Pride: End bigotry and fight austerity
Tuvaal Klein, Socialist Party Scotland
On August 22nd thousands of people will be attending the annual Pride event in Glasgow. Pride, despite its recent commercialisation, is still for many people about celebrating the LGBTQ+ community’s achievements, but also about organising against LGBTQ+-phobia that still exists today.
In Scotland 50% of young trans people feel unsafe to use public transportation. Almost half of LGBTQ+ young people feel unsafe and unsupported by the NHS in terms of their sexual orientation and gender identity. 69% of LGBTQ+ young people experience bullying in school. Many young people in Scotland were inspired by the recent successful mass mobilisation for a YES vote in Marriage Equality Referendum in the Republic Of Ireland.
This brought the majority of working class urban areas out to make a statement against establishment forces like the church to fight for equality.
Socialists played a key role in organising the Yes campaign in these areas and linked the struggle for equality with the need to confront austerity. We need to take the same approach in Scotland.
There are unprecedented and savage attacks facing working class people through cuts to public serivces, education, health and welfare benefits. LGBTQ+ communities are at the sharp end of many of these attacks. We need to build a unified mass movement to defeat austerity in the trade unions, among young people and in our communities.
We must also organise and fight in order to end homophobia and bigotry and demand increased public sector funding for sex and gender education in schools, as well as more training for teachers and NHS staff.
We say:
- Build a mass movement against the cuts led by the trade unions and involving community campaigns, minority groups and young people
- Re-establish a militant LGBTQ+ movement to fight for equality ands genuine liberation for all
- Create a new mass working class party to offer a real political voice for the working class majority
