(Travis Mayfield was a longtime Seattle TV news anchor. He is currently a contributor at KIRO Newsradio. Travis, his husband and their kids live in Seattle. You can find him on Instagram @TravisMayfield, Twitter @TravisMayfield and on Facebook @TravisMayfieldTV.)
Pride has always been a radical political protest demanding equality, equity and full inclusion for those of us with different gender and sexual identities.
It has also always been about having a damn good time.
With that spirit in mind, I was disappointed to read that the Seattle Pride organization has asked uniformed police officers not to march in the annual parade on Sunday.
I’m a queer man and I am also the son of a retired police officer.
I understand why many in the LGBTQAI+ community feel targeted by police. After all, Pride is a product of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, which was sparked after police raided a gay nightclub and brave patrons fought back.
I also understand why LGBTQAI+ police officers who have been welcomed in uniform in the Pride parade for three decades suddenly feel othered by their own community.
The harm is done. There is blame on all sides. At some point we must choose to start fixing things.
What our world doesn’t need more of is unproductive anger. Especially since Pride can give us all so much more. There’s enough unmitigated anger hurled back and forth online, in the media and even face-to-face.
Yes, anger can spark movements for change – like Stonewall and Black Lives Matter. Yet progress demands that we push past anger alone.
At a time when our community needs as many people as possible to hear us, see us and know us, we are ourselves refusing to hear, see and know others.
That must stop.
We won’t solve systemic racism, bigoty or bias until we choose to look each other in the eyes and begin to acknowledge the other is human too.
The LGBTQAI+ community has been harmed for years at the hands of police. Communities of color have been harmed for years at the hands of police. There’s a throughline that connects it all and necessitates strong allyship. But we can hold space for all of it – even the anger – while still choosing to look officers in the eye and believe them when they say they are working to change and authentically asking to do it with our help.
That will make some of us deeply uncomfortable. It should make us uncomfortable. It is that discomfort that can help us bury the old ways and build something new.
It doesn’t happen overnight. It won't happen overnight. There is so much more work to do. So why take even one step backward? Even if that step feels righteous in the moment.
Bygones don’t have to be bygones, but progress means acknowledging past harm and working toward something better.
Be angry.
But be brave too.
Have a damn good time.
But take Pride in doing the work together. Imagine where that kind of Pride will lead us next.
Washington state Democrats deny there is evidence of capital flight when rich people are targeted for taxation. Apparently, they've never heard of Jeff Bezos. Plus: Trump vs. The Fed. And: Can tariffs replace the federal income tax? Unlikely.
Subscribe to Zach’s Daily Market Recap at KnowYourRiskPodcast.com.
Seattle’s socialist mayor wastes no time in halting sweeps. President Trump considers Insurrection Act in Minnesota, while administration renews threats against sanctuary jurisdictions. New bills attack the initiative process. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis takes a swipe at Washington in his final State of the State.
Prefer to listen? https://audioboom.com/posts/8835054-socialist-stops-the-sweeps-1-15-26
Governor Bob Ferguson says ICE should stop enforcing federal immigration laws, Democrats applaud wildly. Even Governor Gavin Newsom opposes targeting the rich for taxation ... or so he says. Proposed bill would eliminate three strikes for offenses committed by juveniles. High school athlete Frances Staudt joins us from DC.
Prefer to listen? https://audioboom.com/posts/8834513-virtue-signaling-above-all-else-1-14-26
These remarks were delivered to the Snohomish County Lincoln Day Dinner on May 17, 2024.
The following remarks were delivered to the Whatcom County Lincoln Day Dinner on March 23, 2024, in Ferndale, Washington.
I struggled with what to talk to you about tonight.
Well, that’s not true. I didn't struggle with what to talk to you about – I struggled with whether I was brave enough to say what I wanted to say.
When I'm invited to speak to groups, I don't want to offend anyone or be too controversial. So, I reached out to a few of your fellow party members to ask whether any topics were off limits or wouldn't go over well with the crowd.
I got some good advice.
Then I decided to ignore that good advice entirely.
Too much is at stake to be polite.
As we sit here tonight, we are in the final battle of a war.
A war that has pit sanity against insanity.
Pragmatism against idealism.
A war that has sacrificed the public good, in favor of a twisted idea of progress.
It's a war that began long before I moved here 15 years ago. It started silently and it was mostly waged in the shadows.
Most of us didn't even realize that a war was being fought. We were too caught up in our own lives and our own problems. ...
There will be no live show today, 1.19.26. Our regular live show will return tomorrow.
FBI AGENT MIKE TEMPLETON(OR HOWEVER HIS NAME IS SPELLED NEEDS TO BE FIRED AND PUT IN JAIL FOR VIOLATIONS OF HIS DUTIES TO THE PEOPLE OF THE USA, FALSIFYING EVIDENCE, THREATENS RAPE UPON POLYEXAMS. THREATENING AND HARMING USA CITIZENS AND THEIR FAMILIES FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE !
THESE FBI AGENTS WHO ARE DOING THIS CRAP NEED TO GO AND PUT IN JAIL NOW !
Scott Ritter "They STOLE My Money!"
