The Pink Brick

This past weekend was Pocatello Pride.  The gay pride celebration was held at the Old Town Pocatello Pavilion from 3pm-11pm on Saturday.  I attended the event from about 4:30-5:30 and then headed up to Pebble Creek for their annual Wildflower Festival. The Wildflower Festival is one of my favorite events in Pocatello that combines views of the valley I love, people who love them too, live music, burgers and beer. If I’m in town, I NEVER miss the fest.

My time at Pride was brief but pleasant. I ran into a few members of the local GLBT community that I know well as well as some that I only know in passing. I ran into a number of allies in attendance and also manning various booths. I chatted with my junior high band director and the former art teacher who were helping at the Falling Rock Productions booth. (Falling Rock makes custom t-shirts and I’ve worked with Brandon on my 20yr high school reunion shirts as well as the turbine project commemorative tee’s years ago. The guy rocks!)

One of the organizers encouraged us to stay, but I explained that the sunset from the top of Pebble was a skosh more romantic and calling me. After I left Pocatello Pride, they handed out a few awards.

I later heard that there was a specific award—a painted pink brick—presented to Ralph Lillig for bringing the people of the LGBT and allies together. Mr. Lillig has been the chief opponent of the Fair Pocatello campaign and Pocatello’s non-discrimination ordinance. He is the one who called for the vote recount and either paid the ~$4,000 out of his own pocket or solicited donations through his own “Yes Pocatello” campaign.

I have SUCH mixed feelings about this.

It’s clever. It’s funny. It’s a perfect application of my life-guiding metaphor to see the rainbow amidst the rain. I really did meet some fantastic people throughout endeavors with the ordinance “fight” (I don’t like fighting) and in it all, I became a regular and recognizable columnist in our local paper.  That’s allowed me to get a few things off my chest and share my personal perspective on many topics including and beyond GLBT issues.  I’ll reiterate a phrase there…my personal perspective. So here is my personal perspective on the pink brick.

So wait. Is someone really giving the pink brick to Mr. Lillig?  Please don’t physically give the brick to him. That gesture would bear a whole new meaning that makes me very uncomfortable.

Someone posted a picture of the brick on Facebook. My gut reaction was, “don’t throw it!” Throwing bricks through windows is an intimidation tactic from the civil rights conflicts in our country years ago. That lone brick—even though it’s a pastel pink—in the context of our own controversy, evoked the imagery of bricks through windows and Molotov cocktails and burning crosses.  I found it immediately threatening.

And how would it go? Getting the brick to Mr. Lillig? Would someone show up at his house? Ring his doorbell? How would any member of the GLBT community feel if Mr. Lillig showed up on your doorstep?  It would scare me. I would imagine he wanted a confrontation. It would make me angry. I disagree with many, many of his words and I think his weekly talk show on channel 12 is deplorable, but I’ve not felt physically threatened by him. Showing up at his house would be just that type of harassment, in my opinion, and I would hate to see any member of our community engage.

So, if it’s not hand-delivered then what? Anonymously leaving it on his door step?  Noooooo! [face palm]  That is definitely harassing and threatening. If it were a spray painted trophy or a stuffed teletubby (while still petty and uncool), it would not contain the connotations of a brick.

Are you going to call him? Ask him to meet?  And what will be gained by this? Nothing.  It would only serve as a “poking of the bear”.  The time and effort in bear-poking could be better spent volunteering somewhere in our community or going on a nice walk and taking in the beauty around us rather than focusing on the ugly he wishes to perpetuate.

Whoever has that pink brick now…how about this?  Keep it.  Hold it. Take note of the violence and ill will that it is capable of but also that it could be a piece of something wonderful. A house. A building, A path. A monument.  A memorial. A school. A church. (There are many who welcome the GLBT with open arms, you know.) So many things could be built with that brick, but nothing will be built if it is given to Mr. Lillig.

In choosing to disengage with Mr. Lillig, the GLBT community can be the better person. We need to be the better person.