Pride is a celebration for all – Daily Mountain Eagle

James Phillips

Eyeglasses are a thing for me. Most people recognize me by the thick, black frames, kind of like Clark Kent. That fits because I am a newspaperman, and I can have a big enough ego to think Im Superman some days.

Despite my fondness of the thick, black frames, I have picked up a few more pairs of frames in the last several months. I have a glow-in-the-dark pair, a pair of woodgrain glasses and a prescription set of aviator shades with mirrored lenses. My glasses that get the most comments in public lately are rainbow frames with the phrase Love Wins etched into the side of the frames.

Im wearing the rainbow frames every day in June as my own personal celebration of Pride.

Some of you probably slammed the brakes after that last sentence. Why is this straight, married guy with five kids celebrating Pride?

Pride isnt just for people in the LGBTQ+ community. Pride is a celebration of individuality, and Im afraid that is a trait that is so often looked down upon, especially in the Bible Belt. We were all created as unique beings, but we try so hard to simply fit into the herd. By we, I mean some of you guys, because I typically stand out as quite different.

Being straight at Pride is 100 percent ok. Our family fits in at a Pride event just as much as anyone, because no one has to pretend they are something theyre not.

A little history about Pride is that it is held in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969. Google that for more information. In recent years, Pride events have popped up in most major cities, including nearby areas such as Birmingham and Huntsville. Some friends of mine started a Pride event in Starkville, Miss., a couple of years ago.

My first ever interaction with a Pride event was back in 1999. It was our honeymoon, and we showed up at Disney World on the final day of Pride Week. For a kid from Empire, Ala., who was just fine with people being who they wanted to be, but had limited personal interaction with LGBTQ+ people at the time, it was interesting to say the least.

By happenstance, my next Pride event was when I found myself in the middle of New Orleans Pride in June 2014. My wife and I were eating at a restaurant in the French Quarter when I saw the biggest rainbow streamer that you could ever imagine floating down the street. I had to check out what was happening, so I went outside, and it was a massive parade. I hurried back in and told the waiter to just bring the food when it was ready but we were going outside to watch the parade. The people in the parade were so happy. They were themselves, and there was no judgment from anyone. It was a fun time, and we caught an incredible number of beads.

I mentioned that big rainbow going down the street in New Orleans. Many people in our area can get bent out of shape by the fact that gay and lesbian people use a rainbow flag as their symbol. The colors of the flag reflect the diversity of LGBTQ+ people. It isnt a group of people trying to steal the rainbow from God. It is a group of people trying to show we can all be who we created to be and live in harmony.

My support for the LGBTQ+ community is something Ive been outspoken about for years. Our family has friends on every part of that communitys wide spectrum. I would do anything for my friends, so taking a stand that might be unpopular in our area is something I consider to be a small sign of my allegiance and advocacy.

While I have said Pride is an event for everyone, it is a celebration started and still mainly focused on the fight for equal rights for people of all walks of life, but specifically the LGBTQ+ community. If you go to a Pride event, do not forget that. You may see some things that you consider crazy or unusual, but just go with it and have fun.

Promote Respect, Inclusion and Dignity for Everone is PRIDE. How can we not support that idea? All of us want basic human rights. Being respectful, inclusive and showing dignity to everyone seems like a pretty easy way to grant those rights. It also sounds an awful lot like the Golden Rule that all our grandparents tried to teach us.

Happy Pride!

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James Phillips is editor and publisher of the Daily Mountain Eagle. He is not LGBTQ+, but he has dressed in drag several times, mostly charitable events, and it is not a pretty sight. Phillips may be contacted at 205-221-2840 or james.phillips@mountaineagle.com.

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Pride is a celebration for all - Daily Mountain Eagle