Editor,

I’m writing in response to Mabel Hanson’s (June 17) letter decrying the flying of pride flags during the month of June to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. She questions whether this is simply virtue signaling and feels that recognizing the LGBTQ+ community for a month is a slap in the face to other groups because we’re only recognizing what LGBTQ+ people do in their bedrooms.

Yes, Ms. Hanson, it would be great if the history of all oppressed and marginalized groups were recognized on a greater scale but Pride Month in no way diminishes the importance of that. And, no, it’s not about recognizing the LGBTQ+ community for what we do in our bedrooms. It’s about standing up for our basic rights to love, to live free of fear and to celebrate the diversity that enriches our world.

LGBTQ+ people have been victims of persecution for centuries. We’ve been burned at the stake (hence the offensive term “faggot”). We’ve been sent to the gas chambers by the Nazis. We’ve been called perverts, pedophiles and corruptors of society. We’ve been imprisoned by the government, vilified by religious leaders, bullied in schools, beaten, raped and killed for who we are.

The toll on queer youth has been especially brutal. Rates of suicide and depression in this group are more than double that of their peers when they’ve been told repeatedly that they are immoral and unworthy.

We have fought hard for our rights, and we have won many battles. Yet these hard-won victories are currently under attack. Books about our history and our lives are being banned in libraries across the country. Trans youth are being denied life-affirming care that elevates prejudice over medical science. Hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people have increased dramatically in the past few years.

And still we survive, and we thrive, and we stand tall and proud — and we live in love. Pride Month? We deserve a full season.

Jeff Natter

Langley