As a group of queers chanted for a free Palestine, another group of queers walked by in cocktail attire.

The first group was ACT UP NY who, along with the Audre Lorde Project, Jewish Voices for Peace, and Queers for a Liberated Palestine, were there to call out the hypocrisy of Outright International, an organization whose stated mission is to better the lives of LGBTQ individuals around the world. The second group were attendees of Outright’s Celebration of Courage Awards and Gala, an annual fundraising event at the historic Chelsea Piers.

Some individuals in the second group accepted ACT UP’s fliers, others appeared indignant and annoyed. Some took video of the protest with curiosity, others with rage. And some walked by with their heads down, Wildfang suits like a turtle shell, protection from the reality of our words.

But the action was too loud to be ignored entirely. As emcee Qween Jean stated, “We will hold all queer organizations responsible as they party.”

While Outright did previously call for a ceasefire on October 27, their access to the U.N. and international work makes this a bare minimum. Their decision to include actor Billy Porter among their honorees for this event was also revealing. He may be an uneducated Zionist, but he has still been outspoken in his Zionism.

The demands were clear:
REAFFIRM their Oct. 27th call for a ceasefire
STOP the U.S. war machine at the U.N.
FUND Palestinian organizations
DISCLOSE and DIVEST from complicity

This wasn’t a protest against an enemy, but against a supposed ally failing to utilize their influence. And so the words of the action’s first speaker, drag artist Anne J. Tifah, resonated deeply. “People do not have the same algorithms as us on their phones,” she said. “So be mindful of who is an enemy and who is a comrade not yet awakened.”

“I want to send a call to people who are unsure or confused right now,” she continued. “Maybe the things you see are horrible, but you’re afraid to betray what you have been taught or are surrounded by. You may believe that you are doing the right thing to keep your family safe, to honor tradition, or to save face. But let me remind you that scarcity is a lie.”

Despite leading with compassion — and true to her name “fucking shit up” — she emphasized the stakes: “The liberation of Palestine includes your liberation as well. And while you take your time, we continue to lose lives to colonialism, systematic oppression, and genocide.”

Protest vs. partying, compassion vs. urgency. These are the contradictions of Pride that do not have to be contradictions — or, rather, we can live within the contradictions.

It’s why one speaker can wisely say, “Don’t lead with anger, lead with education,” and another can rightfully begin, “I’m mad as fuck today.”

That second speaker was Noor Aldayeh, who stated quite possibly the truest contradiction: “I am appalled by the state of humanity today. I am also invigorated by movements like these.”

“I’m Palestinian with a grandfather from Gaza and a grandmother from Jenin,” they said. “I do not know how many of my family members have been killed, not just since October, but my entire life, my mother’s entire life. My grandparents who are indigenous to Palestine were kicked out of their homes and exiled. My family, my Palestinian family, cannot hold Palestinian citizenship. My Palestinian family has not been able to return to their own fucking land for three generations.”

“Queer Palestinians exist,” they continued. “Queer Palestinians are not afforded special protections from apartheid, from occupation, from genocide, from ethnic cleansing, and from the displacement that has been enforced upon our people for over eight decades.”

It’s important to remember queer Palestinians exist and queer Palestinians are currently being killed by Israel. It’s also important to remember that our support should not be contingent on disproving Islamophobic talking points about queer safety in Palestine. Aldayeh said it bluntly: “To determine whether or not you are against genocide because of whether or not you think that a group of people may or may not support your identity is fucking bananas. What the actual literal fuck?”

Outright released a statement in response to the action before it even took place explaining their focus remains on parts of the world where they have partners. But, as another speaker pointed out, wouldn’t now be a good time to get partners in the region?

This Pride Month, it’s clear queer people will not accept the bare minimum. Today, another coalition of activists made further demands insisting “Pride parades and national queer orgs immediately ban the corporations responsible for fueling the genocide in Gaza and worldwide colonial violence from sponsoring or participating in Pride events.”

Pride is a protest. Pride is a riot. And, as one of the ACT UP organizers said to close out the action: This is just the beginning. We have 27 days left of Pride.