Pride organizers say sponsors are pulling back amid DEI rollbacks, economic fears

I believe there can be a place for cops and corps at Pride, but I want to insist that their presence be on the queer community's terms (not event organizers).

The organizations that throw Pride events in major cities are run by people who measure success by the size and scope of their events, not based on squishy ideas like building community or organizing to achieve political results. This has happened gradually over time, as always, through financial influence.

It does cost money to organize big events, and if companies are willing to throw money at Pride, the draw to accept it is very enticing, not to mention persistent in the face of rejection and ever-hungry for more influence.

At the same time, company employees are encouraged to align themselves with Employee Resource Groups within the company, allowing the company to lean on the justification that they're supporting their own employees. However, most ERGs that I've been involved with are there primarily to tow the company line and be inoffensive; to organize cupcake parties featuring rainbow sprinkles during Pride, not pressure the HR team to remove "sex" designations from their job application processes or define standards for gender-inclusive corporate language.

I'd like to see universal guidelines that designate how "ally" organizations can contribute and participate in queer-aligned events in productive and meaningful ways. I'd like those guidelines to be written and maintained NOT by the organizers of major Pride events, but by a coalition of community members aligned with community support and advocacy (ie: the little volunteer org tables at Pride events who are there to provide resources and don't have mountains of free swag to give away).

And cops? That's a harder one. Blanket exclusion should be reserved for organizations that hold foundational animus towards queer people. That argument can certainly be made about police, but I would strongly advocate against any rule that insisted that cops can't participate. Off-duty, plain-clothes participation only (no rainbow colored police cars)? I dunno, but there's middle ground to be found somewhere.

It's wise to offer paths of redemption to people and groups who are redeemable, and if those paths are going to exist, it's up to us to map those paths out. We need more people on our side, and they're not going to find the way back to us themselves.