This is a special place and today was a special day. Our community came together in support of our library staff and in support of each other. A very righteous Christian woman(I'll call her Ms. X) lodged a complaint against a display of "Gay Pride" flags behind the library desk. She was very upset that these flags have been on display for 16 months, long after it was appropriate for Gay Pride month. As a woman who follows God and Jesus in all things in her life, it was very wrong for a public facility to display a symbol that represented minorities and to further the attempt to "indoctrinate" our young people into their lifestyle. Ms. X made a point of only facing the Board of Trustees and not the audience. Not surprised.
She arrived with a contingent of church going supporters (approximately 6 or 7) and was met with a meeting room filled over capacity (maybe 75?) of LGBTQ community members and allies. As the first speaker to follow her, I noted that everyone did not share her religious views on this issue; after I said that, Ms. X and all 6 or 7 of her supporters got up and left the room. I guess that's the Christian way of saying "F*** You!" After my talk, 5 others spoke briefly on the same topic and eloquently and passionately offered their support of diversity and inclusion. After the meeting, a young man was outside distributing colorful pride pins, stickers and cupcakes. The love and support was tangible and overwhelming.
I try hard to understand Ms. X's thought processes and her reactions to the event today. Initially I would guess anger is the predominant emotion. She sees all of us as a group of miscreants, misfits, sinners, and anything but Christian(of course, I'm Jewish but I guess that's not relevant at all). I don't know if she realized that the Priest of Grace Episcopal Church and many of her parishioners were present and not to support her. Probably wouldn't matter; I'm guessing Episcopalians don't count (they're almost as bad as Catholics). Was she embarrassed? Did she gain any insight? I'm guessing neither. Since she didn't stay to hear us, she lost an educational opportunity.
Will she come back to the library? Will she come back to the water aerobics class at the Y (several members of today's audience are in that class)? Only time will tell. For the rest of us, this is a new beginning to fight for the right of all people to be who they are, proud and out loud!
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