Pride Goes Before...

Now that I have your attention with that title...you know the rest of that saying. One of the seven deadly sins. Supposedly, talked about in the book of Proverbs.

Before you crucify me, that's not what I think, and that's not what this article is about. Yet, pride is a word that causes so many reactions.

Pride, as being proud of or in oneself, or pride as being boastful and egotistical as a person.

I have this saying, "Words are the mystery of all life." Words, formed as the narratives of the lens from which we view the world.

I wanted to wait a few days before posting this article as I hoped it wouldn't get lost in the host of other, Happy Pride Month articles.

Why? Well, because words are the mystery of all life. And in that mystery, we can either change the world, or cause the world around us to become more divided and polarized.

And I want the world to be changed for the better with my words.

First, some background on the establishment of Pride month, which is a commemoration of the LGBTQIA+ community standing up against decades of marginalization and oppression in the US and around the world.

And the LGBTQIA+ community is still actively discriminated against, harassed, and excluded here at home and in many countries around the world. Today, they also face a new hate. Transgender children and adults are faced with not just public and social policy changes aimed at erasing and denying their humanity but hate crimes against transgender children and adults is rising.

In 1969, the gay community in New York decided to fight back (literally) with days of rioting and protesting that spread around the world.

And with all of that activism came PRIDE. A showing of pride in being true to oneself. Celebrating one's humanity. To live proud and out loud. The pride each and every one of us should have in who we are. Today, we must take up the mantle for a new kind of fight. A fight that can change the narrative with words, policy and institutional systematic dismantling of laws that aim to hurt.

But as I said this article is about words. I was reading an article rebuking the Pride movement yesterday, and of course those who responded to the article misquoted Proverbs, which is so often misquoted. Proverbs 16:18 declares, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

The pride Solomon is talking about here however is ego. Egotism. A haughtiness that you are above everyone else. As I read those responses it seemed to me that both the articles writer, AND those responding were displaying that haughty or ego spirit that they believe PRIDE is all about.

As I said, this article is about words. And the words I choose to share are for those I love who are LGBTQ+ in my world. Pride goes before...love. The way you live your lives out loud and unafraid, the way you believe in who you are is a courageous self-love that many don't possess.

Continue to walk with PRIDE not just in the month of June, but every month before and after. I walk with you. You are my strength, courage, bravery and PRIDE.

Happy Pride month!

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And so, it goes...is the title of this new series from the WEBB Advisory Group. We invite guest writers/bloggers and authors to share the many voices and perspectives of the world around us. "And so, it goes."