YORKTON - As part of Pride Week activities a ‘Planting Pride’ program was held Wednesday evening.
The program focused on how to be a “good ally” to the LGBTIQA+ community, with speaker for the event Andrew Matheson with Humboldt Pride and the Saskatchewan Pride Network.
Matheson said the presentation focuses on helping people simply be more supportive of the LGBTIQA+, “both from the queer perspective” and everybody else.
The key message is that everyone needs to advocate for the LGBTIQA+ community to be able to live their lives, said Matheson.
So what was the one message Matheson felt people should take home with them?
“Treat people like human beings . . . Be a human being,” said Matheson.
The presentation of the evening is one Matheson has shared in a number of rural communities this year: Davidson, Wynyard and Humboldt among them, in an effort “To advocate from the ally side in rural areas.”
Matheson said some rural communities are taking positive steps, for example a Pride parade in a small community like Foam Lake, while others are still coming to the point of understanding the LGBTIQA+ community is part of small towns too.
“Some communities are better than others,” said Matheson.
Nationally Matheson said Canada was a leader in terms of inclusion of sexual orientation in its charter, but at the same time laws and regulations are changing in several American states and there are those wanting similar changes here. It’s a situation Canadians need to make sure does not happen.
In fact, Matheson said if there was one change that would be helpful it would be to ban protests against LGBTIQA+ activities since their rights are protected in this country, so they should not have to face protests.
But that is a big picture hope.
The event in Yorkton had a less grand hope.
“I’m not here trying to change individuals, but if I can help one person feel ‘I’m a visible person’ then it will be a success,” said Matheson.
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