OUT ON THE HILL is the official blog of the Victory Congressional Interns. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of LGBTQ+ Victory Institute. Learn more about the internship at victoryinstitute.org/vci.
__________________________
“What is the difference between a parade and a protest?” Victory Institute staff member, Itay, innocently asked, following the World Pride Parade just six days before. As each of member of the cohort answered, the image of all eight of us marching together, singing and yelling and laughing entered my head.
This year, it seemed that the question of whether or not pride was a protest wasn’t something up for debate. In a year cluttered with anti-LGBTQ+ policies, Supreme Court rulings, and executive orders, it was clear to me that any unapologetic expression of queer resilience and visibility, especially in this city, was enough to make the distinction.
However, a much more polarized image was looming ahead of us. In a little over a day, those streets would be taken over by a much different parade orchestrated for the President’s birthday (and secondarily, the military’s 250th). It was almost jarring how quickly the disposition of the city could shift.
One weekend, an expression of queerness and all that it encompasses– including the idea that you as a human being are owed the freedom to speak, dress, self-express, and love regardless of if it fits into the structure or binary that has been designed to constrict you. The next weekend, a symbol of authoritarianism and military strength amidst a backdrop of the National Guard violently restricting the first amendment rights of those protesting ICE’s kidnapping of our friends and family off the streets. The celebration of an administration who has worked tirelessly to not only enforce a specific depiction of who does and does not belong in our communities, but also what you are allowed to say, read, and do.
It has been difficult to reconcile these images and to not interpret the latter as some kind of rude awakening or “truth” about what the world looks like. Because the difference between a parade and a protest is that a protest is ultimately a symbol of hope that progress is within reach because people are working for it. When Pride celebrations transformed the city into a place of those ideals, rather than the hatred that came from the status quo, it solidified itself as a form of resistance rather than just a parade.
