Do police belong at Pride? Does the man who mugged me belong at my birthday party? Does my shitty ex-boyfriend belong at my graduation? Is gas station sushi ever acceptable?
It’s not a surprise to me that queer police officers want to be in the Pride parades. Pride is a fabulous time. To be honest, who wouldn’t want to be part of Pride? But there’s a particular privilege—and lack of self-awareness—that comes with believing police officers deserve to be in these celebrations, particularly when they, queer as they may be, stand on the backs of the people whose brutality birthed this global movement.
And when we say no cops, it’s not as if a queer police officer couldn’t come as a civilian. What we mean is that the police cannot take up space at a protest that, frankly, they themselves are responsible for. That means no floats, no seemingly well-meaning videos of uniformed cops dancing with queers, and certainly no rainbow-clad police cars honking alongside parade floats.
