On that Black Lives Matter Protest at Pride Toronto

I support the Black Lives Matter protest during yesterday’s Pride parade, although I fear that the tactics used has alienated and turned off many members of the LGBTQ community, who were otherwise allies.

That’s sad, and I’m not sure it was necessarily the best course of action.

I also support the Toronto Police Service, OPP and RCMP, who have become important partners for progress in Canada.

While there is much more work to do (mainly in the trans and black queer communities), their presence at Pride — marching alongside us — is critical to this movement.

I’m glad our men and women in uniform were reminded yesterday that their job ans efforts are far from over.

The way forward is not to devalue or continue to marginalize voices within our community. At the same time, the way forward is not the removal of the police. Both of these ideas are missing the point.

Lastly, Pride has never been and will never be just a party. It was born out of necessity, a reaction, a protest, a march demanding fairness and respect… and oftentimes it was ugly, violent and disruptive.

So if you’re upset because you were inconvenienced yesterday, for an entire 45 minutes, please take a moment to remember our history.

And let’s take good care of one another.