Pride: – More important than any curse
COMMENTS
Not everyone dares to go on Saturday’s rainbow train.
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Fredrik Solvang decided to lie low, and declined all requests about leading debates, raising flags or participating in TV broadcasts in connection with pride in June. He was afraid that it would be interpreted as a political act on his part and therefore come into conflict with his role as presenter at NRK. He was one of many who thought so. Reidun Kjelling Nybø and Arne Jensen of the Editors’ Association asked questions whether journalists can participate in and cover Pride simultaneously.
Teacher Anders Noreng at Årvoll school calls the Oslo school’s call for participation in the pride parade å “push ideology” on the children and said that such trains are “generally something you want to keep children away from”. He got support from the Progress Party’s Himanshu Gulati and Peter Risholm i Parents’ network.no – which must “support parents in meeting with Pride in kindergartens and schools”. In Document.no, Kjell Skartveit wrote that «Pride truer child, woman, reason, faith and democracy’. Even Queiv verden criticized Pride for having become «a commercial festival which celebrated the rights of the privileged».
![Yes, it was untimely Yes, it was untimely](https://www.dagbladet.no/images/76964479.jpg?imageId=76964479&x=0&y=17.931034482759&cropw=100&croph=51.034482758621&width=980&height=559)
Yes, it was untimely
Another colleague decided to mark pride precisely because he was reacting to the fierce debate. On the night of Saturday 25 June, he was at the bar Per on the corner in Rosenkrantz’ gate, close to the legendary London Pub – where the masses flocked after closing time at Pride park close by.
The parade was to color Oslo with rainbow colors and glitter that Saturday. The plane was shot to pieces with a machine gun. Zaniar Matapour killed at Per on the corner, injured 23 and threatened the lives of hundreds through the mass shooting hours before the planned parade. At the end of the month, 218 people had been given the status of offended, the number can continue to increase. The perpetrator is charged with murder, attempted murder and acts of terrorism. He is associated with an extreme Islamist milieu, but has not yet made himself known. We therefore do not know for sure whether the incident is an act of terrorism.
![A lesson for politicians A lesson for politicians](https://www.dagbladet.no/images/60164106.jpg?imageId=60164106&x=0&y=13.780918727915&cropw=100&croph=26.148409893993&width=980&height=559)
A lesson for politicians
For the victims, it feels that way anyway. Eleven years after the 22 July terror, preparedness is still not good enough. The hundreds directly affected have experienced trauma that can affect them for life. It’s a shame they have to fight to get help. Weeks later, many still had not received legal aid, status as offended or access to a psychologist. For comparison: After the shopping center shooting in Copenhagen a week after the attack in Oslo, got all witnesses immediately come to a hall where crisis psychologists were ready and the police took explanations.
The attack also hit people other than those who were there. Many queers have blushed, 50 years after the ban on homosexuality was lifted in Norway, this became a brutal reminder that it still exists. It can still be dangerous to just be who you are.
![Deserves respect Deserves respect](https://www.dagbladet.no/images/76920197.jpg?imageId=76920197&x=41.945288753799&y=48.814337899543&cropw=45.896656534954&croph=48.401826484018&width=151&height=107)
Deserves respect
Fredrik Solvang was ashamed. In social media, he wrote that «I am ashamed that I did not want to go in the parade, I regret that I have been a coward and afraid that a few will be able to misunderstand and perceive support for Pride as something more political than support for a universal human rights’.
The attack showed why pride is not just a celebration, but also a fight. When the queer movement takes to the streets with ticks, glitter and music, it is not without risk. It is a mark of people’s right to exist, without fear of prosecution or violence. That’s what this pride is all about – every single time.
The threat level was raised after the attack and the police asked that pride events across the country be cancelled. It was another warning about the danger. If the motive behind the attack was to scare, it had succeeded. Now the backlash is in place.
![Amnesty is not the enemy Amnesty is not the enemy](https://www.dagbladet.no/images/60164106.jpg?imageId=60164106&x=0&y=15.901060070671&cropw=100&croph=26.148409893993&width=980&height=559)
Amnesty is not the enemy
Never before have so many rainbow train adorned Norwegian streets. In recent weeks, people have taken to the streets in, among other places, Drammen, Ålesund, Fagernes, Stavanger and on Sunndalsøra. On Saturday it will be a rainbow train in Oslo, Mo i Rana and at Rena. In many places this is the very first time.
The rainbow train in Oslo on Saturday leaves at one o’clock from the sea side of Kongens gate. It goes past the Cathedral, up Grensen and through Rosenkrantz’ gate on the way to Kontraskjæret. Rosenkrantz’ gate is painted in the colors of the rainbow, from the London pub to Per on the corner. The symbol of diversity and community forms a beautiful carpet, and is a visible reminder of why it is particularly important to stand up for pride this year.
Not everyone dares to take the train now. The police are still concerned about security, PST says “there are several actors who have the ability and will to commit terror in Norway” and fears that the attack on 25 June may inspire others.
Security is found in the community. It is up to all of us to make it so large and diverse that it makes room for everyone. Taking the train for those who don’t dare is an act of solidarity. It is more important than ever.