Editorial: Pride is a colorful celebration of acceptance

A rainbow is just a trick of the light.

There isn’t really a ribbon of color stretched across the sky. It’s just the way the sun falls through a mist of water suspended in the air after precipitation. The water acts like a cut-glass crystal, slicing through the light to divide the brightness into its component parts of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

But the simple science of it makes for a wonderful image. A rainbow is a reason to smile.

Rainbows are rare — except in June. As the symbol of LGBTQ+ Pride month, rainbows are everywhere.

For some, they spark joy. They celebrate the freedom some people feel in being themselves. They express the diversity of a community that includes a wide range of identities. They shine with the support of those who ally themselves with friends and loved ones in that community.

For others, rainbows are a red flag. They stir up political opposition. They can prompt pushback on retailers who sell merchandise and the people who buy it.

On Saturday, Pittsburgh was full of Pride, as the annual parade took to the streets. It was also full of politics, as first lady Jill Biden spoke at Allegheny Commons Park.

Separating the politics from Pride is as hard as splintering white light into a spectrum of color. It’s rare and requires just the right conditions.

LGBTQ rights took decades to be carved out and recognized. The legal protections are still not settled. There are still holes in written law and decisions already made — like the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that allowed same-sex marriage — have been articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court for revisiting.

The uncertainty and opposition don’t really dim the celebrations. Those who embrace Pride started doing so amid widespread and almost accepted, if not expected, abuse.

What Pride does is engage. It brings people to step out into the light. It brings more acceptance and familiarity. It allows recognition. It encourages people to show understanding.

There will be opposition to this — just as there are voices raised against Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Juneteenth and other events that shine a spotlight on specific populations.

But a bright light after a storm is exactly how you get the beautiful diversity of a rainbow.