It’s OK to support a movement without agreeing with its tactics
The citizens who demonstrated against the Summit of the Americas in 2001 recognized they didn’t all want and need to demonstrate in the same way. They divided into three classes, the green, yellow, and red zones.
The green zone believed in peaceful negotiations, leading with love first. Confronted with riot cops, they would sit down and light candles and lay flowers. These are some of the most powerful moments and images that came out of the Summit: a line full of people trained for war aiming tear gas at citizens lighting candles and holding flowers. Can you really shoot at someone offering you a daisy? I dare you.
The yellow zone, peaceful supporters who were moderate or new to demonstrating, knew how important it is to be present and be a witness. Never underestimate how important it is to be on the right side of history. If you’re not showing up, you’re sitting out.
The most extreme version of the red zone believed corporations would only feel the effects of material destruction, smashing the sign of a gas station and whatever other materials in their path, because they felt people driven by money would only listen where they feel it, in their bank account.
Everyone had the same goal and the same sentiment. They didn’t agree on each other’s tactics, but, in recognizing that, divided into primary coloured zones and different parade routes with the same intent. Between 50,000 and150,000 marched to spread one message in mind. Not everyone agreed with everyone’s tactics, but the movement recognized a very important fundamental thing. We can all be on the same team and want the same thing, even if we don’t agree about how to get from point A to point B.
Point A to point B is messy. Revolution doesn’t come easily. Especially when you’re dealing with a movement of thousands upon thousands. The loudest and proudest is how people seize the day, which is how Pride started in the first place. So how shocking that a group as loud and proud as one of the most repressed, beat down, systematically shut down decided to lie down in the middle of the country’s biggest parade.
Black Lives Matter, the honoured group of Pride, lay down in front of the very parade they were honoured by and represented the black queer bodies that die regularly just for being who they are. They demanded Pride get back to its roots of representing its community’s needs and the very reason Pride exists in the first place.
“The parade has stopped for no reason!” “There’s helicopters flying over head!” Knowing there were fears for Justin Trudeau’s safety because he was the first prime minister to walk in a Canadian Pride parade and the merciless massacre of the LGBTQ community in Orlando two weeks earlier, the unexplained delay was frightening. Chaos ensued and the unknown leads to fear.
It’s understandable why people were upset before they were even able to understand.
Black Lives Matter’s tactic is well contested. One can argue it was the wrong time and place, but would we be even talking about it if they hadn’t of done it at that time and place? Not a lot of people cared when they stood in the rain for weeks, asking for justice for a dead black man’s body.
Did you even know the South Asian stage existed? Or that it had been abolished? That Blockarama, Pride’s longest running stage, celebrating black and Af- rican diaspora, had been getting smaller to make room for stages named after banks and beer companies? Are we attending Pride to watch floating advertisements with go-go dancers or celebrate an actual community and revolutionary history?
You can support a movement without always agreeing on its tactics. You can believe in equality for all and do things in your every day life and choices and still think an unannounced 30-minute demonstration in the middle of the Pride parade wasn’t the best way to go about it. But would we even be talking about it if they didn’t? Sometimes it’s hard to be tactful. Orlando wasn’t tactful. Systemic oppression isn’t tactful. We wouldn’t be talking about Rosa Parks if she was tactful.
Sometimes we have to stop focusing on the tactics, and start listening to the message.
And if you don’t like how the message was sent, start sending it the best way you know how. Movement means moving forward, not tripping over each other’s feet because of infighting on how to lead.
There are many ways to get from point A to point B. Don’t shoot, step on or antagonize your allies for not being perfect in the process. They want the same things as you, they may just not be going about it the same way as you. Recognize your allies when they’re on your team and, in the words of Gandhi, be the change you want to see.