Stop Telling Me You're An Ally And DO Something Already
As Pride Month comes around, I appreciate your support, but I'm going to need less talk and more walk.
This is the most annoying thing about Pride Month.
While I understand that you want to announce your support for your LGBTQ+ family and friends during Pride Month, to those in the community, your declarations ring rather hollow.
Make sure you're doing something to back up those words. It's incredibly hurtful, year after year, to see treasured family members and friends, and less treasured corporations, declare their support for equal love and gender identity and then forget about it once June is over.
While we appreciate your support and want your support, we'd like to see more than a Facebook post or two during June.
For example, consider making a donation, (if you're able) to a non-profit that helps LGBTQ people. For example, The Trevor Project is a phone hotline dedicated to speaking to suicidal LGBTQ teens when they are in need. If you can't afford to donate, see if there's anything else you can do to help them, like volunteering. They also offer educational programs.
There is also The Victory Fund dedicated to helping get LGBTQ.
Here is a list of more organizations that you could help, either with manpower or with a few extra dollars.
Secondly, another good way to be an ally is to educate yourself. While most LGBTQ people are happy to answer a few questions every now and then, the burden of conveying information and helping to understand should not always be on the minority. For a place to start, I highly recommend Susan Stryker's book Transgender History, as it goes through lesser-known Transgender history all the way to present issues like the bathroom bill.
Speaking of which. Vote. Vote with both your money and your ballot. Or even your lack of money. When the Salvation Army Santa's roll around every year, perhaps consider the fact that the Salvation Army is actively discriminating against the community. Put your change somewhere more useful.
Chic-fil-A is notoriously anti LGBTQ, so here's a list of more companies to avoid while you're at it.
And again, vote during the Federal elections, the state elections and midterms. There are loads of LGBTQ issues that are hot right now, including plans to prevent same-sex couples from adopting, children of same-sex couples may not be considered citizens and the infamous bathroom bill.
Again, we are happy to see your support, but we want to see it more than just one month out of the year, and we want it to be more than just a Facebook post every now and again. Use one of the above ways to show us a little less talk and a little more walk this Pride.
