It's officially Pride month.

It's a month where LGBT+ people all over the nation work to cast off decades of being shamed, taught to feel shame for being who they are, and regain their self-image & their pride in who they are.

Who WE are.

Life in the closet is suffocating.

LGBT+ people are born and raised in the same society as everyone else, and are taught from a young age the anti-gay and homophobic attitudes everyone else is taught.

It takes a lot of time & hard work to cast aside the self-loathing and internalized homophobia.

June is the month where we stand up, unafraid (even if we're afraid), hold our heads up high, and say we're here... we're queer... get used to it.

It's a month where we share our history, our contributions to society, and the fact we exist as human beings in this world.

We stand united in stating that we are worthy and deserving of love and acceptance, just like everyone else.

And that we are born this way, that this is not a choice, and that we are not a "sin". We push back on the lies told about us, as we live our truth in full daylight.

This Pride months is different though. There will be no big parades or celebrations this year, due to Covid-19. We've already been through one big pandemic. We've seen all too much death already. We're not going to risk more. Many of us older LGBT+ are having flashbacks now.

Further, this June finds the entire nation roiled in protests against over-zealous, violent cops, police brutality, & police killing Black people without cause. We've seen this too. So this is the month to say this:

Black Lives Matter
LGBT+ Lives Matter
Black LGBT+ Lives Matter

This month we observe the anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, that lead to modern-day LGBT+ rights movement. We've come a long way since then, but we've got a long way to go.

Some history: https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots