A Brighton councillor boycotted today’s main Pride event because of a sponsor’s Israeli links.
Green Chloe Goldsmith, who represents Regency ward, said she would be attending DIY Pride events in protest at Coca-Cola’s involvement in the main parade.
The protest is over Coca-cola’s factory in Israel’s West Bank.
Cllr Goldsmith said: “A significant number of local LGBTIQA+ organisations have called for people to boycott sponsored Pride events today, in part due to the presence of Coca-Cola as a sponsor
“This year I’ll be attending alternative pride events, such as DIY Pride.”
The soft drink company’s bus was also held up by protesters, meaning it was unable to carry on with the main parade.
New Brighton Pavilion MP Sian Berry said: “Well done to the campaigners who have just peacefully and firmly stopped sponsor Coca-Cola’s Pride bus next to Brighton Pavilion, isolating it from the rest of the parade, which is now sailing on by with a small diversion.”
However, her stance was criticised by Labour councillor Leslie Pumm, who tweeted: “Disrupting Pride events helps neither the Palestinian people nor the LGBTQ community celebrating and protesting for equality.
“Let’s discuss sponsorship in a way that doesn’t add to the burden on security and emergency services trying to keep everyone safe.
Doesn’t they know that the majority of lgb people do not support Hamas, the elected government of Palestine, where being queer or trans gets a death sentence?
These “protestors” were actually walking ahead of the procession, peacefully, and at the front of the procession iirc were people supporting LGBT+ refugees and several other messages. Point being it was basically “a part of” the procession and I thought it all seemed grown up and nuanced.
1) hamas was never elected to government, it got a majority in Palestine’s legislative branch.
2) opposing genocide is not supporting hamas
it’s not true that being gay in Palestine means a death sentence. Being a Palestinian is now a death sentence and the executioner is Israel’s army. In Israel there is fierce opposition to gays amongst the vast majority of citizens and it was not long ago that Shira Banky, a 16 year old Israeli woman, was stabbed to death on the Jerusalem Pride march by a religious maniac, who had been allowed onto the march by the homophobic police even thought he was obvious antagonistic to it
I do resend two or even 3 things here!
Disturbing hundreds & hundreds of people watching the parade & then to find out after like 30min of standstill they cannot watch half of the parade & had to relocate! They missed out! Buisnesses along the route missed out!
Just because some ‘cowards’ behind masks etc dont understand the work CC does & hiw much they are giving back to communities?!? Under-educated teenagers!
& what has ‘Genocide’ to do with all of this? Saw the posters! That is stupid! You disrupted all those peoples friendly parade of inclusion, openess & awareness with your faces masked! Cowards!
If you want a chat, I am from East Germany & in the age to understand, know more than these teenagers ever can fathom!
This was senseless & stupid! There are other platforms, not interupting hundreds ir even thousands of peolple! & show your faces, then we can talk!
& yes, I was on that bus!
Pride marches are indeed about protest as well as in celebration, but to protest about one sponsor of your own parade is a bit of a weird one.
This is of course the Greens’ attempt at getting publicity for themselves, with the intention of claiming higher moral ground. I see that creepy councillor Davis was also involved – he who nearly bankrupted our council under his tenure, and who proposed closing all the public toilets as a solution to the Greens overspend.
My own first Pride march was in 1975, and I was spat at. So it pisses me off when I see straight protestors with their own agendas still trying to rain on our parade.
Luckily, it was a happy day for the many, many thousands of us, despite the usual party poopers.
Note that on the same day, other UK cities saw riots caused by right wing thugs keen to demonise minorities.
1) Describing someone you disagree with as ‘creepy’ with no other reason than being spiteful makes you look childish and undermines you argument Billy.
2) Again, just because you disagree with someone’s position, trying to undermine it as an attempt to get ‘publicity’ just makes you look naive.
3) The boycott was largely down to pride now being overrun by corporate sponsors who don’t give a damn about the LGBT community and as you say, having their own agenda!
Maybe put your Green hate/Pro Labour hat off for two seconds before commenting next time.
It’s quite interesting how you think that sponsors of the Pride event – giving money and making their inclusivity and diversity policies clear – are to be criticised over groups like Hamas who have a history of throwing us off tall buildings.
(Obviously I want a ceasefire in Gaza too, and don’t support Netanyahu’s regime. But this weekend in Brighton we have one special day to celebrate our LGBTQ+ identity and in recognition of those elsewhere in the world who do not have that freedom. The irony here is that those hidden LGBTQs living in Gaza have to go to Tel Aviv to find those freedoms. )
The Greens have got this badly wrong, hijacking our one gay day in their need to appear to be the party of protest.
The article here says: “Cllr Goldsmith said: “A significant number of local LGBTIQA+ organisations have called for people to boycott sponsored Pride events today, in part due to the presence of Coca-Cola as a sponsor” .
But she’s obviously not aware that the majority of LGBTQ+ individuals, businesses, and organisations actually want no such thing. This is what happens when you live in your own thought bubble.
It must have been fun, sitting at home while you boycott an event everyone else went to.
Just think about all the other petty ways they could disrupt the Pride event, and with similar intellectual arguments to achieve selfish ends. There are plenty of other issues to protest about right now, but without disrupting our one special day.
We should also be building bridges, not trying to tear everything down.
Your ability to avoid any of my points and also twist anything to your narrative is both equal parts impressive and tragic.
1) If you bothered to do even an ounce of research, you would have seen none of them were at home. They were instead supporting the separate DIY pride set up by local LGBTIQA+ organisations.
2) They played no part in the disruption that took place, trying to imply they were is desperate.
I don’t think I’m twisting or avoiding anything.
The simple point is why attack your own parade for political issues of a separate nature?
Should they also attack the parade because motorised vehicles were used for the floats?
As far as ‘DIY’ pride goes, where was that, and which ‘local LGBTQ+ organisations’ are you talking about exactly?
The majority of LGBTQ+ groups and organisations had floats and with their politicised people happily taking part in numbers in this disrupted march.
For sure there have often been grumbles about the size of Pride, and about its commercial aspects, but I have yet to hear on LGBTQ+ social media of any alternative event this year. Perhaps you can list what I have missed?
I’ll be joining the fun again this evening, and I’m glad the weekend has gone so well, for all concerned, and for the majority in the city. We should be proud of this unique event, not whingeing. .
the same old pinkwashing of Israel’s genocidal crimes. Hamas is backward and conservative yes. It doesn’t throw anyone off buildings. You are thinking of ISIS which was the creation of the Americans in Iraq as a counter to Shi’ite militias and as in Afghanistan they created a Frankenstein that came to bite them
Israel is incidentally sponsoring ISIS/Criminal Gangs in Gaza AGAINST Hamas. Hamas has over the years repeatedly tried to eliminate ISIS which has nothing to say about Israel
And how do you know that the corporate sponsors don’t give a damn about the LGBT community? And how was this overrun by them? From where do you get your evidence of this?
In what way is Billy trying to undermine the person or people they criticise? How does the reference to one of them being “creepy” imply spitefulness?
Everything Billy says makes sense, something that is in very short supply when it comes to the Greens unfortunately.
Uh oh, here comes back up aha Haven’t you lot got some riots to join? You sound the right fit
“..3) The boycott was largely down to pride now being overrun by corporate sponsors who don’t give a damn about the LGBT community and as you say, having their own agenda!..”
You clearly are totally ignorant of the fact that Coca-Cola are at the forefront of human and gender rights in the world, and that their policies on gender equality, human rights and race equality is unprecedented in the world. Your suggestion that this corporate sponsor ‘doesn’t give a damn’ only illustrates your total misunderstanding and ignorance of who they are.
Go look into it. Learn something.
What rubbish! Coca Cola have a historically bad record (Selling their products in Nazi Germany under the Fanta label).
They are the largest source of plastic polution in the world and they deliberately set up a factory in the illegally (ICJ judgement) occupied West Bank. These are all very good reasons to boycott them.
I really don’t care how brainwashed you are – just carry on. Not my problem.
A pretty pathetic act from the councillor.
Perhaps she should take a trip to Palestine & Israel to see how LGBTIQA+ people live. Israel being the only country in the Middle East where they live & treated the same as here.
You announce that you are gay in Gaza & you will be frogmarched to the highest building on a one way trip.
Now off to the supermarket to buy a large quantity of coca cola
Thank u to ou Calle Ivan Lyons – beautifully put in the face of such antisemitism from our Green Councillor.
As an environmentalist who has dedicated my entire career to sustainability I am shocked and sickened by the stance the Green Party has taken.
Hi Ivan, couple of questions – if, as you claim, Israel is the only country in the Middle East where LGBTQ+ people are treated the same as here, why is it not legal for LGBTQ+ people to get married in Israel? Secondly, do you think that it’s possible to care about the human rights of people living in Palestine whilst still deploring the lack of support for LGBTQ+ rights in the country? Or is it ok for people to experience war crimes because the country doesn’t tolerate gay people? It just seems like quite a striking assertion for a sitting councillor to make! I look forward to hearing your response.
My understanding is that the Israeli and Palestinian companies quietly cooperate.
Only two countries do not currently have access to Coca-Cola products, and they are Cuba and North Korea.
Coca Cola is sold and manufactured throughout the world. It is true Coca Cola also bottles in Israel. That makes it one of over 225 bottling partners across 900 bottling plants make up the Coca‑Cola system!
For some reason Pepsi who also have a presence in Israel escapes the insane boycott hysteria that Coca Cola generates. Perhaps that is because the drink (to my knowledge) does not bottle there.
PepsiCo and Israeli company Strauss have a 20 year relationship for other products in the Pepsi line-up. Israeli carbonated beverage company SodaStream was acquired by Pepsi in 2018. However in 2015 SodaStream felt forced to close its West Bank operations resulting in the loss of 500 Palestinian jobs
Personally I find someone simply attacking another for demonstrating her morals a far more pathetic act, councillor. I expect more than a fallacious argument from you, councillor. Please do better.
Nothing worse than someone repeatedly commenting on every single post who has an opinion without knowledge is there Benjamin?
Only if they aren’t willing to engage in mature amicable discourse, Leigh. Nothing wrong with having an opinion. It’s the building block of gaining further knowledge when someone agrees or disagrees with that opinion to help solidify or alter their understanding.
To argue against that Leigh, is to advocate for ignorance and intolerance. Very ironic considering the topic at hand.
Next time, some advice, try to challenge the content, rather the person. You’ll have a far more interesting debate, and we both might learn something new.
Coca-Cola were taken to task and boycotted in Hungary a few years ago for voicing their support for LGBTQ+ rights. They put the business on the line for what they believed in.
These Green fools simply have no idea of what they are doing. Sian Berry should resign. She is obviously as thick as sh1t.
More lies. Israel doesn’t allow gay marriage. Indeed it doesn’t allow marriage between Jews and non-Jews either. The far-right majority in the Knesset includes ‘proud homophobe’ Bezalel Smotrich, the second most powerful man after Netanyahu
In Gaza the elected government which is classed as a terrorist group is against the LGBT plus community. Also does this councillor support the holding of hostages and terrorists slaughtering party goers at a festival. NEED TO CHECK FACTS instead of jumping on another left wing bandwagon.
here’s a fact check for you:
Hamas was never elected to government, it won a majority in Palestine’s legislative assembly.
It later seized power through force in Gaza.
So you can stop pretending you support the genocide because “they’re getting what they voted for”
Fact check: The general population of Palestine danced and rejoiced in the streets on hearing the news of the attacks of Oct 7th.
Yes, I noticed that as well. They’re not dancing now. Hand back the hostages and all this will stop.
I noticed that the Green group was about the most minimal of all those in the parade, and I didn’t hear any note of applause as they passed by. And that says a lot about the support they now get. Those Hamas loving Green councillors who caused the obstruction, need to bear in mind that there are plenty of places in the Middle East where to be gay is considered a crime worthy of torture and execution. Whether they like it or not, Israel is the only country where that does not take place, and this Pride celebration is all about freedom to choose to live as one wishes. Thank goodness we no longer have the Green Party still destroying Brighton and Hove, with their Orwellian ideas and practices.
Meanwhile, although I am not a lover of Coca Cola, I shall be going out celebrating with a can of it.
I really hope a child wrote this haha Some of you are tragically obsessed with the Green party
Oh yes! The Green party, that left the council with a debt of over eleven million pounds after being kicked out. Very bright people there.
Chloe had better go and boycott the hospital then, because half of their systems use Israeli software. So Chloe I presume won’t be using any hospital services then.
Chloe had better go and protest at the hospital as half their systems use Israeli software. Let’s hope Chloe never needs the hospital!
Cola have factories everywhere. Get a life. Isn’t Goldsmith a Jewish name?
Once again the Greens just prove what a waste of time and space they really are
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”
Was our newly minted mayor in attendance at pride? I may have missed him and his support for this event.
Disagree with cc protest it should not have been allowed to happen! However agree that Btn Pride has become far too commercial, allowing greedy organisations to sell their expensive products instead of locals. £7 for a can of beer (security making sure you don’t bring your own); the price of food extortionate, free top up water taps hidden behind vans with no signs; even the large security firm Anubis were far too heavy handed, intimidating and uneducated as to their role (some wannabes dressed in all black militarised clothing with no ID). There was nothing LGBTQIA+ about the park apart from some entertainers and the majority of £60 ticket holders.
People allowed to peacefully protest though, Pelle. Quite a fundamental right.
“Peaceful” and without disruption. Pride has its history too, there’s a time and place Ben
Decorum huh? Yeah, I can get behind that concept. Pride is a protest against intolerance itself conceptually by not hiding away. Should it be hijacked to protest other adjacent issues as well?
I’m also thinking that protests, by their very nature, are disruptive to be effective protests. Peaceful but disruptive.
It’s very odd to see a Green councillor protesting against Coca-Cola, seeing as Coca-Cola above all other global companies have achieved so much for human rights since the mid 1960s when they brought Atlanta down to an economic crisis in support of Martin Luther King in the civil-rights era, which today remains celebrated as The National Center for Civil and Human Rights (The Center), by Coca-Cola, in Atlanta to this very day.
The problem with the Green Party is that they continue to be driven with complete ignorance of the facts and zero insight as to what is actually going on. They operate only as a knee-jerk to anything they see on the surface and never have the intellect to look a little deeper and understand the real drive behind what they witness. They really are the most shallow and unintelligent political force we have ever seen in this city.
Chloe Goldsmith should get an education. She is unqualified to act on behalf of the public when she obviously understands so little.
Apparently the Queers4Hamas group prevented the Jewish LGBT+ community from entering the parade. The organisers should rename the annual festival “SHAME”. And Chloe Goldsmith should resign.
Sian Berry should resign too.
She has no right to dictate who can be in the parade and who can’t.
It didn’t take long for her dictatorship tendencies to emerge.
And what utter ignorance on her part, when Coca-Cola are the biggest upholders of human rights and gay right in the world. What an utterly ignorant and stupid woman.
So Berry reposted a tweet calling for Coca Cola sponsored Pride events to be boycotted. Then she supported the disruption of the Pride march. No concern about how those who had to get off the bus were affected by what happened. A Brighton MP who supports a boycott of the biggest event in the city and she knew it was sponsored by Coca Cola when standing for election. Would she go to Gaza Pride??? Does she even know the history of how Palestine treats the LGBTQ+ community. Berry should be hanging her head in shame.
What is sad is that the celebration of togetherness that is Pride is ruined by protests and disruption in order to politicise and divide.
Sian Berry and Chloe Goldsmith are despicable.
Can’t we just have one weekend of togetherness and happiness?
Everyone disappearing up their own backside as is common with such nonsense