Hello Steemians! Today was Pride Parade in NYC and I thought I'd share some of the video I grabbed while watching it.

Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions and views. They do not represent the official positions of Steemit Inc. or any employees thereof

I'm not a big "parade person" but it was nice to see everyone out in support of a group with such a difficult past. While I have no hard numbers on this, Pride Parade seems like the most popular parade in NYC, which I guess could make it the most popular parade in the world! Everybody came out in support from tens of thousands of citizens, to the police (who also seemed to be doing an amazing job protecting the parade) as well as the Governor (who seems like a pretty corrupt dude otherwise but oh well ;) ).

The video isn't technically NSFW but there are many half-clothed individuals and one guy who was wearing only a sock over his ... you know ... junk. So if that kind of thing bothers you, you might not want to watch. But hopefully this will give you all an idea of what it's like to be in Manhattan on this particular day!

Freedom of Speech

Pride Parade also highlights why freedom of speech is so important. It wasn't that long ago that people just didn't really know much about people with nonstandard sexualities. When speech can be banned there's no saying what will and won't be permitted by the authorities. Given the history of hostilities toward this group, it's highly likely that did we not have such a strong history of freedom of speech, as well as having it enshrined in our constitution, this type of speech would certainly have been banned.

But by having the right to make their presence known to the community through congregation, speaking, carrying signs, and having what appears to be a generally good time in the process, this community was able to help our society progress to a phase where, even if it's insincere pandering, the police and Governor feel obligated to respect their existence.

This is also why platforms like Steem and Steemit are so important. They act as a safety net against authoritarian overreach and guarantee that any oppressed group will always have a place where they can express themselves and make their views known to the world.