If you’re my friend on Facebook and you were to look at my profile picture at the moment, you wouldn’t see my face. You’d see a logo of the Pulse nightclub with a rainbow and a transparent ribbon, memorializing the Orlando shooting.
There’s a phenomenon that happens every time there’s an incident that shakes the nation: Half of the population of Facebook (yes, including me) hurries to slap a filter over their profile picture, or change the picture entirely, to show solidarity with whatever group is being oppressed. In the case of LGBTQIA+ related events, the chosen filter is a rainbow flag. Classic.
Whether it’s celebrating a monumental achievement (the legalization of marriage last June) or a devastating tragedy (for a more recent example, the Orlando shooting) everyone seems eager to jump on the Gay Rights Train when the community is hopping. But what about the rest of the year, when the queer community isn’t celebrating, isn’t mourning, isn’t doing much of anything outside of trying to live a normal life like everyone else? Those outside the queer community — who don’t have to deal with the daily insults, threats, and general homophobia — think joining the community is as easy as changing their profile picture, but it takes more than that. If you really want to be a part of the community, you have to show a lot more support than a rainbow filter on your profile picture.
In times of tragedy, we focus on mourning and healing, which is all well and good, but when the dust settles and we’re to deal with the aftermath, it’s time to look at the attitudes and actions that made us end up in the bloody situation we face time after time again. I mean, think about your actions in the past year — since the legalization of marriage, to now, facing the most massive hate crime we’ve seen in this country. Have you laughed at gay jokes, or have you stood up for those people that the laugh is at the expense of? Have you told gay jokes yourself? Have you said nothing while a friend posts homophobic comments on Facebook and pretended not to see them, or have you actively stepped in and tried to dispel the animosity? Have you stood idly by while a gay youth is being bullied on the streets, or have you taken action, realizing that your neglect to do so ensures that victims of violence or even suicide keep piling up every day?
Changing your profile picture to include a rainbow filter isn’t being an ally. Taking an active stand against homophobia and other discrimination is.
But, hey, updating your profile picture to show support is a great first step. After you change your picture, you could start defending fellow citizens against those homophobic comments on social media we see littering social media so often. Maybe after that, you donate money to the “GoFundMe” programs set up for the larger tragedies, which urges you to start volunteering for organizations that support queer communities, like GLAAD or your local SGA. If adding a gay filter to your profile picture pushes you in this direction, more power to you — I am so proud. But if your profile picture is some way to make you feel good about yourself for neglecting the queer community the rest of the year, think twice about your actions — past and present.
In the state of our country, now is not the time to sit on the fence while people are dying. Think about the citizens — young, old, black, white, male, female, non-binary — that face violence and hate every day and how brave they are to keep moving forward. Now think about how brave you can be — if you want to help, you cannot afford to sit on the sidelines until a clear victor is present. Be brave enough to throw your voice into the air and be heard.
