Dear Editor,
Decades ago, Jerry Falwell and Anita Bryant rose to notoriety demonizing homosexuals by saying God had created an entire group of people who were hell-bent on molesting children. That frightful fiction earned them big TV ratings — and even bigger vaults of cash.
Some believed it, unaware that loved ones in their own families and communities were secretly homosexual. But the “anti-gay panic” had real-world costs. It putrified into a cultural poison and, for decades, Americans have been terrorized with bullying, harassment, discrimination, bashing, blackmail, firing, compelled to suicide — and worse.
In response to the hate we saw, a few dozen locals followed Harvey Milk’s advice to live true to yourself, reject shame and declare your Pride. And declare your Pride joyfully in an annual parade of diversity and inclusion for all to see.
So, in June 1982, we marched up Duval Street’s sidewalk (no permit) with decorated dogs (and a parrot), singing, dancing and giving hugs and beads to onlookers who, almost uniformly, responded with support. Not much more than a fun-loving stroll, it was Key West’s modest first Pride “parade.”
We are truly blessed to live in a loving, inclusive and progressive community like Key West. And we have come a very long way in 40 years. Finally, there are hard-won legal protections against discrimination in housing, employment, finances and even marriage for LGBTQ+ citizens. And Key West Pride Parades are now legendary.
But, let’s be clear: it’s not enough.
It’s not enough that we can’t be unjustly fired — while indigenous peoples are trapped in remote reservations of crippling poverty and zero opportunity.
It’s not enough that we can’t be denied housing — while women (the heart of humanity) have no equal protections under America’s laws, and are not only in limited control of their own bodies, but told to work for 80% of their worth. (BTW: Congress passed the ERA in 1972; Florida legislators repeatedly vote it down).
It’s not enough that we can get married, while people of color have been shackled to the bottom of the barrel for centuries and denied access to the American dream on every level, all while being subjected to the most brutal and heinous of inhumane actions. Perpetrated for power, profit, racism (or all three). We should be ashamed and we should re-motivate ourselves.
We should all do everything in our power to guarantee everyone’s equal rights.
Because none of us has equal rights until all of us have equal rights.
JT Thompson
One Human Family Foundation
Key West
