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Tyson’s Thoughts: Flag raising ceremony a great start to pride festivities

It was beautiful to see a group of people celebrate who they truly are and not be afraid to do so.
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PROFILE PHOTO COURTESY OF KIMBERLEY KUFAAS PHOTOGRAPHY Tyson’s Thoughts is a weekly column posted every Thursday at northislandgazette.com and in print the following Wednesday. Have some thoughts about my thoughts? email editor@northislandgazette.com.

I’ve been quiet lately on the editorial front.

A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, commented on it the other day and asked whatever happened to Tyson’s Thoughts.

I told him there wasn’t any real reason for me not writing my column, I just didn’t have anything interesting to say.

My thoughts have always tended to be a bit sporadic sometimes, and I like to take breaks from writing them down and publishing them for everyone to see.

Mind you, editorials are the most challenging thing to write, and a lot of the time they end up being very divisive and can cause disagreements and hostility between people.

Not that I’m afraid of debate, nor will I ever be afraid of debate, but sometimes it’s better to just keep your head down and report the news.

So what’s been going on in the North Island lately that might need some Tyson’s Thoughts dedicated to it? Well, the unveiling of the pride flag at North Island College on Friday was a really great event, and it was beautiful to see a group of people being able to celebrate who they truly are and not be afraid to do so.

I’m not a member of the LGBTQ2+ community, but regardless of that fact, I think they deserve all the support in the world and it was nice to see other people in town who feel the same way show up to the event and support them.

Growing up in Port Hardy in the 1990s/2000s, this town had an incredibly toxic homophobic environment. Whenever someone wanted to insult someone else on the playground or in the classroom, they always were quick to attack with gay slurs that I won’t repeat here. I didn’t like it then and I definitely don’t like it now that it’s 2019. We’re all just humans living on a giant ball spinning through outer space, let’s show each other respect and common decency.

Tyson Whitney is an award-winning journalist who was born and raised in Port Hardy. His family has lived in Port Hardy for more than 40 years. He graduated with a degree in writing from Vancouver Island University in 2008. Email: editor@northislandgazette.com



Tyson Whitney

About the Author: Tyson Whitney

I have been working in the community newspaper business for nearly a decade, all of those years with Black Press Media.
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