Pride started out as a protest against the discrimination and brutalisation of marginalised people, but has since been turned into a festival of rainbow capitalism and corporate greed, with organisers often pairing with the entities who are the current oppressors in society.
One of the most egregious examples of this is the British LGBT awards held this year on the 21st June. Despite just last year having come under serious criticism because of sponsorship by mega polluter Shell, this year they continued with their complete disregard for the queer community by nominating BAE Systems for a workplace inclusivity award.
This of course could not stand, so Shut BAE Down teamed up with Fossil Free Pride, who led the charge against the awards last year, to show them that the Queer community has no place for those who help States slaughter civilians and who ruin our planet. Fossil Free Pride stood in total solidarity with our cause, after all the genocide that Israel is commiting in Gaza with the help of BAE Systems has produced between 46.8 million and 60 million tonnes CO2e – higher than the annual emissions of more than 135 countries. It was an honour and a pleasure to organize this event with them.
As we watched the glammed up guests saunter into The Brewery in central London (a sharp contrast to the torment those in Gaza are suffering) brushing elbows with the war criminals nominated for an award, we made sure to make enough noise to show where the real queer community was that evening. In between the amazing speakers from Shut BAE down, Fossil Free Pride and Queers for Palestine we pumped classic gay tunes and chanted along with the beat of Shania Twain, Madonna and Kylie Minogue (Some favourite chants of the evening included “Hey BAE what do you say, how many gays have you killed today?” “Fuck you BAE, Palestine will be free” and “BAE get out of here, when you’re dead you cant be queer”)
We also had performances from some very talented artists, Palestinian poet Sahd Mahnavi read some of her beautiful work for us, Posey Mehta sang and dancer Pink Lotus performed right in the street right in front of the awards entrance. Who needs an award ceremony with millions pumped into it by genocide enablers and polluters when you can get an even better evening of entertainment right outside!
And we saw the impact of our protest that very night! Stars of the hit TV series “I Kissed a Girl” Eva Adamson and Amy Spalding were both supposed to attend the awards that night but after seeing us outside the venue and stopping for a chat they realised exactly who they would be sharing their evening with and decided the best place to be was with us. Check out our Insta for the pictures of them choosing the right side of history, it would have been just as easy for all the other guests, but I guess they chose glitz and glamour over growing a conscience.
In these dark times, with the LGBT community being used as a weapon against the Palestinian people and Pinkwashing rampant it is important to remember what pride originally was; a protest, a riot against injustice and oppression. Unless we want to see more BAE nominations, Lockheed Martin floats and Barclays rainbow logos we have to bring it back to that original movement. One in which arms companies like BAE Systems are explicitly not welcome.
