National "Public" Radio -- the network that claims to speak for all the American people -- pounced on promoting "Pride Month" on Weekend Edition Saturday, lamenting how the Trump administration's drive against wokeness and "inclusion" in large corporations is defunding "Pride" celebrations. The headline: "Pride celebrations struggle as corporate sponsorships dry up."
Where will they make up the gap? In Pittsburgh, they touted "the state government swooped in with a grant at the last minute to help narrow the gap." Taxpayers backed the gay agenda. Naturally, NPR would never allow an opposing view when "inclusion" is at stake. Pride-aganda is the norm.
The story began:
HANNAH FRANCES JOHANSSON: June is Pride Month. That means weekends will be punctuated with parades and festivals across the country celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Corporate sponsors have become a funding staple, donating in exchange for a feature in the parade or festival. A majority of Pride celebrations have seen a reduction in sponsorships, especially bigger celebrations, according to Jordan Braxton, co-president of the United States Association of Prides.
In the online article, Braxton explained "the Trump administration's dismantling of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, has scared corporations away from sponsoring Pride celebrations. 'I think that's why some of the corporations have pulled back, because they don't want that government scrutiny,' she said.
JOHANSSON: Less money for Pride sometimes also means less money for year-round LGBTQ+ events and resources. E. Ciszek, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin who is writing a book about how LGBTQ+ people are represented in public relations and advertising, said public support from corporations for this community has become politically costly.
E CISZEK: What once was a organizational asset - right? - has now become an organizational risk.
The only counter-argument (from within the bubble) was that Pride Month was "too corporate" anyway. Pride events were celebrated as crucial for youth:
JOHANSSON: People are chanting things like "out of the closet and into the streets." The biggest sponsor back then was a local bank. But in the last 20 years, large corporations, including Fortune 500 companies, have become sponsors of Pittsburgh Pride. Now there are way more attendees - tens of thousands, instead of hundreds. Lyndsey Sickler, another Pittsburgh Pride organizer, said it's important to create an event where people can be free of judgment.
LYNDSEY SICKLER: They are in a space that is actively, loudly celebrating everything that is us. And for some people, no matter what age that is, it's their first time. And I don't - nothing else matters at that point.
JOHANSSON: Ultimately, Sickler said Pride is about the teenager who has never met another trans person or the parents whose kid just came out as gay. It's about support.
NPR would never jeopardize that crusade by letting an opponent say anything on their formerly federally-funded stations. But Jim Acosta thinks other networks are the "propaganda giants."
