For a few short hours yesterday I was reminded that we can live in a good world. Indy is like most midwestern "big" cities. We have about 800K people. 6-8 companies are dominant when it comes to employment, cultural sponsorships, endowments, grants, etc). We have a staggering gun violence problem. We are crippled by our GOP super-majority. We have a severe tolerance problem. 1/3
Yesterday saw the return of our main Pride Day event. A 2hr parade followed by an all day festival and 3-stage music event. We have a pretty vibrant and active LGBT+ community and we are staunch allies. So we went. Honestly I was scared. I spent a lot of time looking around me. Trying to be aware. But really if something went down, there really wasn't a whole lot to do to prevent it. Tens of thousands of people were lined along the route. And one person with an AR15 could have killed dozens. 2/3
And there I am with my 10 and 13 yo. cheering on and high-fiving other revelers and thinking "how could ANYONE hate this." Everyone is smiling. Every major company in town and (by my count) 9 churches have contingents of hundreds representing them in the parade. This is unity. This is love. This is inclusion. This is a red-state city sending a message. Right? #pride #LGBT+
(Parade photo Lars Miller Photography)
@MPCavalier awesome MP! I'm very glad ev1 was safe too. I'd be looking over my shoulder frequently too!