Australian Politics

Pride isn’t a big party. It literally started as a political protest against a socierty and system - including cops - that wanted us gone and wanted us dead.

I don't believe I've tried to tell anyone what Pride is? I've never seen it first-hand and I'd certainly never try to tell someone who is a part of that community what it is or isn't. I do think it could be a party and a form of protest at the same time, though. All the photos I've seen shared from Pride events from friends' feeds sure show a lot of people having a great time. So, it certainly looks like a party. Yes, police actions at the start of Pride are horrible. There's no defending any of that. Cops weren't a part of Pride in those years, though.

Cops aren’t being oppressed.

I think this de-humanises the queer cops. They're queer. They're cops. To say a queer person isn't being oppressed because they're a cop is like saying they're not being oppressed because they're white. Sure, but they're still being oppressed for being queer.

And it’s nothing like DADT - that comparisons is ridiculous to the point of actual offense. You can stop being a cop. You can’t stop your sexuality.

And a soldier can stop being a soldier. I don't think telling people they can be queer or a cop is fair for anyone. And it sounds to me like this is what's being called for. 'You can be in our community, but only if you hide the fact that you're also in that other community'. Imagine the reverse: If the NSW Police force told queer cops they couldn't be out, everyone would be outraged. Frankly, I don't see how this situation is any different.

Especially in NSW where they actively dropped, denied, buried and actively participated in hate crime murders.

I don't know a lot about the history of this - are we talking about the 70's and 80's? If so, I don't understand how the present generation are being blamed for those actions. Nobody on the force today was a cop in those years. If Pride is also a statement about present police actions, then surely you want to see people trying to change those actions? Wouldn't you want to encourage and support the cops trying to change attitudes from within? As I said, I think that by excluding them from the march, you're telling them that you'll hate them for being cops no matter what they do and they shouldn't even bother trying to bring change.

Eh. Ultimately I have no dog in this race and am not affected by any of this. I regret saying anything, as I'm clearly not going to change any minds on this. I am only speaking up on the topic because to an outsider, it looks like the Pride organisers are doing what they're accusing everyone else of doing: oppressing queer people.