12/10/2024
Greg Owen writing at LGBTQ Nation newswire shares a wonderful moment that took place between the generations at Porto Pride in Portugal at the weekend. Greg reports "as the city’s second annual march was winding through the ancient town’s cobblestoned streets, a parade-goer named Lily was singled out by an old gentleman in the doorway of his house. "There was a gentleman holding this [Portuguese] flag,” Lily recalled. The crowd stopped behind her, Lily said, though she didn’t know it at the time, “because everyone’s really worried about what could happen next.” What did happen next broke the internet, with more than 10 million views on X and counting. As Lily walked up to the old man, he extended his arms and draped his flag over her shoulders. Tears came to Lily’s eyes, and the old man’s. “I remember him saying ‘Thank you,’ but it was very loud and everyone was screaming. We’re all going crazy,” she says. “I don’t know what came over me, to be very honest.” Lily had been carrying her own banner in the march, the Progress Pride flag. So she met the old man’s supportive gesture with one of her own, draping her flag over the old man’s shoulders and hugging him tightly as she did. The two embraced for a long time, cheered on by the marchers. As they parted, Lily stroked the old man’s tear-streaked cheek. He gave her a sturdy thumbs up. And when Lily stepped back into the crowd, the old man unfurled the Pride flag and proudly waved it. The marchers went wild, wiping away tears. “There is hope out there,” Lily says. “That’s just the spirit of Pride.”
