Which of the following do you identify with, and why?

I strongly prefer the pink triangle over the rainbow flag…

Back in the Nazi era there was a time when the Nazis turned against gay men, which is ironic ’cause the SA was filled with us faggots and used to have big huge drunken orgies. But the SA got closed down and the SS came into ascendance.

About this same time being gay became a crime and they started sending gay men off to concentration camps. The pink triangle is what they used to put on the sleeves of gay men – just as Jews wore the yellow star of David.

You probably know all of that, but what you may not know is that guys with pink triangles were on the lowest rung of the concentration camps. They were worked harder, abused more, you name it. There are stories of gay men stealing yellow stars of David off dead Jews in order to improve their treatment.

The pink triangle is a badge of honor for us. It is a symbol of the hatred against us that we have appropriated and used for our own purposes. It’s there to remind us that the discrimination against us has long and dark roots.

The rainbow flag doesn’t have any of that history. I’ve met the guy who “invented” it – it’s a happy symbol of inclusion and equality – there’s no dark history behind it.

Thing is, the gay community isn’t all that inclusive (ask any gay black man), and we don’t have equality either. IMHO, our symbol should still be the pink triangle. We need to be reminded of the ways in which we still need to fight against those who hate us. And our struggle against inequality should make us see all in the LGBT community as our family, regardless of skin color, etc.

It’s gay pride month – which symbol will you use? It’s true, the rainbow flag makes great flags – triangular flags just don’t work that well. But when it comes to things like pins, badges and bumper stickers – pick a pink triangle and wear/use it with pride. And explain it’s history to people when it comes up in conversation…