A June 13 letter by Norma Vally claimed Pride Month in Boulder City is an example of identity politics that will cause divisiveness in our safe, kind, and welcoming town. I cannot disagree more.
Pride Month is not about division, but inclusion. The LGBTQ+ community has a history, and reality, of being targeted for hateful, violent, and discriminatory acts. The proclamation says there is no place for that in a safe, kind, and welcoming place, like Ms. Vally says she wants.
Our town was founded with divisive policies. Six Companies hired maybe 50 Black men out of 21,000 workers to build Hoover Dam.
The one black soul allowed to live in this town was a dog, and his name is a racial slur. We are by no means perfect now, but we evolved to recognize those practices were shameful.
The nation evolved as well. The freedoms extolled for white men in 1776 are now the freedoms for all in 2024. “Identity politics” has allowed me to learn, work, vote, buy, and live as an independent and productive citizen.
Our town often celebrates events that make us “different.” Christmas parades, Memorial Day wreaths, trick or treating, Cinco de Mayos, Mother’s Days, Easter egg hunts, BMX races, rodeos, and Thanksgiving feasts. Each has townsfolk who don’t, can’t, or won’t celebrate it. Because we are a safe, kind, and welcoming place, Boulder City has these events with little or no division.
There is no reason to be afraid of Pride Month. I was as likely to “turn bee” when Mayor Hardy proclaimed last June Pollinator Month, and I am to “turn gay” for Pride Month. Pride Month opens discussion on discrimination and violence against a part of our citizenry.
If anything, it allows us to be kinder and more welcoming, and makes our town a safer place for all.
Katherine Zander,
Boulder City