Mayor Walsh opposes a march for heterosexuals
By Jeffrey T. Kuhner
Liberals despise the prospect of a “Straight Pride” parade in Boston. The march, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 31, would be the first of its kind in the country.
Rather than celebrating it, however, the Left is determined to crush it. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says the parade is an insult to the city’s “values,” which he says are “diversity, tolerance and acceptance.” This is why Walsh vows to deny the parade’s organizers, especially its founder, conservative activist John Hugo, a city permit to hold the event.
According to Walsh, the “Straight Pride” parade can take place only if the organizers pay for the event’s security, get a city permit allowing them to march in Boston and even then “we’ll see.” In other words, Walsh is determined to put as many obstacles as possible to prevent the march from happening.
No other parade by any other group is required to subsidize the high costs of security; the city always pays for it. Moreover, Walsh is the ultimate arbiter of the permitting process. If the mayor says a group can get a permit, they get a permit. For example, not only did the city pay for all the security of last Saturday’s LGBTQ pride parade, but Walsh participated. The Puerto Rican parade, the Caribbean festival parade, St. Patrick’s Day parade, the women’s march, the annual rally for illegal immigrants—every racial, ethnic, gender and sexual orientation group is allowed to march on the streets of Boston.
Which begs the question: Why not a pro-heterosexual group? Hugo says the parade is needed because straight people, especially white males, are increasingly treated as second-class citizens. They need a voice, and they deserve social recognition—and yes, acceptance. In fact, straight white males are the most discriminated against group in American society. From affirmative action to college admissions to notions of “white privilege” and “toxic masculinity” prevalent on college campuses, in the media and popular culture, heterosexual white men are routinely demonized.
Just look at the hysteria and hateful reaction to the very suggestion of a “Straight Pride” march. Progressives refuse to even recognize the humanity of straight white males. Walsh is doing everything in his power to block it. Hugo said on my show that he and his group, Super Happy Fun America, who are sponsoring the parade, have received countless hate e-mails and heterophobic messages on social media. Many are calling for “Straight Pride” supporters to be killed. In short, Hugo has exposed the militant intolerance on the Left.
For decades, liberalism has thrived through identity politics—creating a culture of victimhood among select minority groups, such as blacks, Latinos, Asians, women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered. That victimology is based upon a narrative of an “evil oppressor”: the straight white male. The call for “Straight Pride” is a frontal challenge to left-wing orthodoxy. It reveals—once and for all—that liberals don’t give a damn about diversity, tolerance or acceptance. If they did, they would have no problem with straight people celebrating their heterosexual orientation. Instead, their goal is to destroy traditional America.
There is no doubt that the LGBT community has suffered genuine persecution. Gays and lesbians were often assaulted and denied jobs simply because of who they were; many were disowned by their families. In some parts of the world, especially in Islamic societies, homosexuals are imprisoned, tortured and even killed. Strangely, however, the gay lobby remains silent about virulent Muslim homophobia. Yet, in America (and the West) gays and lesbians have achieved full civil rights. There is real tolerance and acceptance.
The fact that LGBTQ activists are leading the charge against the “Straight Pride” parade should be an embarrassment. The point of the First Amendment is not to protect inoffensive but offensive speech. A free society depends upon different, distinct groups and individuals living in peaceful co-existence and mutual tolerance—even for organizations, ideas or movements we despise.
My family was a victim of both Nazism and communism. Half of my family members were wiped out by fascist butchers during World War II; the other half were nearly exterminated by the murderous communists in Tito’s Yugoslavia. My grandfather spent three years in a communist death camp; his brother, a Croatian Catholic priest, was hung from the ceiling of his church by rampaging Partisans who put piano wire through his brain. Growing up, I attended college classes taught by Marxist professors who praised the “glories” of Bolshevism and totalitarian socialism—in other words, the very killers who slaughtered my family. If I can tolerate neo-Nazi marches and Antifa/communist rallies, with their hammer and sickle flags and red star symbols, then liberals should be able to swallow a once-a-year “Straight Pride” parade.
It’s called freedom. Live with it.
-Jeffrey T. Kuhner is host of “The Kuhner Report” on WRKO AM-680 in Boston. His daily show airs 6-10 am EST. He can be reached at: jeffreykuhner@iheartmedia.com