"I don't want that fag paper," a Prince George resident told a Citizen staff member after seeing the Pride Week front page wrap that ran on the front of Wednesday's paper.
"I don't want to read about any more of that Pride bullshit," a Citizen subscriber informed me in a voicemail after seeing Thursday's front page picture of the mayor, two city councillors and two advocates holding the Pride flag before it was raised at city hall.
Well, sir, please don't read any more of this editorial and please throw Monday's newspaper straight into the recycling bin, because it will feature a story and photographs about today's Pride parade. Depending on if she can get the interview and reporting done in time for Monday's paper, reporter Charelle Evelyn is also working on a story about a local 12-year-old transgendered boy and his mom who have a crowdfunding campaign going on so he can attend a conference in Washington state because there aren't the adequate transition services in Prince George for him.
You probably didn't read the story we did in March about inclusion teacher Susan Trabant, whose job is to be a resource and support person for teachers wanting to make classrooms safe for students with different skin colour, ethnicity, religion and/or sexual identity. The creation of her position was the direct result of new policy drafted by the school district for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning students.
You probably didn't read about Graeme Williams, the seven-year-old Prince George boy who behaves like a little girl. As the excellent story by Frank Peebles showed, Graeme is not some kid acting out for attention. He is a "rainbow" kid and his parents, like a growing number of parents across Canada, want public schools to not only be vigilant against bullying but to embrace Graeme's unique qualities in the same way teachers do for every other child.
If you had read either of those stories, perhaps there would be a little bit more room in your heart for people who are not like you.
"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen," according to 1 John 4:20.
The answer, however, is not to despise those who felt it was appropriate to share their repugnant views with us this week.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that," said Martin Luther King, Jr.
Instead, the community should pity them because their closed minds do not recognize the beauty in the incredible diversity of human identity. Instead of beauty, their ignorance makes them scared of people and lifestyles and behaviour they don't share. They are frightened to find themselves living in a world they don't recognize that exists immediately outside of their front door.
"Fear is the path to the dark side," said a wise green alien named Yoda. "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."
If there's something to march for during today's Pride Parade, it should be to not meet hatred with equally hateful labels, like homophobe, bigot, racist and so on. Instead of addressing the disease of hate, speak to the causes of the fear and the symptoms of the anger. It's human nature that most people can't be told they're wrong, they have to be shown they're wrong.
It's also human nature to fear those not like ourselves. It's hardwired into our biology, as it is into most creatures, because what's not like us is probably a threat to us and/or our kin. It takes careful thinking to rise above our primate programming.
Shouting and demanding people change has never worked, in the same way that shouting and demanding that the Citizen stop covering Pride events won't stop us from covering and celebrating the positive change this social movement has brought to Prince George.
We're not all the same, nor do we share all the same thoughts and beliefs.
We also have to believe people can learn and they can change.
