I am a school bus driver by trade. I drive for a private Christian school which has its name printed I bold, advertised letters on the side of my bus. The other day while I was fueling, a trucker beside me at the pumps decided to engage me in conversation. It started with noting the beauty of that mornings sunrise, one of the perks and blessings of being on the road. Then he switched gears. Nodding at the name on the side of my bus he suddenly asks me what I think of this whole pride month thing. The way he asked me was as though the name on the side of my bus indicated that we shared a common viewpoint and a common language. He assumed that we would be able to say what needed to be said without using words that could be overheard and thus get us in trouble and/or persecuted. He assumed that because I drive a bus with the word “Christian” on the side that I must have certain feelings about all this pride being celebrated, and that part of that shared language was wrapped up in necessary conviction that our free speech was under threat and, as he made sure to note, his veteran status was being undermined. One day to celebrate his service, as he put it. A month to celebrate Pride.
Something about how that whole conversation went down left my unsettled. Wasn’t sure quite what to do with it. The irony of it was that if I said anything in that moment that challenged his assumptions about our shared language it would be me being the oppressor. He was clearly far less interested in hearing more I thought than he was in maintaining the relevance of this insiders club.
And then I came to this article, and I thought it was an interesting perspective and take on Pride month and how words and language play into how we see their meaning. Written by a Christian who is also gay. Been pondering this quote inparticular:
“The question is not, “What does rainbow flag symbolism mean?” The question is, “To whom does rainbow flag symbolism have meaning? Who am I trying to communicate with, and what will they understand this symbolism to mean?”..
In cases where the people I encounter have different understandings of the same symbol, whose understanding is a higher priority to me? Who am I willing to risk being misunderstood by? Will I have an opportunity to clarify my meaning to one audience but not to another? In which case will correct understanding create more good, and in which case will misunderstanding create more harm?”…
perhaps we’d be better off if we approached these situations with fewer categorical answers and more genuine questions. Perhaps we’d be better off if we asked the people we love what these symbols mean to them, instead of assuming we already know their answers.”
The Stories of my Life 