The spirit of Pride is diversity and progress, not respectability politics
The latest installment of 'Jurassic Park' is hitting theaters July 4th weekend, and while normally I detest silly summer sequels, for some reason I do enjoy watching dinosaurs eat people on the big screen.
'Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should,' Jeff Goldblum famously said in the 1993 original. After his character perfectly framed the ethical question nestled in the heart of the Jurassic Park story, I was more than happy to see Newman from 'Seinfeld' get what he deserved. A brilliant line or movie monologue — like Goldblum's gem — can not only advance a fictional plot, but also foster conversations about real life. Consider how Michael B. Jordan's character Killmonger challenged the idea of isolationism and Jack Nicholson's line 'You can't handle the truth' explored what it takes to defend this country, morally.
One of my all-time favorite movie monologues was delivered by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the 1999 cult classic 'Flawless.' In the scene, Hoffman — portraying a no-nonsense drag queen — confronts a group of conservative gay men who seek to mute the more flamboyant members of the LGBTQ+ during a Pride march in an attempt to gain broader acceptance.
'You're ashamed of us, but we're not ashamed of you,' the speech begins. 'As long as you go down on your Banana Republic knees … you're my sisters and I love you. I do. And f— off!'
I wonder whether Richard Grenell, the former ambassador to Germany who currently serves as an envoy for special missions in the Trump administration, has seen it. I ask because Grenell, who during President Trump's first term became the country's first openly gay Cabinet-level official, spent part of this Pride month trying to drive a wedge within the community in a fashion very similar to what was portrayed in the 25-year-old film.
In a Truth Social post back in December, Trump said that in the envoy role, Grenell would 'work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea.' It seems one of Grenell's special missions was to sell America on the idea that gender identity and transgender healthcare are outside the realm of what 'normal gays' are concerned with.
He also suggested the LGBTQ+ community needs to police itself, echoes of the same respectability politics framework that is often employed to gaslight those who have been systematically disenfranchised. Of course Grenell is not the first conservative gay man who has used his station in life to enrich himself at the expense of the collective.
Not long after Hoffman's character went off in 'Flawless' in 1999, Ken Mehlman was appointed President George W. Bush's director of political affairs and spent years working against legalizing same-sex marriage — as we now know, from the closet. In 2010, Mehlman, a former chairman of the Republican Party, came out as gay. Biographers have documented J. Edgar Hoover's relationships with men even as he was driving the Lavender Scare. His accomplice, Roy Cohn, has a similar story.
As the various letters suggest, the LGBTQ+ community is far from a monolith. However, if there is one thing most of us have in common, it is our tendency not to vote against our own interest. In 2020, Trump won 27% of the vote. In 2024, it was down to 12%. In between the two elections, we saw a relentless Republican-led attack on LGBTQ+ rights of which Trump has often been the instigator.
I don't know what Grenell considers 'normal gay' behavior, but he does not represent normal gay voting. The idea that he could speak for the community's core values is not only laughable but also woefully disingenuous. It was the drag queens and gender-nonconforming members of the community who began the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Before Grenell was even born, the first out gay person to run for public office wasn't a 'normal gay' but an extraordinary drag queen by the name of Jose Sarria in 1961. The groups who won progress for queer people have never been monolithically made up of white, Anglo, heteronormative men. That's what makes the gay rights movement so beautiful, so American, so worthy of pride and celebration.
And that's also why it's so weird, given the obvious concern rippling through the LGBTQ+ community because of Trump's words and actions, that Grenell chooses to use his station to fight for the members of his community who need his help the least, and to do so at the expense of the LGBTQ+ people who really need a champion.
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Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Playbook: Republicans ready to floor it on the megabill
Presented by With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco Good Saturday morning. This is Garrett Ross in the driver's seat. Let me know what's going on. POD RAVE AMERICA: President Donald Trump has UFC CEO Dana White to thank for his campaign's podcasting blitz on his way back to the White House, Trump media adviser Alex Bruesewitz tells Playbook's Dasha Burns in an interview for this week's episode of 'The Conversation.' 'Dana was actually the first person to introduce the president to podcast circuits, or podcasting, when Dana set up an interview between the president and the Nelk Boys in early 2022,' Bruesewitz said. Barron Trump, the president's son, also played a big part in the evolution, Bruesewitz said, when he set up an interview with popular streamer Adin Ross. From there, Bruesewitz and Susie Wiles, then Trump's campaign chief, agreed that they needed to do more. 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Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Toronto's vibrant Pride parade to cap off weekend of celebrations, marches
TORONTO - Artin Avaznia says he was transformed the first time he saw a group of Iranians marching in Toronto's Pride parade. The Iranian-Canadian dancer was in his mid-20s and it was his first time attending North America's largest Pride festival. It was a stark contrast to what he'd seen in his hometown of Ottawa, which he described as a 'small, very government city' that was lacking in large-scale queer representation at the time. 'Seeing that brought tears to my eyes,' Avaznia said in an interview ahead of a performance at the Pride festival on Friday. 'I never witnessed that before, seeing representation of not just Iranians but the broader Middle Eastern folks, just because (being) queer and Middle Eastern doesn't always go so well together.' Avaznia said experiencing his first Pride in the city was 'monumental, seeing so many other queer folks of all different ethnicities and backgrounds.' This weekend will feature street parties, musical performances, picnics and marches before the festival culminates in the vibrant Pride parade on Sunday. More than 25,000 marchers from some 250 groups are expected to participate in the weekend's biggest show of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. The last weekend of Pride month and the parade drew a large number of visitors. Toronto police say they will increase their presence throughout the city and in the Church-Wellesley Village – the hub of Pride activities – to ensure everyone's safety. 'So many folks during this month feel seen, they feel protected, they feel heard and they feel they belong,' said Avaznia, who credits his own career momentum to Pride. But this year, the celebrations and the spectacle also come with questions about what the future of Pride Toronto will look like after major corporate sponsors pulled out of the festival. Earlier this month, Pride Toronto said it's facing a $900,000 funding gap due to withdrawals of big sponsors such as Google, Nissan, Home Depot and Clorox, and rising costs of running the festival. Pride Toronto executive director Kojo Modeste attributed the corporate withdrawals to backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States under President Donald Trump's administration. Some of the companies said their decisions were solely based on budgetary considerations, and Google said its employees will still march in Sunday's parade. Modeste has said that next year's Pride festival will likely be scaled down as a result of the shortfall if the organization does not get the support it needs to stay afloat. A scaled down Pride could jeopardize the festival's status as one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world, Modeste warned. For Avaznia, shifting corporate sponsorship doesn't mean Pride won't continue to be a beacon of hope for members of the queer community and those who flock to Toronto annually to feel a sense of belonging. Instead, he said, the changes highlight which brands are invested in supporting Pride for the right reasons. 'Certain sponsors do genuinely want to support and the ones that I've partnered up with have shown to me their true colours and how much they want to support us. Other sponsors that have pulled out … are also showing their true colours,' he said. 'Queer folks have dealt with a tremendous amount of adversities in their lives. A lot of us have dealt with housing issues, we've dealt with the loss of family, we dealt with substance issues,' he said. 'But we will always rise and we will always come forward.' — With files from Vanessa Tiberio This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Los Angeles Times
5 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
The spirit of Pride is diversity and progress, not respectability politics
The latest installment of 'Jurassic Park' is hitting theaters July 4th weekend, and while normally I detest silly summer sequels, for some reason I do enjoy watching dinosaurs eat people on the big screen. 'Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should,' Jeff Goldblum famously said in the 1993 original. After his character perfectly framed the ethical question nestled in the heart of the Jurassic Park story, I was more than happy to see Newman from 'Seinfeld' get what he deserved. A brilliant line or movie monologue — like Goldblum's gem — can not only advance a fictional plot, but also foster conversations about real life. Consider how Michael B. Jordan's character Killmonger challenged the idea of isolationism and Jack Nicholson's line 'You can't handle the truth' explored what it takes to defend this country, morally. One of my all-time favorite movie monologues was delivered by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the 1999 cult classic 'Flawless.' In the scene, Hoffman — portraying a no-nonsense drag queen — confronts a group of conservative gay men who seek to mute the more flamboyant members of the LGBTQ+ during a Pride march in an attempt to gain broader acceptance. 'You're ashamed of us, but we're not ashamed of you,' the speech begins. 'As long as you go down on your Banana Republic knees … you're my sisters and I love you. I do. And f— off!' I wonder whether Richard Grenell, the former ambassador to Germany who currently serves as an envoy for special missions in the Trump administration, has seen it. I ask because Grenell, who during President Trump's first term became the country's first openly gay Cabinet-level official, spent part of this Pride month trying to drive a wedge within the community in a fashion very similar to what was portrayed in the 25-year-old film. In a Truth Social post back in December, Trump said that in the envoy role, Grenell would 'work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea.' It seems one of Grenell's special missions was to sell America on the idea that gender identity and transgender healthcare are outside the realm of what 'normal gays' are concerned with. He also suggested the LGBTQ+ community needs to police itself, echoes of the same respectability politics framework that is often employed to gaslight those who have been systematically disenfranchised. Of course Grenell is not the first conservative gay man who has used his station in life to enrich himself at the expense of the collective. Not long after Hoffman's character went off in 'Flawless' in 1999, Ken Mehlman was appointed President George W. Bush's director of political affairs and spent years working against legalizing same-sex marriage — as we now know, from the closet. In 2010, Mehlman, a former chairman of the Republican Party, came out as gay. Biographers have documented J. Edgar Hoover's relationships with men even as he was driving the Lavender Scare. His accomplice, Roy Cohn, has a similar story. As the various letters suggest, the LGBTQ+ community is far from a monolith. However, if there is one thing most of us have in common, it is our tendency not to vote against our own interest. In 2020, Trump won 27% of the vote. In 2024, it was down to 12%. In between the two elections, we saw a relentless Republican-led attack on LGBTQ+ rights of which Trump has often been the instigator. I don't know what Grenell considers 'normal gay' behavior, but he does not represent normal gay voting. The idea that he could speak for the community's core values is not only laughable but also woefully disingenuous. It was the drag queens and gender-nonconforming members of the community who began the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Before Grenell was even born, the first out gay person to run for public office wasn't a 'normal gay' but an extraordinary drag queen by the name of Jose Sarria in 1961. The groups who won progress for queer people have never been monolithically made up of white, Anglo, heteronormative men. That's what makes the gay rights movement so beautiful, so American, so worthy of pride and celebration. And that's also why it's so weird, given the obvious concern rippling through the LGBTQ+ community because of Trump's words and actions, that Grenell chooses to use his station to fight for the members of his community who need his help the least, and to do so at the expense of the LGBTQ+ people who really need a champion. @LZGrandersonShow
