Some protesters eluded authorities

The Tuesday Dispatch editorial “Detractors fail to spoil Pride” rightly praised the Pride Celebration held last weekend for its joyful spirit and large crowds. I have had the privilege of marching in the parade for 10 years now as a member of welcoming and affirming United Methodist churches. We march to bear witness to LGBTQ persons that they are beloved children of God — and have been created to be who they uniquely are, and are persons of worth and dignity.

Sadly, and I believe unnecessarily, the parade this year was marked by a confrontation that resulted in arrests. The editorial said, “Blocking the street to call attention to one’s personal cause at an event like Pride is self-indulgent and disrespectful. And note that police would have treated antigay protesters blocking the street the same way.”

I wish that were true. This year, there was a group of protesters in front of City Hall and on the Broad Street Bridge when my part of the parade passed by, long after the protest that resulted in arrests. These protesters were encroaching into the street, coming close enough to personally engage people. Why were they not approached aggressively by police? Is it because they were white men shouting about sin and the Bible? They have a right to be present, of course. But they were decidedly not treated the same as the protesters who were met with force.

I hold the men and women of the Columbus Division of Police in the highest regard. They do a very difficult job. But I am deeply disturbed by their actions in this incident. The editorial noted that there are those who wish harm to LGBTQ people. The first group of protesters were not those people. They were there to bear witness to the harm done to people of color by excluding them from community, and treating them as less than beloved children of God, worthy of respect. That is not, as the editorial contended, a “personal cause,” but a cry for dignity and justice from members of our community. Sadly, the actions of the police reinforced the very point that the protesters sought to make.

I encourage Stonewall and the Columbus Division of Police to consider mitigating the harm already done by re-evaluating security for the parade, listening much more fully to people of color, and dropping all charges against the protesters as a gesture of goodwill and a recognition of basic human dignity. That is the true spirit of Pride.

The Rev. Deborah Stevens Hilliard took illegal drugs and got themselves hooked than the hardworking people who have now gotten older and have pre-existing conditions. This makes me sick.

The American Health Care Act will hurt older people and people with pre-existing conditions. These people need more help, not higher health-care costs.

As for the ones who are hooked on drugs, if they were that stupid to start illegal drugs, then they knew it was wrong and bad for them. They should pay the consequences — not everybody else.