Happy Pride Month to LGBTQ+ persons across the country and everywhere! I see you. I appreciate you. I want you to be happy, safe, and authentically you, always. You contribute to society in meaningful, fabulous ways, and I'm proud to stand with you as you celebrate your culture and history.

And, don't worry haters, I see you too! Every year there's a segment of society living in ignorance which feels the need to shit all over Pride by saying things like "WHAT ABOUT THE MILITARY? WHY DO GAYS GET A MONTH BUT OUR MILITARY GETS NOTHING? I'M UNREASONABLY MAD ABOUT THAT, AND BEING MAD SHOWS EVERYBODY I'M A REAL AMERICAN PATRIOT!!"

So here we go...

1. May was National Military Appreciation Month.
2. November is Veterans and Military Families Month.
3. Which is to say that Pride Month isn't taking away anything from our troops being recognized.
4. If you really want to recognize our troops in June, nobody is stopping you. I used to collect foods and snacks so I could send care packages to soldiers every month. The site I used for this was AnySoldier.com, which shut down last year. So now I donate to the USO Care Package Program and Operation Gratitude.
5. Which is to say that if you need a "recognition month" in order to recognize our troops, that's on you. You can do something to support and recognize troops every month if you want. So attacking an important time for LGBTQ+ persons "for the troops" is just performative nonsense.

And for religious haters who find joy in condemning Pride Month as celebrating sin... go right ahead. This is America, after all. But you should know that your highly selective reading of the Bible and your non-contextual interpretation of those passages which you weaponize against LGBTQ+ persons is an incredibly sad way to live as a "Christian," and you really need to read deeper into your Bible for the ultimate message Jesus was trying to teach us. I'm not a Christian, but have been in a Bible study group for the past 22 years. Studying historical context, language translation context, and the different interpretations of Scripture has been an eye-opening experience I highly recommend.

But anyway...

Happy Pride to all who celebrate!