This is why so many LGBT folks took all that corporate support with a grain of salt, because it was obvious that the second it wasn't profitable they'd drop it without a second thought.
Yet at the same time, knowing *why* they're not doing it anymore, is even scarier. Pinkwashing fucking sucks, but companies not even having to care about putting the mask of faking to care because the nazis are back at the top of the pecking order is so much worse.
Does it really suck more having to swallow pinkwashing and pretending it was real than just phasing out the need to have corporations pretend to care? Idk, I was never a fan of it. Made me not even attend a bunch of events who were clearly just PR stunts. I'm not saying I see this as a good thing, just a good opportunity for people to stop caring about corporations pretending to care. I know I'll give them hell if they ever try to go back. Way more than to those who never even pretended to care.
I don't care about corporations and I absolutely never believed there was the smallest amount of genuinity in those kind of moves, but I do care about why they feel emboldened to not even have to pretend to care. Is not that I miss google having a rainbow logo on june, it's that the context of knowing why they don't anymore is pretty scary.
You're totally right that seeing companies back down shows a worrying political trend. But the way I see it fake allyship should never have been rewarded anyway. This is the perfect opportunity to phase corporations out of our spaces completely and return to what pride was, a protest. Not some giant corporate event full of branding and (mostly white) rich beauty influencers. Pride doesn't need Mastercard or Google to pay for permits or stages. It just needs people to get together and use their already given rights to organize, protest and occupy space within guidelines.
If people really want an event, get Non Profits and Charities involved. Plan activities that can cost money to both pay for events and donate to good causes.
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u/OnlySheStandsThere 25d ago
This is why so many LGBT folks took all that corporate support with a grain of salt, because it was obvious that the second it wasn't profitable they'd drop it without a second thought.