Today, the Pride flag is flying high. And while you dance and sing and rejoice this victory, I wanted to thank you all. Thank you for being you. Thank you for showing how colourful the world actually is. Thank you for showing that being ourselves brings the most joy. Thank you for showing that if you are true to yourselves, justice will be with you. Thank you for showing me long fights can end sweetly. But most importantly, thank you for showing me love is never a sin and that love conquers all.
I also want to apologise. Apologies for not accepting you sooner, apologies to the lesbians who were shamed for their butchness. To the gay men who I used to think were lesser, somehow. To the ‘confused and undecided’ bisexuals. To the trans women, I looked at with suspicion. To the ones who hated labels and the ones who wanted to flaunt them. Sorry that I questioned your reality and believed that my need for binary, ‘black and white’, man and woman, overshadowed your right to live. Sorry that your love was criminal and your identity invalid. Sorry that I thought you could be ‘cured’. Sorry that the fight still has a long way to go.
But, now I promise you that next time, someone says you are lesser, I won’t take it. Next time someone says you are unnatural, I’ll tell them that you are just you; uniquely, undeniably, unapologetically you. When they start using religion to turn people against you, I’ll remind you that God is with you. I promise that I will see the world in colours. I promise to teach my kids that loving is never a sin. I promise to tell the story of a bunch of ‘unnaturals’, ‘deviants’ and ‘criminals’, who fought an unjust system and showed that love conquers all. I promise when you start your next fight I’ll be there.