DON’T LET THE ANTI-WOKE MOB GET YOU DOWN!
On June 9th I attended a counter-protest to an “anti-woke protest” that was gathered outside of Notre Dame High School on Broadview Street which was protesting gender ideology. The scene was incredibly chaotic, in the worst way. I found myself in a line of protesters yelling across to another line of protesters; who were also yelling.
“Stay away from our kids!” I looked around multiple times that day and couldn’t find one child who wasn’t standing alongside their anti-woke parent(s) who had forced them to be there.
I was eventually cornered by multiple groups of “anti-woke” protesters screaming from all directions. Some of them would put their children right at the front, acting like shields. From what I could see, some appeared to be as young as three or four. The children who weren’t crying were helping to rip apart small pride flags, and stomp on the shreds.
Cut to Aug. 27 at Capital Pride, I did something no Fulcrum editor has ever done before and will probably never do again — I marched alongside the University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU).
Ottawa took a stand and said that our community, our love will not back down. The streets were packed with supportive folk. That’s what the “anti-woke” mob just can’t seem to understand — here in Ottawa, we stand up for not only ourselves but our neighbours as well.
Our community here in Ottawa is strong. It’s strong because it’s not just those of us who identify as LGBTQIA+ who keep us strong; but our friends, family and loved ones too. Hatred for our community has always existed. We have to be louder than the hate. I always thought that was just something people said, but it’s how the LGBTQIA+ community has gotten this far.
UOSU and I were a relatively small group but that didn’t mean we were quiet. We walked the parade route cheering each other on. We’d take turns waving the UOSU flag, cheering the flag-waver on. There were even a few attempts to start a UOSU chant (however most attempts failed).
Towards the end of the parade as we passed the Centretown United Church on Bank Street, I found the only representatives of the “anti-woke mob” I saw the entire day. They were holding big signs that I couldn’t read due to the massive pride flag being held up to block them.
That day, I was filled with a sense of hope that I hadn’t experienced since before that counter-protest in June. Unfortunately, a lot of that hope was short-lived as the very next day, Ontario’s Minister of Education Stephen Leece shared his belief that “parents must be fully involved” in a student’s decision to change their pronouns.
We live in scary times, but we’ve fought similar battles and we have won. More than ever we need to make sure that not only our voices are heard, but the voices of the people that support us. This community has been up against hell, but we still live to see the day.
Our community has been able to thrive and that will not stop no matter what the “anti-woke” mob has to say about it. The truth is that the war on hatred will never end, nor will it get easier because if it ends, it means we do not exist. But we do — we do exist.
