Or Maybe a Brick

During a discussion about World Pride 2025 being in D.C. this year, someone offhandedly said: “What if Trump decides to cancel it?” That brought me up short, because we’ve all thought the same thing at some point this year. This administration is hateful enough — and vindictive enough — to do just that. They’ve already refused to recognize Pride this year, and the Velveeta Voldemort has gone out of his way to target the queer community.

But that got me wondering: what would happen if you told an estimated 3 million queer individuals “no”? Would they take that in stride and come anyway? Would a lot of people cancel? (Some already have, but out of concern about being able to get in and out of the country.) Or would that be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?

Scenario 1 – Participants just go home early, disappointed at the turn of events. Or they don’t come at all. Guess that would depend on when that shoe drops. However, given that a lot of people have already paid for airfare and lodging, going to D.C. and having a nice vacation wouldn’t be terrible. Just not nearly as festive.

Scenario 2 – Organizers turn World Pride into the largest protest in history. You’ve got a few million members of the queer community and allies already in town. A little civil disobedience might go a long way. ACT UP was known for staging die-ins during the AIDS crisis. I have no doubt a few die-ins and sit-ins across D.C. would have a huge impact. Nothing like shutting down an entire city to get the world’s attention.

Scenario 3 – Queers decide they’ve had enough, and what started out as peaceful takes a turn. That wouldn’t be the first time the queer community was flat-out pissed off. The Compton’s Cafeteria Riots and Stonewall are both reminders that we aren’t afraid of picking up a coffee cup — or a brick — and expressing our outrage. The White Night Riots following Harvey Milk’s assassin being found guilty of manslaughter showed the community has a tipping point. Twelve torched police cars later, that point was well made.

But is the community ready for that?

So much protest has given way to legislative arenas where we might have more impact on laws that affect the queer community. Would early activists have imagined that was possible — or that we would have queer legislators, including in Congress? In the ‘60s and ‘70s, I’m sure that was a distant hope. To have Milk elected as a Supervisor in San Francisco was momentous.

Yet I can’t help thinking we may have forgotten how to protest — or what that might mean. If push comes to shove, are we ready to get arrested? Tear-gassed? I’m fine with non-violent protest, and MLK and Gandhi are prime examples of how effective that can be. However, as the rioters during the White Night Riots showed, we might need a little more to get our point across.

Luckily for the queer community — and probably the D.C. police — World Pride went off mostly as planned. The administration did manage to alter some plans and scare off a few sponsors. However, no one had to pick up a stone. Or a brick. But it wouldn’t have been the first time if someone had — and something tells me we may have to again.