You're Being Lied To About The Stonewall Riots

When it comes to LGBT discourse, I'm no stranger to getting involved in controversial discussion due to some of the views I've held. Even though some of those said views have changed overtime, what you're not going to do is force me to believe something that I know for a fact is 100% false.

Queer exploitation's become immensely popular in Western society, especially when it comes to history. The Stonewall Riots have become a major example of this due to the many stories that've been told to different generations. What's been a huge concern of mine is the amount of lies that are being told as facts. What's being done to the legacies of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera as well as the legacy of Stormé DeLarverie is, to put it lightly, reprehensible.

Yes, it's important to not invalidate what Marsha and Sylvia have done for our community and yes, it's true the Stonewall Riots were started by people of colour. However, Marsha and Sylvia have stated numerous times that they didn't start the riots yet people who claim to speak for our community are actively invalidating their word for the sake of an agenda involving objectifying trans people to change history, which in itself is ironically transphobic. Multiple witnesses have also come forward and have said a butch lesbian named Stormé DeLarverie was actually the one who threw the first punch. As for things allegedly being thrown, that piece of the story seems to change a lot. Some say it's a brick, others say it's a cocktail. Either way, we don't know.

Although it's wrong to generalise an entire group of people because of the actions of certain individuals, there's no denying that it has a huge accountability issue within the queer community. Whether we want to admit it or not, one of the reasons why LGBTQ acceptance has been slowly decreasing overtime is because we're allowing incredibly toxic individuals to infiltrate, exploit and harm the community from the inside. They're one of the biggest reasons why infighting's become such a common occurrence, why so many people only see it as something political and why terms like 'progressive' are so hated nowadays. These people don't care about us. They only care about having power and control over others.

To those who are actively taking part in twisting the truth about Stonewall: Shame on you.

To those who are allowing themselves to be manipulated: Wake up.