Yesterday I had an opportunity to attend a Pride event in my
region for the first time.
Well, that’s not entirely true. Over the years, I’ve had plenty of
opportunity to attend but I chose not to.
In fact, there was a time in my life when I seriously considered joining
“Straight Pride” protests of these events.
I didn’t understand Pride or what its purpose was. I thought this was something we should just
keep under wraps and behind closed doors.
I thought it was unnatural and recited trite sayings like “God made Adam
and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”
I was wrong.
Through so many people currently in my life, I’m now exposed
to the LGBTQ+ community more than ever.
People that I know and love are somewhere on the rainbow. I am blessed to have these people in my life.
Now back to yesterday.
My first Pride event was more than I could have hoped. People from 7-70 and more were joining together
in love and community. We watched drag
shows and spoke to vendors. We saw kids
playing games and we learned a ton about the things our community has to
offer. We even got a little sunburned
which for me, is a pretty big deal.
I saw kids smiling and heard laughter. Everywhere you looked was colourful and flags
were waving. This was not a threatening
community. This was not a display of debauchery. This was a gathering of people in the park to
dance, sing, laugh, eat and even cry.
This was a gathering of people who often don’t get the chance to be
fully themselves. Seeing these people
warmed my heart like I never thought possible.
To top this off, I wore a Free Dad Hugs t-shirt to this event. It was rainbow printed and seemed to fit the
event. I expected that I’d get a couple
of goofballs would come by for hugs and I obliged when they did.
I also had a Trans girl come by ask for a hug. She told me her father would kill her if he
saw her this way.
That hit me hard.
Her father would be angry to see her happy and truly herself.
It partly hit me because I wonder if I was that dad 10 years
ago. If I would have been fighting my
child because of them going through a “phase” or trying to be popular or
different.
But mostly it hit me because, I saw a young woman. Smiling and decked out in a trans flag. Smiling because she truly felt at home and
included.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if this girl was going to let go. She desperately wanted to be accepted and she
wanted to feel safe. After a good long hug,
she thanked me and went about her day.
As I saw her through the day, I smiled and hoped I had made her day just
a bit better.
That hug would have made the day a success, but it was so
much more.
So, for those of you out there who are still non-affirming I
want to challenge you to do something. I
want to challenge you to join an event like this. I want you to witness what these events can
be.
There is nothing more natural in this world than being your
authentic self and loving others and that is what I witnessed.
Feel free to reach out if you’d like a big dude in a Free
Dad Hugs shirt to join you because although this was my first event, I’m very certain
that it will not be my last.
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