The most endearing wish at the recent Squamish 2040 visioning event was scrawled by a child on a dream board: “more rainbows.”
While the child who wrote this was probably thinking of actual rainbows, not painted ones, his or her dream is coming true.
This year, Squamish will have rainbow crosswalks downtown at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Victoria Street.
These rainbows are symbolic of inclusiveness, of acceptance of all groups in our society, of kindness and progress.
Rainbows appear after rain, after tough times, and lesbian, gay, queer and transgender people are among several groups just now emerging from a darker time into rainbows and sunshine. It’s a gradual, slow process, like most changes in civilization.
Witnessing the high-profile sexual assault trial of Jian Ghomeshi currently underway illustrates how slow society is to change, as, despite Canada’s rape shield laws, the victims rather than the accused appear to be on trial. Little has changed for rape victims in recent decades. Change has also been painfully slow toward other societal goals, such as ensuring equal pay for women working in the same jobs as men; the gap has closed only slightly.
For people who are homosexual, the changes in society are also slow. Even though some who grew up being bullied are now happily married to their partners, others, particularly youth, still struggle. Teenagers are already in a difficult period as they try to figure out their place in the world, and being in a minority in terms of sexual orientation creates added pressure.
Not all parents, friends and school staff are open-minded, and even choosing which gendered washroom to use at school or in a restaurant can be stressful to people questioning their identity.
Imagine a teenager struggling with his or her identity walking across Squamish’s rainbow crosswalks this summer. Rainbows are a symbol of hope, says Margo Dent, executive director of Safe ’n’ Sound, which began a discussion group at the Squamish Public Library this week and is now organizing its second annual conference.
“A rainbow crosswalk is an outward expression, a symbol that you are safe in this community, that the community accepts who you are,” Dent says.
For some who have endured bullying and violence simply for being gay, rainbows are the brightness that follows, or as Dent says, “that thing to look forward to after you have gone through something tough.”
The world needs more rainbows.
– Editor Christine Endicott
