June 5, 2019

Everyone Thinks A Straight Pride Parade in Boston Is a Hilariously Dumb Idea

Floats, Brad Pitt, and dad jeans. Woo-hoo!

Alena Kuzub/Zuma

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Three guys are trying to plan a Straight Pride Parade in Boston. Just about everyone thinks it’s a terrible idea.

It all started with a Facebook post last week by Mark Sahady, a member of a far-right group who claimed that he was working with the city of Boston to plan a Straight Pride Parade in late August. 

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has not confirmed that the parade is actually happening. And “mascot” Brad Pitt has not confirmed his participation yet. 

Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage, and Boston, whose annual Pride parade draws hundreds of thousands of people, has long been a haven for the LGBTQ community. So it’s no surprise that the concept of a “Super Happy Fun America Straight Pride Parade“—a celebration of “the diverse history, culture, and contributions of the straight community”—has been met with ridicule.

If the Straight Pride Parade organizers’ plan doesn’t work out, the streets of their city will be safe again for heterosexuals the next time a Boston team wins a championship.

 

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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