Straight Pride? Well, Okay but...

Today was the main day for Fort Wayne Pride, and overall it was a wonderful day with my family and a good friend of mine.  We helped raise money for a support group for LGBTQ youth.  We did well.  At least well enough to expand next year and maybe get some sponsors to help out.  When I got home I got on Facebook to share a post and found this shared by my sister:  

Just so you don’t get the wrong idea this was my sister's response to it. 

“I see this and all I can think is, "It is about as needed as a WHITE PRIDE sign." I've never felt the need to fight for being straight any more than I have had to struggle with the difficulties of being white in America. I've never felt the need to prove that my straightness should be defended. I kind of wonder why, in a country where no straight people have to defend their love of the opposite sex, why the heck is this needed? The only thing I can think of is that some people just want some attention and since they have nothing that makes them different then all they can do is complain about their extreme average-ness. I'd like a sign that fights for my right to use the internet to look up coupons. I already do this; it isn't a struggle so I think I may need a sign.
That is my "How ridiculous can we be?" post for the day.”

My sister and I have a tendency to play off of each other and I responded with this.  At least the first paragraph, I was going long and realized this was more of a topic than I thought. 

Every so often straight friends will ask if they would be welcome at pride and I always say, "Of cores, you can be proud too." as far as I'm concerned LGBT pride IS about straight pride to. It is about allowing everyone to be equally proud and open about themselves so one day Pride isn't necessary. There will never be a happier and more glorious day in the pride movement than the day it is obsolete, if people who shared pictures depicting a need for straight pride understood that they'd get why this is offensive. The rainbow was selected and kept as a pride symbol because it represents diversity. And diversity means everyone, even those people we don't like. Weather people like Scott Lively, Fowler Fin, and Mike Pence like it or not they are a part of that rainbow, gay straight or otherwise.

The rainbow is used as a gay symbol not to exclude straight people, or to make a spectacle of ourselves, but to say we are a part of the world and we deserve to be seen.  It’s the same thing as when gay people say things about the transgender community, or the drag community.  They aren’t just some marginal extreme.  They are a part of what we are.  The fight for transgender rights isn’t just about fighting for the right to pee in the restroom of choice any more than marriage rights are just about marriage.  They are both about people saying we are people who have the right to define who we are as we are, even if it makes other people uncomfortable.  Because people’s civil rights are not determined by the comfort level of the majority.  At least it shouldn’t be.  The drag community isn’t just about men dressing as women and women dressing as men.  That is a part of it, but the point is to say there is no shame in a feminine man.  Girly and being like a girl isn’t an insult, it is just another way to be.

This may not be the view of everyone, but if we use the rainbow to represent diversity it should be diversity as a whole.  It should be about saying we will incorporate all people into this concept of pride.  We first used the word pride as a way to counter what society said we should feel; shame and in turn exclusion.  We have pride now, so now we demand what having pride requires; inclusion.  If that’s the case, though the rainbow is ours, it should be meant to represent what it is we are fighting for.  It should be used to show, not just the diversity of the LGBT community, but the future goal of being totally included in every way without conflict into the world community.  In this case I believe in leading by example. 

When I say that straight people should be proud too I am not saying that they need to make a show of “straight pride”, but that we can enjoy our one acceptance of self together, and in that they show support for us.  This may seem convoluted, but I believe our fight for civil rights cannot be fought without the help of the straight community.  That is what the Ally is for.  At that pride booth today I was actually the only member of the LGBT community there.  Out of Eight people trying to raise money to help LGBTQ youth only one was a lesbian. 

So yes, straight pride.  Pride for those straight people who see a woman dressed in all men’s cloths and just sees a person.  Pride for those straight people who see two men kissing and smile because they see two people who found each other.  Straight pride for the grandma who show’s off her grandson who is now her granddaughter with a smile of how pretty she is.  Straight pride for the Ally.  Straight pride for the person who is willing to put their hat into a fight that will in no way directly benefit their day-to-day lives, but simply wants to do the right thing.  When we do see the day when Pride is no longer needed you will have made the difference.  

Oh, and sis.  I colored your quote purple just for you.