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With Pride: The Unwelcome Bigots at the Parade


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"Everyone's happy, everyone's just joyous to be here," Pumper, club member of Sapphic Riders, at this year’s London Pride March.

The sun was bright and hot, the crash barriers were all in place and the pavements were filled with spectators, as the 2024 London Pride march slowly but brightly moved through the capital. Yet, at the beginning of the march, was a small but noisy group of bigots trying to shout down the parade.

Eight Christian protesters, stood at the beginning of this year’s London Pride march, surrounded by several police officers in a fenced-off section next to the parade route, shouting abuse at the marchers. Their banners’ proclaimed: “Men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet” and “be not proud for the lord hath spoke… a man’s pride shall bring him low” (??). As, a man in the group, using a loudspeaker, shouted at the people in the parade. Their presence wasn’t warmly received. Marchers, as they passed the bigots, they flipped their middle fingers at the group and drowned them out with chants.

Why where those people there? What did they think they’d achieve? Did they really expect marchers to turn away from their “wicked ways” and join them in their protest? If they wanted people to hear their “message” and become Christians, why where they being so offensive and rude? Shouting homophobia at a Pride march is no way to persuade people to join your religion, so why do they do it?

Every year, the London Pride march has a group of bigots, standing somewhere along the route, shouting abuse at the people marching by. At last year’s march, Pride 2023, the cast of Heartstopper, from their float, flipped the middle finger and shouted back to anti-LGBTQ+ religious protesters, to the delight of other marchers. But why do these Christian homophobes do it? What do they think the result will be? All they do is make marchers angry and hurl abuse back at them. But is that the point?

When I was an Evangelical Christian, way back in my teenage years, Christian leaders and ministers repeatedly told me the world hated me just for being a Christian. It was such a bunker mentality; we were “hated” because we were right. The more we were “hated”, therefore the more we were right. It ignored the fact that maybe people hated us because we had deliberately upset them. I was repeatedly told the story of the early Christians being thrown to the lions in the ancient Roman Colosseum, for the “entertainment” of the Emperor. The story was, those early Christians had such strong faiths that they were changing the Roman world, and the Emperor and the pagans were afraid of them, that’s why they were being thrown to the lions. There was no mention that they were easy socio/economic scapegoats and even easier victims. But this victim narrative was very strong, if non-Christians dislike you and are angry at what you say then you are a strong Christian. I knew Christians, back then, who would say deliberately offensive and upsetting things to prove how strong their faith was.

This seems to be the mentality behind these Christians, screaming their homophobia to Pride marchers, showing “the world” how strong their Christian faith is, how they are not afraid of the lions heathens Pride marchers. It certainly doesn’t seem to be any attempt to convert any of the marchers. Their hate-filled shouting and truly obscure and nonsensical banners don’t present them as an attractive or even welcoming religion. Their behaviour is 100% off-putting.

Those homophobic protesters are the pimple on the bum of London Pride, the annoying little voices trying to ruin a wonderful day. But there were only eight of them, compared to the approximately 1.5 million people who attended this year’s London Pride and the 32,000 who took part in the march, so why worry about them? Because their homophobia is still tolerated, even allowed in public, and homophobia doesn’t end with just shouted words and poorly worded banners. During this year’s Pride month, we saw numerous acts of homophobia. Pride flags, painted on the pavement in Forest Gate, East London, were vandalised and completely painted over with red paint. A banner advertising Pride in Luton was ripped down and destroyed three times (7). Homophobic and Transphobic violence stands at a five year high. I am not saying those eight people were responsible for all these acts of homophobia, but their words certainly encourage them, whether those people will admit it or not. Such loud and public displays of homophobia will only encourage others who want to act upon it.

Why do we allow this public display of hate at every London Pride march? We wouldn’t tolerate bigots shouting racist abuse at Notting Hill Carnival. We certainly don’t tolerate antisemitism. Police previously removed far-right protestors from challenging a march against antisemitism. The police have dispersal powers were they can remove people causing an offence or nuisance from a certain area, for up to 48 hours. They were very quick to use these powers on antimonarchist protestors at the King’s coronation, and they were only holding up placards saying “Not My King”. If I stood outside the Evangelical Christian Spring Harvest festival, with a megaphone, shouting at people about their homophobia, I am sure I would be quickly removed by the police.

Why do we still tolerate bigots shouting homophobia at London Pride marchers? Why do we still give Evangelical Christians an easy pass on their homophobia?

Drew.

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Drew Payne

Posted

  On 7/22/2024 at 4:51 PM, Mikiesboy said:

That isn't good.

We don't go to Pride because of the protests.. first BLM shut down a parade a few years ago for many reasons, including the fact that Gay police officers were present. My Husband was still a police officer then. He was unhappy that Toronto Pride agreed with BLM and Gay Police would not be allowed to be in the parade.  He won't go back.

This year, the parade started, and it too was shut down by some group called the Coalition Against Pinkwashing. They want Toronto Pride to cut ties with companies they think have ties in Gaza. And they don't want the Toronto police there.  Like Toronto Pride can do any of that.  It's unbelievable.
Police have the power to remove these people, but Toronto Pride chose not to ask for that.

I wish all these protesters would buzz off. The Christians at yours aren't very Christian, are they?  If they think Gay people are misled, wrong, confused, influenced by Satan, etc.. wouldn't the proper thing be to offer their services? Reach out to 'help' rather than judge and condemn. Perhaps they have forgotten their own scripture:  Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.   Matthew 7 1-2

So prepare, judgemental Christians...God is watching you too.

I hope things get better!

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Last year Just Stop Oil disrupted London's Pride March, before that we had TERFs disrupting it too. It makes me so angry when they do this because they are ignoring the history of London Pride. For so many years, in the 1970s and 80s, we had to fight to have the march, and the police presence was so heavy as if we were a danger to the general public.

But Evangelical Christians, screaming their hate, really get to me. They want to strip us of our hard won rights and they want us to cease being - their conversion shit. Yet they are still tolerated and allowed to shout their hate by the police. They get a free pass on their hatred.

Hate breeds hate, and I want that we stop tolerating and making excuses for it.

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Mikiesboy

Posted

  On 7/23/2024 at 8:13 PM, Drew Payne said:

Last year Just Stop Oil disrupted London's Pride March, before that we had TERFs disrupting it too. It makes me so angry when they do this because they are ignoring the history of London Pride. For so many years, in the 1970s and 80s, we had to fight to have the march, and the police presence was so heavy as if we were a danger to the general public.

But Evangelical Christians, screaming their hate, really get to me. They want to strip us of our hard won rights and they want us to cease being - their conversion shit. Yet they are still tolerated and allowed to shout their hate by the police. They get a free pass on their hatred.

Hate breeds hate, and I want that we stop tolerating and making excuses for it.

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Michael, my husband, is English from the East Midlands. He follows the news from back home.  He's told me about those Just stop oil morons. I was happy to hear lots of them are off to jail.  Not for Pride, I'm sure, but at least they are not being put up with. Idiots.

Yeah, those Christians. It would be nice if they could be removed. I don't think they can be reasoned with; they must be banned. Is there any way London Pride can have them banned?  It's hate speech, after all; surely that is illegal.

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Gary L

Posted

A very interesting piece.  Thank you Drew.   The discussion in the comments is also v thought-provoking.  Well done all. 

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Drew Payne

Posted

  On 7/23/2024 at 10:43 PM, Mikiesboy said:

Michael, my husband, is English from the East Midlands. He follows the news from back home.  He's told me about those Just stop oil morons. I was happy to hear lots of them are off to jail.  Not for Pride, I'm sure, but at least they are not being put up with. Idiots.

Yeah, those Christians. It would be nice if they could be removed. I don't think they can be reasoned with; they must be banned. Is there any way London Pride can have them banned?  It's hate speech, after all; surely that is illegal.

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I want those Evangelical Christians, who shout hate at LGBTQ events, to be treated the same by the police as other protestors. They are so often given such an easy pass. At this year's Pride, the police had created a special area where they could shout their hate from.

I don't like Just Stop Oil, they're self-indulgent and self-righteous middle-class people, who think they are "doing their part" in fighting climate change. Their "protests" aren't directed at oil firms and the politicians supporting them, they don't glue themselves to the doors of oil company HQs. Instead they disrupt ordinary people's lives by blocking roads and such. They need to read the Act-Up handbook of civil disobedience, you don't piss off the public. I agree with them being prosecuted but the sentences handed down to them are unjustly extreme. They were sentenced to four to five years in prison, the same sentence as for violent disorder, and they are not the same. Their protests certainly got out of hand but they were poorly policed and allowed to do so. No disrespect to your husband, but the London Met Police are crap and just keep failing.

I support the right to protest against injustice but not to disrupt people's lives or to target and persecute minorities. Act-Up were the past masters of it, I just wish people would learn from them.

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Drew Payne

Posted

  On 7/24/2024 at 9:15 AM, Gary L said:

A very interesting piece.  Thank you Drew.   The discussion in the comments is also v thought-provoking.  Well done all. 

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Thank you.

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