The Roar of Pride: Budapest’s Illegal Pride March as a Beacon of Hope

As Pride Month came to a close in the United States this week, many eyes were on Hungary, where more than 200,000 people marched despite warnings from Viktor Orbán that the parade was illegal. The Fidesz Party, under Orbán, has been eroding democratic freedoms and institutions in its crusade to increase its absolute power in Hungary for years. Vital aspects of a democratic nation, including universities, news outlets, and nonprofits that have all been vocal critics of Orbán, find themselves steadily losing their momentum. 

Reading the news on the Pride March in Budapest, I found myself meditating on the word pride. My mind went to lions, not for their physical strength but for their familial strength within their pride, that they depend on to not only survive but to thrive as well. The awe-inspiring courage demonstrated by those marching in the streets of Budapest was truly something to behold, and certainly a firm line drawn in the sand concerning attacks on LGBTQ+ rights not only in Hungary, but globally. 

Under the guise of family and Christian values, Orbán has repeatedly attacked the LGBTQ+ community not only through his words but also through constitutional changes that have effectively removed marriage and adoption rights. As many Americans have come to learn recently, authoritarians consolidate power by persecuting marginalised groups in an effort to create an atmosphere of hatred and ignorance. Though claiming to be protecting society, Orbán and the far-right paint a picture that attempts to make this a moral and social issue. According to Human Rights Watch, these kinds of attempts to remove LGBTQ+ rights are a growing blot on the world as Christian nationalists use social media to catalyse anxiety surrounding a responsive demographic of their constituency that agrees. This largely holds the public eye over issues that are constructed for the purpose of sowing discord and distracting from the very real failures by leaders like Orbán.

Often referred to as the disrupter-in-chief, Orbán warned European leaders not to attend the event, given its illegal nature, according to a recent ban prohibiting the promotion of same sex marriage to under-18s. Thankfully, many European leaders voiced their support or even attended, to show solidarity with thousands of marchers. A stark warning for the United States was issued, concerning companies like Palantir, when police in Budapest claimed they would use facial recognition software to fine and imprison organisers of the march. Fundamentally, Pride celebrates personal freedom and solidarity for the human right to love one another; the censorship enacted to stop these events is a clear violation of the democratic freedom of expression. Autocrats at home and abroad want to dissolve human rights, and now more than ever does this require allyship in the face of such reckless hate by men like Orbán, Putin, and Trump. The marchers in Budapest raucously roared as one, in defiance of the weak-spined hate mongers that tried to stop them in their tracks.

Social action being crucial to undermining authoritarianism, the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsony, found a loophole in the government’s ban on the Pride Parade. The parade was organised through the city hall, cunningly avoiding the requirement of authorisation from authorities for the event. Hope is found even in the darkest of times, and it certainly takes bold action by activists and politicians alike to rally against hate movements that target our friends and families. By showing solidarity in the face of threats by Orbán and Hungary’s Justice Minister, Bence Tuzson, the world was certainly impacted by what transpired. I felt hope when I watched the Pride Parade go down Fifth Avenue in New York, that change is always possible, but it requires camaraderie and support for all marginalised groups to ensure equality under the law for all, not just the few. According to Guardian correspondent Ashifa Kassem, this was “a rallying call for the resistance, a chance to stand up against this wider rollback of rights that is becoming so blatant”. As authoritarians continue to grow bolder in their actions, activism is non-negotiable if we are to continue working on the project that is democracy.

Ideology is a word that has become a favourite of the far-right because of its connotation to an uninformed public. Orbán has constantly attacked the LGBTQ+ community using the term ideology as a catch-all for what he wants the public to perceive as an invading force that will seriously damage the social fabric of the country. This kind of verbiage has become popular in the United States as well, as states like Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas have passed legislation that disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ individuals in the name of promoting family values. The clear moral incoherence of these bills is problematic enough, but at its crux, this is a global health issue. The human rights abuses that take place because of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation are horrific and have detrimentally affected youth; suicide rates and persecution have increased steadily  because of unchecked bigotry. It is imperative to show solidarity in the face of these growing authoritarian ideals that seem to be growing in the Americas. 

Bold in spirit and resolve, the LGBTQ+ community has made it quite clear that they are not going anywhere. Unlike the Cowardly Lion in the Land of Oz, our LGBTQ+ friends and family proudly marched forward, and many with them in a celebration of love that could not be silenced by the weak-minded hatred of homophobia at home and abroad. Saturday was a day for valiance shown by the community, and a stark message to autocrats everywhere. You cannot silence love, and you cannot silence human rights. Pride will always roar louder than any dictator ever will.

Illustration by Will Allen