Do you celebrate pride? Are you worried about Trump's impacts on it? Tell us.
Do you celebrate pride? Are you worried about Trump's impacts on it? Tell us. | Opinion What does pride mean to you? Can it continue to exist under Trump? Share your opinion below.
Show Caption
Hide Caption
San Francisco Pride faces shortfall as corporate sponsors pull out
Several major companies have opted out of donating to San Francisco Pride this year, such as Anheuser-Busch, Diageo, Nissan, and Comcast.
Do you ever stop to think how much wisdom and guidance is lost when a generation dies?
A project in college opened a mental window into the vibrant tapestry of LGBTQ+ history. It helped me contextualize, for the first time, what pride was.
During the Stonewall riots, under the advocacy of icons like Marsha P. Johnson – a trans woman forced into survival sex by society's rejection of people like her – our predecessors demanded a better tomorrow for the LGBTQ+ people who would come next. In those steamy, riotous June days of the late 1960s, LGBTQ+ history took a turn against the constant police raids of gay bars and spaces and stepped into the sunlight – where we belonged.
Of course, the idea of gay pride and freedom didn't start there. But it didn't end there, either.
The HIV/AIDS crisis, under President Ronald Reagan's apparent disinterest in addressing what was erroneously understood as a disease that only affects gay people, ravaged the LGBTQ+ community. Our queer elders died. There is a whole generation of LGBTQ+ people who are now mentoring the next generation of us without having mentors of their own. They had to slide into the empty bar stools vacated by their predecessors and decide what tomorrow looked like for the rest of us.
Share your opinion: Do your kids know who Trump is? Do you talk about politics at home? Tell us. | Opinion Forum
I'm proud of who I am – but I'm worried about pride
The existential threats continue. President Donald Trump, during his second administration, issued an executive order ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion funding. He issued another executive order banning transgender military members. He has made his intentions in attacking our community clear – and his anti-DEI policies already have corporate sponsors pulling out of major pride events from San Francisco to New York City.
Can Pride Month continue to exist under Trump? Are you worried that he could end the federally recognized celebration altogether? (Take our poll here or scroll down to submit your responses.)
To be represented, to be proud, is to say it to yourself over and over again. It is to say it louder than the people who don't think you deserve to be who you truly are. It is to say it when you're happy, when you're scared. It is to say it loud enough for somebody in the next room to hear and maybe feel themselves represented for the first time. It is to be unflinching and unafraid of who you are – and who you deserve to be.
That's pride to me.
What does pride mean to you?
But it's your turn now. With this latest USA TODAY Forum installment, we want to know: What does pride mean to you? What are your hopes, your fears, your wishes, your moments of joy that make the month what it is? If you're a queer elder, what do you want to say to the younger generation? If you're Gen Z, what questions do you have for the older generation? Here's some more questions to help you get started.
Do you think it's important to have a Pride Month?
Do you agree with pride in its current form or think it should change?
Do you think corporations, business and government should have a role in pride?
Are you worried about how the Trump administration could affect pride?
Are you concerned that the federal government may try to further infringe upon the rights of LGBTQ+ people?
Fill out the form below or email us at forum@usatoday.com with the subject line "Forum Pride Month." We'll use some of your responses as part of our upcoming Forum roundup.
Drew Atkins is a digital producer for USA TODAY and USA TODAY Network Opinion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
16 minutes ago
- CNN
LA protesters and police in standoff as Trump doubles National Guard deployment
Update: Date: 18 min ago Title: Protesters outside US Embassy in Mexico City call for end to immigration raids across the border Content: Protesters in Mexico City staged a demonstration outside the US Embassy on Monday, calling for an end to sweeping immigration raids across the border. Video captured by Reuters showed people waving Mexican and US flags and burning an effigy resembling US President Donald Trump. 'We cannot remain silent as the Trump administration escalates its war on our communities in the United States,' said activist Alejandro Marinero from Migrant Organization Aztlan. 'Immigration policy is not a party issue, but a class issue. It is the tool of a system that seeks to divide us, exploit us and keep us in the shadows to ensure its profits at the expense of our humanity,' he told Reuters. Update: Date: 42 min ago Title: Thousands rally in San Francisco against ICE raids Content: Thousands of people marched through San Francisco's Civic Center and Mission neighborhoods on Monday night in protests that were 'overwhelmingly peaceful,' police said. Demonstrators rallied against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the country and expressed solidarity with immigrant communities, CNN affiliate KGO reported. 'At the very end of the night, two small groups broke off and committed vandalism and other criminal acts,' the San Francisco Police Department said. Police said they detained multiple people who refused to comply with orders, made arrests, and are currently addressing one unresolved situation. 'I'm deeply concerned about what's going on in Los Angeles and all around the country. California, we are better because of our diversity, and for people to be torn away from school graduations, torn away from their children, that's not right. We have to come out here and tell people that's not right,' Holly Minch, who marched with a sign that read 'MELT ICE,' told KGO. The police said they coordinated with public safety agencies under the leadership of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie to 'protect numerous First Amendment actions' in the affected neighborhoods. On Sunday, about 150 people, including some under the age of 18, were arrested near the Immigration Services building. Police said the arrests were made after protesters ignored dispersal orders and engaged in acts of violence and vandalism. Anti-ICE protests have popped up around the country, including in New York, Atlanta, Seattle, Dallas and Louisville. Update: Date: 57 min ago Title: Law enforcement helicopters have been circling above protests, flight tracker shows Content: Helicopters from the LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department circled the areas of Boyle Heights and Little Tokyo throughout the day on Monday, according to data from Flightradar24. Earlier in the night, several police helicopters and a plane deployed by the California Highway Patrol were flying over the downtown area. By midnight, only two police helicopters remained airborne. Since protests erupted over the weekend, authorities have maintained a consistent presence in the air, with multiple helicopters sighted above protest zones all day yesterday. Update: Date: 1 hr 23 min ago Title: In pictures: Protesters clash with police in Downtown Los Angeles on Monday Content: Update: Date: 1 hr 23 min ago Title: Who is protesting in LA? Content: The protests appear divided into separate groups: progressive citizens who felt called to defend the rights of the undocumented, and protesters who appeared determined to drag the city into violent chaos. A senior law enforcement source told CNN that intelligence analysts have been conducting assessments on the crowds that gathered Sunday night. They found the many of the protesters were motivated by the recent immigration raids and disdain for the federal government's deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles. But some protesters, the intelligence source said, fit law enforcement profiles of so-called 'professional rioters,' who continually seek out confrontation with law enforcement. Defending 'La Raza': Unión del Barrio, an organization whose members are dedicated to defending the rights of 'la raza' — or Mexican and indigenous people — within the US, praised the efforts to fight back against ICE and other agencies. The Los Angeles community has 'the moral authority and universal right to defend our people from kidnappings and family separation,' a spokesman said. Toll on vulnerable communities: After being informed ICE agents were questioning workers at a Pasadena hotel, Pablo Alvarado, the co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, began calling for protests to protect vulnerable immigrant communities throughout the city. 'The Pasadena community showed up in large numbers and the message was loud and clear, we don't want to see your armored vehicles, men in masks coming to our communities to pick people up to rip families apart.' But, Alvarado added, he felt the violence that spread throughout the city in response to the raids was tainting their cause. Read the full story. Update: Date: 1 hr 23 min ago Title: Analysis: LA's crisis rests on what Trump does next Content: Donald Trump is talking and acting like an authoritarian as he escalates a constitutional clash with California over his migration crackdown. Much now depends on whether he's simply talking tough or if he's ready to take an already-tense nation across a fateful line in his zeal for strongman rule. On Monday, the president of the United States — the country seen as the world's top steward of democracy for 80 years — endorsed the arrest of the Democratic governor of the nation's most populous state. 'I think it would be a great thing,' Trump said. Trump's decision to deploy troops despite the opposition of California Gov. Gavin Newsom represented the latest example of his willingness to flex extraordinary executive power and marked a break with a first term when he was often talked out of his extreme impulses by establishment officials. For all Trump's multiple previous challenges to the rule of law and democracy, a grave new chapter may be opening. The trajectory of the crisis could now turn on whether Trump follows through on his dictator's theatrics by crossing lines not approached by modern presidents — notably on the use of troops in a law enforcement capacity. It may also rely on the restraint of protesters, who would play into Trump's hands by taking part in more unrest that creates alarming television pictures that can fuel Trump's dystopian rhetoric. Creating or escalating a law-and-order crisis or threat to public security and then using it to justify the use of the military on domestic soil would mirror the methodology of tyrannical leaders throughout history. Read the full analysis. Update: Date: 1 hr 23 min ago Title: Newsom hasn't done anything to warrant arrest, Trump's border czar says Content: White House border czar Tom Homan joined CNN's Kaitlan Collins to discuss comments President Donald Trump made suggesting Homan arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Editorial: Misusing the National Guard — Trump's LA interference with local policing
Always looking to provoke a crisis, Donald Trump has federalized 2,000 soldiers of the California National Guard against the wishes of the state's governor to put down a rebellion in Los Angeles that doesn't exist. And Trump is acting counter to federal law in doing so, which is no surprise for him. After demonstrators gathered in L.A. to protest ICE raids, some idiots in the crowd threw rocks at the immigration law enforcement officers. That's a crime and is not free speech. But the president used the sporadic violence, which was quickly quelled, to overstep his legal authority. On Saturday, he issued a directive claiming: 'To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' Then, latching on to his own word 'rebellion,' he invoked a federal statute, 10 U.S. Code § 12406, covering the National Guard. The law is brief. It says that 'Whenever 1) the United States is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation; 2) there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States; or 3) the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States; the President may call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws.' There's no invasion, there's no rebellion and ICE is able to carry out its functions. And there is no lawlessness in the streets of L.A. that can't be contained by the local L.A. County sheriff's department, which has almost 10,000 sworn and armed deputies and the LAPD, which has almost 9,000 sworn and armed cops. If those law enforcement professionals need help, California Gov. Gavin Newsom could activate the National Guard. But Newsom didn't call up the Guard for backup because the soldiers weren't needed. That Trump went around Newsom, who he 'cleverly' calls 'Newscum,' is something that hasn't been done in 60 years, when Lyndon Johnson federalized the Alabama National Guard in 1965 because segregationist Gov. George Wallace wouldn't protect civil rights demonstrators. There, Wallace was trying to defy the federal courts and the federal government. This is nothing like that. Trump says 'It's about law and order,' but he's the one who is going against the law and against regular order. And he's also talking about bringing in active duty Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton. That is also against the law, 18 U.S. Code § 1385. This statue is just a single sentence: 'Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, or the Space Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.' 'Posse comitatus,' or 'posse' for short, are non-law enforcement persons acting as such. The military cannot be so used on the word of even the president. Trump should relent and demobilize the Guardsmen he wrongly brought into L.A. and let local and state officials secure the streets. _____
Business Insider
27 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Uncle Elon's final report card
All good buddy comedies come to an end. For President Donald Trump and first friend "Uncle Elon" Musk, theirs wrapped up with the same explosive fanfare upon which it started. But now their shared enthusiasm for cutting government waste has morphed into animosity for each other so deep and personal that it's become a textbook case study in management gone wrong. In November, just after Trump's reelection, I asked management experts if Musk could mimic his track record of juicing everything he could out of his lean companies to make the government run more efficiently. They were reluctant to doubt Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, but just as reluctant to think his efficiency tactics at Tesla and X meant he could single-handedly transform the government. I checked back in with some of them in March, six weeks into DOGE's chaotic tenure, after it dismantled USAID and axed tens of thousands of federal workers. They described his management as "clumsy," "wrongheaded," and full of "political recklessness." Now, the breakup of the bromance between two of the world's biggest, boldest personalities is surprising only in that it took so long to unfold and, once it did, moved with the speed that only two social media savvy, chronically online posters could propel. (Musk posted on X more than a dozen times lambasting Trump and his " Big Beautiful Bill" late last week, since deleting some of the most disparaging claims, and Trump suggested Musk might be suffering from "Trump derangement syndrome.") If DOGE is a cautionary tale in how not to manage, it's one from the furthest extreme, marked by a clash between the egos of two of the world's most powerful men that made politics extremely personal. Still there are business lessons to be gleaned even for those of us who run fewer than six companies and have fewer than 220 million social media followers. DOGE has proved "unsuccessful" up to this point, and is so far a "failed venture" for Musk and for the government, says Subodha Kumar, a professor at Temple University's Fox School of Business. It brought "disruption, a lot of delays, a lot of mistrust, and a lot of good people have left the organization," he says. "This kind of damage takes a long time to repair." To date, DOGE has claimed it found $180 billion in savings (Musk in May called DOGE "effective," but "not as effective as I'd like," as the original goal was to save $2 trillion). An analysis in April from nonpartisan research group Partnership for Public Service found that the department's actions could cost as much as $135 billion, an estimate of the costs of the firings, re-hirings, and lost productivity. Meanwhile, the four months Musk spent working taking a chainsaw to the federal government are wrapping up doused in drama that has spilled over to his other companies. After his 130-day post as a special government employee ends, Musk is pointing the blame for government waste back on Trump, skewering the spending bill for being too big and ugly, and endorsing a call to impeach Trump and replace him with Vice President JD Vance (that post has since been deleted). The lesson here is akin to that of two mob bosses of the gangster world who both crave the superior distinction of being the number one boss. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale School of Management leadership professor The escalating tension is just the beginning of a fight that could get worse for Musk, and likely has little benefit for Trump, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale School of Management leadership professor who has studied Trump for decades and advised presidents, tells me in an email. DOGE, he notes, overpromised savings and may actually cost US taxpayers more when it comes to rehiring costs, repairing systems, and weakened cybersecurity. As WIRED reported last week, DOGE is hiring, and even has reached out to technologists who formerly worked for the government. Musk's involvement with the DOGE proved tumultuous for his businesses from the start. His personal wealth ballooned by some $200 billion in 2024, surpassing $400 billion after Election Day. Once he got to work in the White House, his absenteeism from his companies — paired with a growing distaste for DOGE's actions among the electorate and protests targeting Tesla — led his net worth to drop alongside Tesla's market cap. Last Thursday, Musk's open beef with Trump further hampered his wealth, leading the Tesla CEO to lose $34 billion personally in a single day. Tesla stock, which has taken a beating as people turn on the company to protest Musk's government work, took its biggest tumble since March, closing 14% lower and wiping out $152 billion from the company's market cap. Musk is still the richest person in the world. For Musk, there's damage to the Tesla brand in need of repair. His next step could be "to portray himself as a purist who came in to offer his technical help and didn't realize how deep the corruption runs," says Michael Morris, a professor at Columbia Business School. "Musk could potentially portray himself as a wayward son of the tech industry." This might only work if the Trump administration continues to stumble, and if Musk also sees more success, like winning big with his robotaxi push. As Taylor Lorenz reported in User Mag Friday, some high-profile Democrats are already signaling that they would welcome Musk back into the fold. Trump over the weekend told NBC News Musk would face "serious consequences" if he donated to Democratic candidates (he did not specify what they would be). It's yet to be seen where Musk will find his next political alliances: On Friday, he ran a poll on X asking if a third political party should emerge to include the 80% of Americans in the middle of Republicans and Democrats, as he sees it. The president has threatened to go after Musk's government contracts — which total in tens of billions of dollars for SpaceX and Tesla. "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!" Trump himself bought a Tesla just three months ago, and is now considering selling it. (Best of luck to him, the cars' resale values have tanked). As Trump and Musk part ways, it's clear that Musk's brazen, fully autonomous leadership style didn't work in the government world, as it eschewed transparency and collaboration in favor of a top-down approach. "The one-size-fits-all policy does not work everywhere," says Kumar. "You have to understand the culture of the organization and you have to work from inside rather than from outside." Back in November, experts told me it wasn't clear what authority Musk would actually wield in the newly-created position to implement massive spending cuts. Trying to employ tech-world leadership tactics from the White House created a rivalry between Musk and Trump for power and control, undercutting the alliance between the two and leaving DOGE far short of its savings goals. "The lesson here is akin to that of two mob bosses of the gangster world who both crave the superior distinction of being the number one boss — with surging parallel drives for grandiosity," Sonnenfeld says. "Musk's tragic mistake was that he forgot his role — as a staffer and advisor to Trump, not the primary character he foolishly believed himself to be, and even now, continues to overestimate his own importance and indispensability."
