Word has spread about Target pulling Pride Month merchandise from its stores because of bomb threats and death threats against employees from “emboldened shoppers” (aka, extremist thugs). But why this year? Target “has observed Pride with special merchandise and in-store displays since 2015,” reports Melissa Gira Grant in The New Republic (TNR). Why the change?

Far from being a “backlash” — as the actions have been described by media outlets — the anti-LGBTQ+ behavior on display is not a reaction to anything new being done by Target or by queer or trans people. What’s different this year is the aggressiveness of the campaign against the LGBTQ+ community and allies (including those who only want to make a buck), and the fact that state legislatures across the country have enacted anti-LGBTQ+ and anti–trans laws, giving legitimacy to the actions.

A tolerance for anti-LGBTQ+ harassment and violence seems to be migrating from the fringe to the center. In fact, as the Southern Poverty Law Center reports, “Hate has gone mainstream in America.”

Recently, the Washington Post reported: “The Human Rights Campaign, which bills itself as the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, declared a 'state of emergency' for LGBTQ+ individuals living in the United States. A report from the organization detailed more than 525 pieces of state legislation introduced this year that it considers hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, with nearly half the bills targeting transgender people. More than 75 such bills have been signed into law this year, a record, the HRC said.”

Beyond hostile legislation, the general atmosphere in much of the country now is openly mean and intolerant of the LGBTQ+ community. Far-right extremists have stepped up their attacks, using the scare tactic of “grooming” as their excuse. Christian nationalist groups spout anti-LGBTQ+ screeds in the name of restoring America’s "biblical values." Organizations such as Moms For Liberty have spearheaded ugly book banning campaigns; PEN America found that 41% of banned books “explicitly address LGBTQ+ themes or have protagonists or prominent secondary characters who are LGBTQ+.” News media photographs feature alt-right extremists with self-satisfied, self-righteous, smug expressions holding signs with hateful, homophobic slurs.

Not lost on readers of history is the fact that targeting marginal groups is a favorite tactic of fascists. Parallels can be drawn from what’s happening now in the U.S. to what happened in Germany and Italy in the 1930s and 1940s. Recently, Heather Cox Richardson, historian and author of Letters from an American, drew our attention to this historical parallel.

In March 1945, the War Department published Army Talk Orientation Talk Sheet #64 — “Fascism!”

The eight-page pamphlet, prepared by the Information and Education Division of the Army Orientation Branch, was an effort to educate American troops about the “causes and practices of fascism, in order to combat it.”

Worthy of a complete reading, one of the aspects covered by the pamphlet is the fascist scapegoating of minority marginal vulnerable populations — just like what is being done today to LGBTQ+ individuals.

The pamphlet also says, “Interwoven with the ‘master race’ theory of fascism is a well-planned ‘hate campaign’ against minority races, religions, and other groups. To suit their particular needs and aims, fascists will use any one or a combination of such groups as a convenient scapegoat.”

Fast forward to Pride Month 2023. The right-wing outrage mongers are indeed scapegoating the LGBTQ+ community. A quick read of the “Fascism” pamphlet from 1945 will illustrate all the ways that today’s right has adopted the fascist tactics and talking points as their own. The pamphlet suggests that our country is not immune to these forces, and outlines the steps that we need to take to prevent fascism from seeping into our lives and destroying democracy.

The post-World War II statement from Pastor Martin Niemöller — urging us to be allies — is unfortunately especially relevant still today:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.

How can we speak up?

We can contact our elected officials and let them know how we expect them to vote on human rights legislation. We are fortunate to live in a state that treasures and protects the rights of all people, but our Republican Eastern Shore representatives have not been on the right side of these issues lately.

We can fight hate and book banning by being an active participant in our local school board meetings (or run for school board ourselves). Moms For Liberty was recently declared a hate group by the SPLC, and has chapters in Cecil, Kent, and Talbot counties, and elsewhere in the state.

We can support our local libraries by checking out books about LGBTQ+ experiences and supporting LGBTQ+ programming and displays.

We can hang a Pride flag at our house, or wear visible symbols of the movement. In some places this might invite trouble, but it is an obvious action of support, if you’re able.

We can have fun and publicly support the LGBTQ+ community at joyful, family oriented Pride Month celebrations. Some festivals have already happened, but here’s what’s on tap for the rest of Pride Month and LGBT History Month:

The City of Salisbury and PFLAG Salisbury have partnered to sponsor a number of events during June. June 24 is Salisbury Pride Parade and Festival, 2-8 p.m. in downtown Salisbury. After the parade, check out the festival’s entertainment: drag artists, singers, modeling troupes, dancers and more.

October is LGBT history month. The Upper Chesapeake Bay Pride Festival will be Oct. 7 in Havre de Grace.

Finally, we can continue to inform ourselves for those times when we speak out in private and public conversations. As the Movement Advancement Project states, “The words we use to talk about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and issues can have a powerful impact on our conversations. The right words can help open people’s hearts and minds.”

Jan Plotczyk spent 25 years as a survey and education statistician with the federal government, at the Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. She retired to Rock Hall.