June 1^st marks the beginning of Pride Month nationally, while also marking the day Jonathan Joss was shot and killed on his property, unarmed, next to his husband, Tristan. News reports discuss his death as a shooting, leaving out the horrific details that led to this event. 

                  (Reworded from Tristan’s Facebook statement.) After over two years of receiving arson threats (with no help from law enforcement), their beloved home was set on fire. Over those two years, they were frequently harassed due to their relationship. Before the shooting erupted, Jonathan and Tristan opened their mailbox to find the skull and harness of their family pet. From there, one of their neighbours began shouting violent homophobic slurs, then eventually pulled out his gun and began to shoot, where Jonathan pushed his husband out of the way to save his life. 

                  This is a hate crime, and it should be named as such. News reporters casually leave out the nitty gritty details of the crime so as not to be “political”, but still ensuring they profit off of such devastating news. Meanwhile, Tristan is left to deal with the trauma not only from the loss of his husband, but all the events that preceded Jonathan’s death. The couple were forced out of their community after their house was set on fire, after experiencing extreme amounts of hatred and violence, while law enforcement turned a blind eye and did nothing to protect them. 

                  It’s ironic, isn’t it? That all this occurred on the first day of Pride Month, while corporations post their rainbow flags and logos on Instagram and Facebook, with the phrase, “love is love!” or “be YOU!” in the caption. Their comments overflow with violent hatred towards the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and of course, the company does nothing to stop this because if they do anything, that means they will no longer appeal to the bigots who consume their products, which would result in a loss of revenue – unimaginable! These posts become a breeding ground for homophobic, racist, and transphobic conversations, creating a community among those who spread hate, rather than uplifting, empowering, or educating, Pride Month’s main purpose. 

                  The 2SLGBTQIA+ community is under attack from governments worldwide, becoming scapegoats for economic hardships and divisiveness, while also being used as a distraction from unjust political policies being enacted. Most recently, the Alberta UCP created an uproar with their new rules regarding “age-appropriate” books being available in school libraries. The Education Minister, Demetrios Nicolaides, argues that a group of very concerned parents approached him about graphic novels, which depicted “sexual 2SLGBTQ+ content”. Rather than discussing why these graphic novels were chosen by librarians to be in schools in the first place, the government has chosen to ban these books. This is, of course, causing great concern in Alberta educators and citizens, as this will directly harm 2SLGBTQIA+ children and lead to internal biases in education, which always affects minority groups substantially. As someone who is personally passionate about education, childhood development, and literature, this was exceptionally frustrating and sad for me to see, and I believe everyone should be concerned about the biases in banning books. However, we also must acknowledge that this is nothing less than a distraction. Point the finger at 2SLGBTQIA+ communities (which make up a tiny percentage of the population), so Albertans forget that our public healthcare system is currently being destroyed at the hands of the UCP. This isn’t a special example; this is the reality of the government’s ability to manipulate the public while also further oppressing minority groups – it’s a win-win for them, really. 

                  So, as we are four days into Pride Month, I urge everyone to focus less on “love is love” and other neoliberalist ideals around Pride and focus more on the way 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are being targeted – individually and systemically. Question news outlets, corporations, and political parties because we have so much more power when we act as a community. We must do better as allies and members of society. People’s lives are literally depending on it.