The difference between minority pride and majority pride

It's very common to see people complaining about how say, there's gay pride, or African-American Pride, or other minority groups celebrating themselves, but it's considered wrong for there to be talk of white pride or straight pride. I can understand the reasoning. At first glance it seems like reverse racism, that you're not allowed to be proud of who you are if you're not a minority.

But there is one big difference between the two, as I see it, that some people seem to miss.

Being part of a minority comes with it's problems. Whether it's explicit racism against someone for being Arab in the weeks after September 11, 2001, having fewer opportunities in life because you're African American, or being on the receiving end of screams of "faggot", minorities often get the message that they are somehow inferior. That they're not as good as the people in the majority, and should "keep to their own kind", or be "fixed" when possible. That they are lesser people.

The whole point of the minority having pride in themselves, having a pride celebration, is to fight back against that. To say, "I am PROUD to be (part of X minority)". That they're not ashamed of being a part of it, because there's nothing wrong. It's a way of telling their detractors that those people are wrong. After all, who would openly celebrate something they should be ashamed of?

This is why pride movements for the majority don't get accepted as well. Nobody is being given the message that there's something wrong with being white, that they should be ashamed of being Christian, that they're inferior because they are straight. Yes, I know, fringe groups may suggest that, but they aren't really taken seriously.

Because there isn't that message of being a lower form of human, there's no need for people in the majority to admit to being there. No inferiority to shake off.

And since there's no need to defy people giving them a negative message, there is a question of what purpose majority pride really serves. If you don't need to say "I'm just as good as anyone else", then the perception becomes that you're actually saying "I'm better than everyone else" - even if that's not the message.

I suppose the answer for those people who want to be proud of themselves when they're in the majority is to find an event for celebrating all forms of whatever attribute you're talking about. If you want to be proud to be straight, do it at a gay pride parade - yes, there are plenty of straight people there, either in support (such as PFLAG), or just to enjoy themselves, and by supporting minority sexuality, you're supporting the freedom of sexuality, and thus your own sexuality. If you want to celebrate being white, see if there's an event celebrating racial diversity - as you'll get to celebrate yourself in the process, since you fit into the picture of diversity also.

The point is that movements or events to celebrate minority pride are usually not exclusionary - you don't have to belong to the group to give them your support, and in the process, you show your pride in who you are. Majority pride, on the other hand, is almost always exclusionary - and this is why they're often seen as negative to the minority. By excluding those minority groups, they're once again implying they're not as good, since they're not welcome.

Note that I feel any group that celebrates pride in themselves while excluding people who are not part of that minority, yet wish to offer their support, or supports pride in a way that suggests they are "better" than others groups, is sending the wrong message, and should not be looked upon as being a positive influence, but a negative one.

Addendum: Note that I don't see ethnic pride such as "Irish Pride" as fitting into the category of "majority pride" (at least here in the US). They're not a majority, and they're not celebrating the attribute that puts them in the majority. Sure, they're white, but they're not having pride being white, they're having pride in being Irish - being white isn't really relevant there. Just wanted to clarify that, as some people have expressed concerns I was suggesting that those kinds of pride were also harmful.

There is no difference. Pride is pride, and hate is hate. In the end, the former usually leads to the latter.

Such is the case here, where we see a person saying that one group should not express pride in its identity, because of a simple difference in numbers, as though that had anything whatsoever to do with anything worthy of pride or of shame. Also notable is the "the majority always represses the minority" sentiment which is common in those who would rationalize their own hatred for the majority, rather than examine the reasons behind it and, perhaps, ultimately come to a better understanding thereof.

Finally, we see the blind eye being turned once again, with the statement "Nobody is being given the message that there's something wrong with being white, that they should be ashamed of being Christian, that they're inferior because they are straight. Yes, I know, fringe groups may suggest that, but they aren't really taken seriously." All people, including those in the majority, face these messages every day. One need only look to mainstream media to see messages against any given group; currently Christianity is the fashionable majority for others to persecute, but others can be seen if you know where to look. I could go to any college bulletin board in the United States with scholarship offers on it, and find at least one where I am denied its benefits simply because of my race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, et cetera. The simple fact that the target of the persecution has changed does not make it any more just or noble; it is persecution all the same. As I stated in the beginning of this post, hate is hate. If we are to see true equality, then such irrelevant factors as one's race, gender, orientation, religion, political affiliation, or other characteristics must not even enter into the decision. Currently we acknowledge people's differences, but no further progress will be made until we acknowledge that those differences don't matter in the least.