A Decade of Pride Parade Fun

As Pride Month 2026 nears to a close, there are a few things I want to discuss. Conservatives make the mistake every year during Pride Month by telling on themselves. In other words, they expose who they really are by unapologetically spewing their own homophobic and transphobic views. This happens when it's not even Pride Month. They love to kick and scream about things that don't affect them. 29 of Major League Baseball's teams held Pride Night at their ballparks, with the Texas Rangers being the only team who has yet to hold said event at Globe Life Field. I've shared my thoughts about that topic in a couple of stories I've written. The Los Angeles Dodgers Pride Night was held on June 5, which on that same night, the organization revealed a permanent exhibit honoring Billy Bean and Glenn Burke. Both of the late MLB players became the first openly gay players in the league, although they came out after their careers concluded. However, this honor was overshadowed by controversy regarding one of their players. Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen made headlines for refusing to wear his rainbow-themed cap. It wasn't mandatory for players to wear these hats, but recently, Commissioner Rob Manfred warned players of writing anything on their hats, because it was prohibited as stated in the rulebook. Homophobia is still present in this league, and I've talked about this in one of my previous stories. Blake Treinen wasn't the first Dodgers player I called out for their anti-gay rhetoric. Nearly a year ago, I went in on the now retired Clayton Kershaw for his anti-gay views by writing a Bible verse on his rainbow-themed cap, which was deemed as hate towards the LGBTQ+ community. I've accused him of being a bigot in other previous stories. At first, I saw him as one of the best pitchers that had played the game. Now that I saw him for who he really was, I could no longer consider him as one of the best pitchers in MLB, nor I would ever acknowledge him as a World Series champion. He was very grumpy, whiney, and was deserving of the nicknames Kerchoke and Chokeshaw. Even if his number gets retired by the Dodgers one day and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, I still won't miss him at all. He and I are both from Texas, but Kershaw would've been a great addition to the Texas Rangers bullpen. Instead, he betrayed his home state and chose to play for the Dodgers for all 18 seasons. So, yes. I'm calling him a traitor, because as a Texan, we no longer claim him as one of our own. I'll say this up front about him and I'm going to piss off a lot of Dodgers fans: Clayton Kershaw is a bigoted, piece of shit. He'll always be a piece of shit. I'll never praise or give him any sort of credit. He'll always be a joke and an embarrassment to Major League Baseball. It may be harsh, but I make zero apologies for saying those things.

I have no problems with Christians who preach about loving everyone and having empathy for others. Nor, I have a problem with them believing in what they believe. However, I do have a problem with Christians who constantly use the Bible as an excuse to heavily dislike LGBTQ individuals that they've probably never met. Hate is not godly. People who do this are complete hypocrites and don't practice what they preach. That's not them defending their beliefs. That's hate, plain and simple. Real Christians show love and empathy for others who are different from them. Many of them are allies of the LGBTQ+ community. As far as MLB players who still hold bigoted views, I consider every one of them as bigots until proven otherwise.

Let's talk about Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider. I showed an abundance of praise in my latest Token of Appreciation story earlier this month, which you can read down below. I have to thank him becoming an ally, not only towards LGBTQ+ Braves fans by acknowledging them, but for the community as a whole. It was rare for an MLB player to show this kind of positive gesture, but it was a breath of fresh air to hear a positive story like this. The rest of these MLB players should learn some lessons from Spencer Strider on how to treat others with dignity and respect.

I finally got all of that out of the way. Now, it's on to discuss the fun weekend I had at Northwest Arkansas Pride. This past weekend marked the 10th anniversary of me attending this event. NWA Pride is the largest Pride parade event in Arkansas. Out of the participants who were in the parade, Central Arkansas Pride and Eureka Springs Pride both made appearances. One thing to note about Eureka Springs is that they were the first city to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court ruling that made marriage equality legal in the United States. It was so great to see both participants in person. When I first attended NWA Pride back in 2016, the morning started out with a little bit of rain. I took part in the parade, alongside one of my friends at the time and a few of his friends. By the time the parade started, the rained had finally stopped. That day was amazing and couldn't wait to attend the parade each year. The Covid-19 pandemic postponed the parade in both 2020 and 2021. I resumed attending NWA Pride in 2022 and it was so exciting to see everyone having fun again. Last year, I volunteered for the parade for the first time, and it was a great experience. It was also beneficial for my resume. My job was to hold a banner alongside one other person. We were first on the parade route. During the parade, we waved to everyone as we were holding the banner, saying Happy Pride. I didn't get a chance to volunteer for this year's event but will try again next year. I've since considered the people that attend NWA Pride every year as my true family.

In closing, diversity and inclusion are beautiful things. There's nothing radical about caring about other people and their plights, regardless of one's political allegiance. We'll never go back inside the closet. We refuse to back down or stay silent. We'll continue to speak for those who are unable to speak or defend themselves, whether it's during Pride Month or not. Compassion and empathy for others isn't tied to a specific political party. It's what were all taught to do. It's just who we are. Our voices will continue to be louder and stronger, regardless of who's in the White House.

https://vocal.media/pride/a-token-of-appreciation-spencer-strider