\u201cEvery single American \u2014 gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transgender \u2014 every single American deserves to be treated equally in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of our society. It\u2019s a pretty simple proposition.\u201d \u2014 former President Barack Obama<\/p>\n
As two gray, straight white guys who grew up on different sides of the Reagan \u201980s, David Snyder and I might have been judged an odd couple to show up at Sunday\u2019s Pride flag raising at Scranton City Hall.<\/p>\n
As it turned out, no one judged us at all. We were welcomed with open arms and warm smiles, just as I expected. David didn\u2019t know what to expect, which is mostly why I invited him.<\/p>\n
Regular readers know David is a reformed Trump voter who left the Republican Party after the Jan. 6 domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol. Reagan was the first president he voted for and he spent most of his adult life as a Constitutional conservative whose world view was warped by years of consuming Fox \u201cNews\u201d and other right-wing propaganda.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of Trump\u2019s failed coup, David and I met for coffee and instantly found common ground as fellow Americans who share more core values than political differences. We became fast friends and have learned a lot from each other. As Bob Dylan so eloquently opined, \u201cWe always did feel the same\/We just saw it from a different point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n
I enjoy David\u2019s company in any setting, but I also value his perspective on experiencing events like Sunday\u2019s gathering. For most of his life, a Pride flag raising was the last place you\u2019d bump into him. I thought of inviting David based on his reply to a Facebook meme I shared. Its message:<\/p>\n
\u201cThings people do not choose: Sexual orientation; gender identity; appearance; disability; mental illness; race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings people do choose: To be a (bleep) to people over things they can\u2019t control.\u201d<\/p>\n
David\u2019s reply: \u201cThis is probably one of the most important things I\u2019ve learned since I\u2019ve pulled back from hardcore Republicanism to a more moderate, right-of-center Independent.\u201d<\/p>\n
As we strolled toward City Hall, the moderate, right-of-center independent lamented the \u201cbill of goods\u201d he and other conservatives were sold about the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who ask, \u2018Why is there a ceremony for \u2018that flag?,\u2019 either don\u2019t understand the history or just refuse to acknowledge it,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom the beginning of American history, this group of people had to hide who they were inside to serve in the military, to have a job or a church to worship in \u2014 really just to survive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always told, \u2018Those people enjoy the same rights as everyone else.\u2019 On paper, maybe, but in reality, it just wasn\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n
When David and I were in high school, being openly queer was dangerous for our peers and \u201cgay\u201d was widely accepted as synonymous with anything perceived as abnormal and undesirable. Sticking up for any classmate\u2019s right to be queer was social suicide.<\/p>\n
Society and government have made great strides forward since, but the Trump regime and its minions in right-wing media and the MAGA base are working overtime to erase that progress. The crowd at Sunday\u2019s eighth annual Pride flag raising showed strong, timely support for the LGBTQ community and the urgent importance of raising \u201cthat flag.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Sen. Bob Casey was there, along with Democratic state Reps. Bridget Kosierowski, Kyle Donahue and Jim Haddock, state Sen. Marty Flynn and city Councilman Sean McAndrew. The mood was jubilant. It was a blessed, sunbaked break from the darkness that dominates the daily headlines. It was an honest-to-God celebration of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.<\/p>\n
Pointing to Scranton\u2019s rich and ever-expanding tradition of ethnic and cultural festivals from the St. Patrick\u2019s Parade and La Festa Italiana to the Bhutanese Dih-Sain Teehar festival and Black Scranton Project<\/a>\u2019s Juneteenth Jubilee Block Party,\u00a0 Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti praised what many said was the Pride flag raising\u2019s largest turnout ever.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to see every single year more and more people want to celebrate their community, share their culture, their way of life with us in the city of Scranton and really anchor Scranton as the beating heart of Northeast Pennsylvania, where people know that they can come and feel welcome no matter who they are, who they love,\u201d she told the joyful crowd of about 100.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it is with just an enormous sense of pride for me as mayor to be able to stand here with you guys on days like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Jessica Rothchild, the first openly gay member of Scranton City Council, was there with her lovely wife and their two young children.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I\u2019m thinking about this month \u2026 I think about how to talk about it with our kids and especially our daughter, who\u2019s 5 now and can understand a bit more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cRecently I was explaining to her why we\u2019re having this flag raising, why we have Pride Month. What I told her was that our family is a little unique. A lot of her friends at preschool, they have a mom and dad and she has two moms, so that seems a little different to them, and we are actually part of a whole beautiful community known as the LGBTQ community. And this is really an important month to us and a chance for us to celebrate that community and who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n If only all alleged adults could embrace this basic message as readily as the half-dozen happy children decorating the City Hall steps with rainbow chalk as the Pride flag rose toward a beautiful blue sky.<\/p>\n Celebrating Pride Month<\/p>\n Upcoming Pride Month events include a \u201cShow Your Colors Vigil<\/a>\u201d June 14 (Flag Day) at 3 p.m. on Courthouse Square in Scranton. Organizers said the vigil is intended to send a clear message: \u201cWe are here, we belong, and we will not be pushed back into the shadows.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a pretty simple proposition.<\/p>\n