What is it that makes hatred against a specific group so attractive? Why is it that people are willing to put their thoughts and energy and time into harming another group?

It’s Pride Weekend in Chicago (happy Pride Weekend to all who observe!) and in addition to a myriad of events and even more shenanigans, the big draw is the Pride Parade. Filled with floats, color, and craziness, it’s a chance for the LGBT community to flaunt its diversity, and for supporters of the LGBT community to, well, support. Mayor Emanuel is scheduled to attend, so in post-civil-union Chicago (and post same-sex marriage New York–way to greet the 21st century, New York, hope we’re not too far behind) support goes all the way up the chain of command.

And yet some vandal or vandals punctured two tires each on at least 50 of the parade floats, according to this story from the Chicago Tribune. Apparently there is a lot of scrambling going on to try to replace the tires, but the floats cannot be used in their current condition.

Why?

Seriously, why?

I’m going to bet the people who damaged the floats didn’t do so because the parade inconveniences them. No, they likely did it because something about gay people infuriates them, makes them angry enough to commit a crime to show their displeasure.

Obviously, I’m assuming that it wasn’t a group of float-designers bent on winning best float, so determined that they would slash at the competition.

Though that could make a really hilarious movie (hmm, maybe I should be working on the screenplay).

No, it’s likely something more sinister.

I just don’t get the point.

There will always be people who are different than you for whatever reason. Raging against difference isn’t going to change it. It may cause the organizers to rearrange the order of the floats, but it’s not going to rain on anyone’s parade.

Our planet thrives because of diversity, not in spite of it. Who you love, the abundance or lack of melanin in your skin, if you worship, where you worship, what made-up-geographic boundaries surround the place of your birth, these things are just small variances on the base of being human.

But without the variances, species die out. Ask the cheetah, for whom genetic diversity has become virtually non-existent. A group where everything and everyone is the same can’t survive for long.

So vandals, bad on you. But know that your efforts (and likely future arrest) will be for nothing. There will still be thousands of people in Lakeview today, members of the LGBT community and non-members alike, knowing that soon, people like you will go the way of the cheetah.