John R. Fischer

From “Straight Pride” to boycotts of Bud Light and other brands that publicly support LGBTQ+ communities, right wing groups go out of their way every year to condemn queer people to hell and brainwash others with twisted bible verses and bogus conspiracy theories that Pride is an evil, Satanic and deplorable time that imposes danger and inflicts grevious harm on those who indulge in it.

And you better believe they will not waste a moment to using what unfolded this weekend at NYC Pride to fuel these false narratives in years to come.

Around 7:45 pm ET on Sunday, a man at the Pride afterparty in Washington Square Park inflicted minor injuries on six people using bear spray, a deterrant that can be three times more toxic than pepper spray and used to ward off wild bears. The attack spooked others in the park, leading to a stampede that injured nearly 50 people, according to Gothamist.

The man, identified as Dominic Sabator, of Harlem, told police he was afraid of being attacked, reported United Press International. It was not revealed why he thought he would be attacked. He was arrested on charges of assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a noxious chemical.

Hours later, at around 10:15 PM ET, the Stonewall Inn, the infamous site of the 1969 police raid that led to the launch of Pride and the gay rights movement the following year, was the site of a shoot out between two rival gangs. Police confirmed that the shootings were not related to Pride events or the LGBTQ+ community.

A 16-year-old girl pulled a 9-mm on a man she recognized and fired at him. While the man was unharmed, one of the bullets went through a 17-year-old girl’s left leg and into her right thigh. The man then brandished his own gun and shot at the 16-year-old, hitting her in the head. She was transported to the hospital where she remains in critical but stable condition. The 17-year-old was also taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, and police confirmed another 17-year-old seen on video with the group before the altercation was treated for a stab wound to the chest and a punctured lung. The man fled the scene and has not been identified. No motive for the double shooting has been established.

Luckily, no deaths have been reported in either incident…so far.

First and foremost, my heart goes out to all those who were injured during the parade. I cannot imagine how frightening an experience that was and the resulting PTSD that I expect many will suffer for years to come as an unfair consequence. I hope – but am not confident, unfortunately – that the city does everything in its power to get these people the help they need.

I also was at Washington Square Park earlier in the day but left around 5:30 pm because I wanted to be home to facetime with a friend, away from the noise. I also thought about going to the Stonewall Inn that night but decided against it because I had work in the morning. I am thankful that fate was on my side.

However, for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community, these events will be thrown at them time and again by those who stand against us. Many religious fanatics and right-wing figures and media outlets will try to mislabel these events as proof that we and Pride pose a danger to society. We must do all that we can to prevent these distortions for ourselves and for many others who cannot be themselves due to the dangers they face in their communities.

As New Yorkers, I feel we often take for granted how fortunate we are to be in a city that is pro-LGBTQ+. Yes, there are issues, but we are way better off than those living in conservative states as well as in countries where being gay can land you in jail or get you killed. Because of this, we stand as a shining example of the true purpose and meaning of Pride, that being your authentic self is not something to be condemned or ashmed of but to be loved, accepted and celebrated. We therefore must do everything in our power to uphold this image so that others can learn from us.

I know it may seem futile at times but slowly, these fearful and ignorant attitudes are being chipped away at because of how we conduct ourselves. As a result, it is our duty, on behalf of our queer brothers and sisters who cannot speak out, to ensure events like this do not happen again.

How do we do this you might ask? It starts with understand that we must be responsible for ourselves. What upsets and frustrates me most is the failure on the part of our government, police force and ourselves to learn from past mistakes. For instance, I have attended Pride at Washington Square Park over the last two years. Each of those times, a stampede occurred due to a false alarm that shots were fired, only for people to then return to the park five minutes later when it was revealed that a miscommunication ensued and there was no imminent danger.

Why did these events not lead to more processes in place to ensure protection during Pride? Why do we not have screening protocols in place to ensure people are not carrying weapons and other dangerous items? Yes, screening may be a hassle due to having to stand in a line in the hot sun but it’s better than winding up in the emergency room traumatized and physically injured.

As for the shooting, police confirmed that it was in no way related to Pride or the LGBTQ+ community. Conor Weiss, who has lived in the Village near the Stonewall Inn since 1987, told the Gothamist that “this is the first time in all the years I’ve lived here that I’ve even heard about anything close to this violence happening on Gay Pride Day, certainly in this neighborhood.”

What gets me is why this 16-year-old woman was out on the street at all, seeing as she was arrested twice in June for armed robbery but released, according to Gothamist. She also was not listed in the NYPD’s gang database. I admit I am not sure what the law here is but it seems to me that someone arrested for one, let alone, two armed robberies should not be allowed out on to the streets. They should either be behind bars or if possible, in a rehabilitation program.

I often wonder if the lack of protections is due to an attitude of ambivalence from those around us in the LGBTQ+ community. While these attacks do not appear to be homophobic in nature (though we’re still waiting for more details, so let’s not assume anything yet), they do echo a lack of sense of disregard from government officials and authorities. It’s as though these people say, “Hey, we give the gays a day, so of course we’re allies.”

No, you are not allies. You are so-called “Allies for a day” and not even good ones because you fail to learn from past mistakes and do more to enforce protections for LGBTQ+ people. I am not saying that everyone in government or the police force is like this. There are genuine people who do care. But there are also those who could not care less.

And it is this lack of care that is leading to these problems, as well as our own failure to do what is necessary to protect ourselves. If we are to prevent events like this from happening again and from crazy right-wing groups from using them to condemn Pride, we must step up and do what is necessary. If the authorities and government will not, then we have to, even if it means devoting our own money, time and resources.

The Stonewall riots were the gateway to the world that we live in today, one that is far less hostile and scary than the one Queer brothers and sisters on that very night in 1969 endured. But there is still more progress that needs to be done to prevent situations like this from occurring at Pride or any other event throughout the year against anyone.

If there is one lesson I’ve learned over the years at Pride, it’s that our community is a powerhouse and that we can do anything when we come together, including protect our own. Queer historical events like the Stonewall Riots are a reminder that there is strength in numbers, and our numbers are big and growing every day as more queer individuals, young and old, embrace their true authentic selves and come out of the closet. And that is because of examples like Pride in cities like New York.

Okay. I know I’ve been hard on the cops and government in this piece so far, and while what I said was true, I know that within these institutions there are many trying to do their best and navigate a complex legal system full of loopholes that allow offenders like that teenage girl to get out on to the street after threatening armed robbery.

Events like this is another reason why we have to continue to lobby for stricter laws that will override these loopholes and keep us safe from people who pose harm. From stricter gun control to better tracking of dangerous individuals and criminals, we must demand more be done to protect our community and society. That after all is the very reason why we march every year during Pride.

We also must do our best to make people feel less afraid at Pride and address behavioral challenges or stress that can make people a danger to themselves or others. Most of all, we need to take responsibility for our own safety and set up protections. At the end of the day, you cannot rely solely on the help of others and have to do everything in your power to protect yourself and your loved ones and community.

It is only together, queers and allies that we can keep our community safe and win against the right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ activists who, due to their ignorant fears and deliberate choice not to understand or get to know us, go out of their way to try to keep us and in turn, future queer babies from being our authentic selves and having Pride!

If there is one thing we can take away this year at the end of Pride Month, it’s that events like this are not an anomaly but a wake up call to do more and do better. They are far more frequent in other places, and we as New Yorkers, queer and allies, must set the standard for what is okay and what is not to do our part in helping to end these atrocities elsewhere. Happy Pride!