The people who went to concentration camps for the crime of hiding their neighbors. Already our immigrant neighbors are being rounded up, and who knows which minorities will be next. So allies, ask yourselves now, when the police come knocking, how far are you willing to go for your neighbor? 13/13

You need to ask yourselves now, are you willing to put your body between us and the people who want to hurt us? We need to know that when they come looking for us, you're going to be there risking your safety for ours. Think of the stories from WWII 12/13

And honestly, I wasn't even surprised. I've come to expect this from churches that claim to be progressive. All talk. No action.
Allies, the time to start stepping up was yesterday. I'm seeing lots of people sharing informational and encouraging posts, but we need more than that. 11/13

I even offered free training on de-escalation tactics. The only one that responded was the Unitarian Universalists. None of the other so-called affirming churches could even give me the courtesy of responding with an honest, "thanks for the invite, but we don't think that's for us" 10/13

Because allies couldn't be bothered to show up to do the work that mattered most. While queer folx were putting their bodies on the line, the allies were off enjoying the parade at the expense of our safety. After Pride, I sent emails to all those churches, inviting them to join us next time 9/13

I must admit, I was tempted to hand them my flag and say, "Your turn. I'm going to enjoy Pride now."
That day, the bigots stayed so long, I only got about 15 minutes to enjoy Pride before it ended. We were all exhausted, and we didn't even get to enjoy Pride when the work was over 8/13

But, I started noticing it wasn't just queer folx thanking me. Several churches were marching in that parade, to show they're affirming of queer people. And they were also coming up to thank me.

Straight allies. At Pride. Thanking a queer person for protecting THEM from the bigots. 7/13

I get a lot of attention in that shirt, good and bad. During the parade, dozens stopped to show their thanks through words, stickers, candy, and hugs. This is pretty normal, and when I've got men shouting slurs at me, the gratitude from Pride-goers keeps me going and reminds me why I'm there. 6/13

We were outnumbered. For most of the parade, I was trying to cover two men at once completely by myself. If you've ever protested or been a de-escalator, you know how dangerous it is to be alone in that situation. Now, I show up to Pride wearing a shirt that says "This Queer Pastor Loves You" 5/13

Most of us are queer. I almost never see cishet allies show up, and the ones who do don't tend to stick around long, while queer folx spend hours on our feet in the heat or the cold, getting screamed at and assaulted by people who want us dead. Last year at SO pride the bigots were out in force 4/13

I volunteer with a group called the RV Peppershakers that exists to protect people from the Saltshakers. We cover their signs and drown out their speakers. We get between them and other people, putting our bodies and safety on the line. A lot of us have been assaulted and doxxed doing this work 3/13

They show up at Planned Parenthood, Pride, community events, etc, with signs that depict aborted fetuses and lists of who is going to hell. They bring speakers so they can preach at people, and they love to rile people up and incite people to violence to show the world how hateful we are 2/13