic extremists appear at Pride events carrying Nazi flags (and that just days after the 75th Anniversary of D-Day). We also endured the banning of the rainbow flag at the Stonewall Inn itself. Now, since President Barack Obama declared the site a national monument, it is under the jurisdiction of the federal National Park Service. The current regime directed that agency not to fly the rainbow colors at its facilities.
A friend of mine commented on the World Pride celebrations, saying “it’s the beginning of a new era.” It could be. Perhaps the 50th anniversary of Stonewall will motivate more activists to continue the struggle of those inadvertent revolutionaries at Stonewall. Meanwhile, however tentatively, we can celebrate our pursuit of happiness.
