Zan-Schlein Pride Model Does Not Please Left-Wing Mayors –

Thomas Manni

September 01, 2024

When Pride becomes Festa dell’Unità 2.0. This is what happened in Lignano, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, where they tried to pass off the key event for rights as a demonstration, which had little to do with the usual battles against any form of discrimination. The list of unwelcome people is longer than that of those who could express their being. On the black, or rather red, list are first and foremost the Jews, who this time even had to hide the flags with the Star of David. “We are for Palestine,” shouted some activists. “We have nothing to do with these murderers.” It’s a shame, however, that those who sacrificed their existence so that, in certain contexts, such as the Middle East, everyone could freely and unconditionally demonstrate their love were also labeled in that way. The organizers of the 2024 edition of the North East Pride don’t care, according to whom only one word “Gaza” can be used, even if it serves to justify the action of some terrorist. October 7th, at those latitudes, is a distant memory.

In the colorful procession, however, the flags of the Italian Left and the Democratic Party abound. There are no big names, but many local leaders, who take advantage of the opportunity to carve out a space of visibility, which they would not otherwise have. With the excuse of widening the demonstration to associations, there are gazebos of the Greens, stands of the 5 Star Movement, the democratic ones and above all the tables to collect signatures on the Autonomy. “The goal – reports a member of the organization – is to collect at least a thousand signatures. If we do not take advantage of these opportunities, how can we reach the goal”. In the North, the battle against the Calderoli law is not taking hold. It is therefore necessary to exploit every initiative, which brings people onto the streets, to convince some skeptics. The effect, however, is not the one desired.

Several people protested and declared themselves “outraged” by a party that should not label or divide. Among the participants, in fact, several right-wing gays, who silently preferred to dance and pretend that nothing else was happening. “We come here – a group of girls reported – to dance, not because we share battles, which have nothing to do with emancipation, the fight against discrimination and so on”. Aside from the hits and the artists who performed, this time in Lignano, there certainly seems to have been no step forward in terms of rights. The several thousand young people who arrived at the park, set up for the occasion, are not enough, according to most, to justify those who invited only those they liked best and would have excluded, as some Arcigay leaders reported, those uncomfortable references who fought for an open demonstration without preclusions. In short, apart from the usual abundance of colors, which makes this moment unique, there is more than a little discontent for those who, apart from the ballad, would like the movement to represent the entire LGBT community and not just a marginal part.