With all this hate in the world, is it really so wrong for people to want to see a little change in our community? Change is not a bad thing and I believe we should embrace it and grow as we go.

It’s up to the people to accept the fact that we are not all the same. We will not all agree and we will never be the same, but we need to listen to each other and understand our differences. We all have daily struggles, but we must support one another and promote community events that encourage peace and coexisting. If people are truly encouraged to participate in society in a meaningful way, then they must be free to organize themselves without inappropriate or hurtful comments coming from people in leadership positions.

Imagine being someone who identifies as LGBTQ and then hearing these hurtful comments coming from someone who is supposed to be a role model. The LGBTQ community already feels silenced because they fear retaliation for being who they were born to be. As a community, we need to seek ways to end all forms of discrimination and gain access to more resources and education for people who are struggling.

The intent of the resolution declaring June 2 Central Maine Pride Day was to bring a sense of peace and equality to the city of Waterville (“Waterville children’s bookstore gets backlash for drag queen event,” May 13. With all the negativity in the last couple years we just wanted to send a message across the city that we accept you for who you are. It was emotional for some of us to see the unanimous support of the council. I have faith in this council and believe they all work very hard in difficult circumstances. All I can think about is the kids and teens seeing all these negative comments in our community. The misrepresentation of what is happening is disappointing. Waterville is our home too.

 

Bryan Evans

Waterville

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