Pride Parade 2019
My wife and I recently attended the Columbus Pride Parade. What a difference from a number of years ago when it first started in Columbus, Ohio.
According to an article I was reading ( https://columbuspride.org/parade/ ) the first parade was in 1981 and had about 200 people who attended. The article said some of the people actually wore bags over their heads so they would not be identified.
Then it showed the numbers from last year and wow, what a difference. The records show there were over 200 groups which included 12,000 people marching and around 500,000 in attendance. Today had to be as many if not more. ( https://www.nbc4i.com/news/half-a-million-show-up-for-columbus-pride-parade/ ). The parade was a 2 mile route through the heart of downtown Columbus and it took 2 hours from start to finish.
It is good to see that people are no longer worried about being themselves. Thank God they no longer even think about wearing a bag over their head. People can participate in the parade or just come together to enjoy the activities and be themselves. No reason to hide or feel ashamed. It felt good being around so many people who felt free to be themselves and know they were accepted just as they were.
Yet, it is sad even in these days with the improvements and openness that there is still such terrible treatment of many of the LGBTQ people. It seems things are getting better, then we hear of terrible treatment, discrimination, condemnation, judgment, hatred and murder. These things ought not to be.
Even more sad is the fact that often such treatment comes from many christian people and organizations. Christians, those who are supposed to be known for their love, are often guilty of hatred and terrible speech against LGBTQ. Even along this parade route were small groups of people holding up their signs saying God hates and marriage is between one man, one woman etc. Fortunately, no one got out of hand but it was sad to see those who so plainly identified themselves as christians hold signs that so plainly showed judgment and hatred.
Overall it was a good day. So many people, such a diverse array of social and cultural representation. People who are human beings just like the people who stood across the street holding their signs. Why is it we cannot accept one another and love one another in our differences. There is no reason for the judgment, condemnation and hatred that is shown to those who are LGBTQ. There is no reason to treat others in a way that causes so much heartache, depression and even suicide among those who just want to be accepted the way they were created.
I have to say it was encouraging to see a few church groups participate in an affirming way and to see people walking around in tee shirts that said free dad hugs and free mom hugs. We watched awhile and noticed there were many who seemed to enjoy having someone just give them a big hug and talk to them for a few minutes.
In our world today it is time to stop the discrimination, the judgment and condemnation and all the hatred. Especially as christians it is time we come to show the love of God to everyone. Just because we are different in some ways does not mean we are different as human beings. As followers of Jesus we are to love God and love one another. Nothing more is asked of us, nothing more is needed. When we love God and love one another everyone gets treated equally and fairly. I would love to see this happen in our world. I continue to pray more and more people will see it this way. Each day my wife and I want to do our part to be examples and hopefully help others see that loving others is a much better way of life.
