The proud and not so proud moments of Pride in the June Month in Review
June is Pride Month in the United States. Some groups celebrate, while others find a way to denigrate. Let’s look at both in an early June edition of The Month in Review.
Because of the timing, there are plenty of Pride celebrations in baseball. There are also plenty of controversies.
The Los Angeles Dodgers planned to honor the drag group The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for their charitable contributions. Because the group is dressed as Nuns, many Catholic groups protested the Dodgers doing this. That caused team management to pull their invitation which caused even more controversy. The team eventually relented and the Sisters were part of the Pride night celebration. Way to stick to any decision Dodgers.
None of this sat right with Dodgers players Clayton Kershaw and Blake Treinen, Both are extremely religious and out-front about their beliefs. Kershaw approached team management about moving up the announcement of the Dodgers’ Christian Faith and Family Day. Treinen went even further. He claimed, "This single event alienates the fans and supporters of the Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and professional sports." Of course, he didn’t Tweet that himself. Treinen had his friend, Sean Feucht do it for him. No balls Blake…which pretty much describes the amount of pitching he has done for the Dodgers over the last two seasons.
The Los Angeles Angels, based in Anaheim, also had their Pride Night event. They had Paige Mathews, a twenty-six-year-old drag queen deliver the game ball to the mound to start the game. Oh yeah, also invited to attend was the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The Angels from Orange County, one of the most conservative areas in California, were more tolerant than the Dodgers. Who would have ever guessed?
But, not all were nearly that tolerant in the O.C. The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to ban the Pride flag from flying on government property. That’s the Orange County we’ve come to know. There’s a reason it’s called ‘behind the orange curtain.’
Back to baseball…Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass posted a video that praised the boycotting of Bud Light and Target for their measures supporting the LGBTQIA community. The video referred to selling Pride-themed merchandise as evil and demonic. The Blue Jays’ response was to have him participate in their Pride weekend activities by having him catch one of the first pitches. Then, on the day this was to have occurred, the team designated him for assignment, meaning he was being released. Do you think that would have happened if he didn’t have a 4.95 earned run average?
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman donated money to three LGBTQIA groups. The Cubs also donated $15,000 to create a monument in honor of Glenn Burke, baseball’s first openly Gay player. The monument will be on the city’s Legacy Walk, in the Boystown neighborhood.
There was plenty of restaurant Pride news:
Starbucks decided to ban Pride decorations in their stores. Cracker Barrel was being boycotted because they had a page supporting Pride on their website. In what alternative universe is Cracker Barrel more supportive of the community than Starbucks? And get this, Chik Fil A came under criticism from conservative groups for hiring an executive to be in charge of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Seriously? Chik Fil A? So does this mean I can now go there for one of their seasonal peach shakes and not feel guilty about it?
We’re on to the world of politics because you have to know they’ll have something to say about this…and there was plenty!!
Let’s begin with Nikki Haley and her intolerant views on transgender girls in sports and locker rooms. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Haley stated, “The idea that we have biological boys playing in girls’ sports, it is the women’s issue of our time.” Really, Nik? The one hundred or so transgender girls playing high school sports is the women’s issue of our time? More than anything about reproductive rights? Then she got even more bizarre by coming up with this one, “How are we supposed to get our girls used to the fact that biological boys are in their locker room? And then we wonder why a third of our teenage girls seriously contemplated suicide last year.” Did you know that 82% of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves and 40% have attempted suicide, with suicidality highest among transgender youth? I’m sure Nikki knows these stats, but it doesn’t fit her agenda. For some reason, she thinks this is one of the issues that will lead her into the White House. It’s never going to happen.
The White House put up the Pride Flag you see in the picture at the top. You knew the same old suspects weren’t going to keep quiet about this. Check out these responses:
Fox News says it promotes grooming and pedophilia.
Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas declared that “it’s a sign of the Biden administration “putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted “The rainbow flag is a symbol of aggression that “should be concerning to all Americans. This is an evil, perverted and hyper-sexualized agenda that is targeting kids and must end.”
Lauren Boebert on Flag Day: “On Flag Day, we celebrate one flag and one flag only. It’s not rainbow-colored. It’s not yellow and blue. It’s this one. Happy Flag Day!”
Most of those comments speak for themselves, although Lauren had to add in a dig against Ukraine. No wonder Margie took you aside on the House floor to call you “A LITTLE BITCH!!”
Let’s end with an upbeat Pride story. Yesterday in Chicago, the 52nd annual Chicago Pride Parade took place. Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the parade route from Uptown through Lakeview and winding up in Lincoln Park. Not even a driving rain storm drove the people away. There was no grooming or anyone making a big deal about bathrooms; only a ton of people united together to have a good time. It’s a day of love, acceptance, equality and fun and there’s not a damn thing wrong with that!
That’s it for June. Maybe in July, we can get back to the Trumps, the Bidens, and Russia. That sounds like fun! See you then.