“Parents who take their kids to these things should lose custody”: Seattle Pride Parade videos spark concern for children

On June 24, 2023, thousands of people attended the Seattle Pride Parade, which happens to be the largest parade in Washington. The 49th Annual Seattle Pride Parade in downtown Seattle began at 4th Avenue and Pike Street and ended at 2nd Avenue and Denny Way near Seattle Center. It happened from 11 am to 3 pm and saw people of all ages actively participating.

In fact, parents from the LGBTQ+ community took their children to the parade in large numbers. However, as soon as the videos from the parade became viral on social media, some netizens showed concern for the kids. They were disturbed as the clippings showed public n*dity and speculated that such events were unfit for youngsters. One even angrily tweeted that parents taking their children such parades "should lose custody."

A Twitter user slamming parents for taking their kids to Seattle Pride Parade. (Image via Twitter/Gossip Gators)

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267 community groups marched in the Seattle Pride Parade

At the 49th Annual Seattle Pride Parade, roughly 300,000 people were present, donning vibrant colors and smiling faces and following this year’s theme of “galactic love.” The organizer Staff with Pride said that this year’s Pride Parade had 267 community groups marching in it, the biggest turnout ever in the history of the Seattle Pride Parade.

However, the Seattle Police Department was not allowed to march in the parade, which has happened two times in a row already. Being part of the parade since 1994, the cops were welcome to participate in the event, but not in their work uniform. A person named Colleen Lindsay, who was part of the Pride Parade, justified this to king5.com, saying:

“It’s probably appropriate for them not to be marching in this parade, particularly since this started.rPride started as a riot where police raided the Stonewall Inn and attacked people simply for loving other people of the same sex.”

Although the Seattle Police Department was allowed to provide security along the parade route, many netizens believe that they were unable to protect the young minds from seeing what they saw, i.e., public n*dity and several other obscenities.

Netizens also took to the comment section of @EndWokeness's post about the situation to share their views on the same on Twitter.

A Twitter user shares his disgust at Seattle Pride Parade. (Image via Twitter/Jim Caviezel)

A tweet sharing an individual's opinion on children attending Seattle Pride Parade. (Image via Twitter/LS Knip)

A netizen asks LGBTQ+ parents to leave their children at home while attending Pride Parades. (Image via Twitter/Luna)

An internet user calls parents "child abusers" for dragging along their kids with them to Pride Parades. (Image via Twitter/Marilyn)

A tweet saying that exposing children to public n*dity is illegal. (Image via Twitter/Jami Herlihy)

A Twitter user thinks exposing children to Pride Parades is unnecessary. (Image via Twitter/MsEnglishnogood)

A tweet slamming the parents who attended the Pride Parade in Seattle with their kids. (Image via Twitter/Raven Hawthorne)

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Seattle Pride Parade: A Step in the right direction

Despite being slammed, members of the LGBTQ+ community, who were proactively part of the Seattle Pride Parade, believed that it was another step in the right direction, especially when it comes to individuals accepting one another for who they are.

For instance, a woman, who identifies as a lesbian and chose to remain anonymous, told king5.com:

“Not just gay, not queer but being able to show yourself 100% authentically human, which is something we didn’t always have the right to do.”

Echoing a similar sentiment, another attendee said:

“It means that we’re getting a little bit closer to having a lot more tolerant people in the world and I kind of love that.”

Likewise, a teacher named Michelle Denbese, who belongs to the LGBTQ+ community and was part of the parade, told komonews.com:

“It’s really affirming to be here with all of these people in this giant crowd to be able to be who we are and be in community.”

She further added how as an educator she felt obligated to let her students know that it is okay to be who they want to be.

“My students would often tell me that it was really important for them to know that I’m successful, and they can be out and it’ll be OK for them.”

Even the mayor of Seattle, Bruce Harrell, tweeted in favor of his city's Pride Parade.

Seattle Pride Parade is one among many other Pride Parades in the USA that have been happening since the beginning of June, including the Los Angeles Pride Parade, NYC Pride March, and Boston Pride Parade, among others.