Last year I attended Boston Pride for the first time, and this year I marched. I’m glad I did, but I probably will not do it again because I don’t like noise, crowds, or people looking at me.

Though the overall experience was mixed, I appreciated getting a full view of the audience on the parade route. When I was a spectator, I only saw a representative sampling on a small section of Clarendon Street, but as a marcher, I saw a much wider portion of the revelers. And I noticed something that I cannot stop thinking about.

The predominant flag that I saw was, of course, the pride/progress flag. But the second most common was the Palestinian flag. I would estimate there were about 50% as many Palestinian flags as pride/progress flags.

Taking it at face value, this is odd. What do the Palestinian people have to do with the liberation of LGBTQ+ people in the United States, and why are they more significant than any other ethnic group? There are Palestinian-Americans in the LGBTQ+ community, but there are also Korean-Americans and Mexican-Americans and Americans from a variety of other countries and backgrounds.

Unsurprisingly, nobody was waving Korean or Mexican flags, at least that I could see. Instead, the Palestinian flag was the accessory du jour. People were using it here and continue to use it in similar contexts as a signifier of their values. Of their progressive credibility. The people waving the Palestinian flag at Pride were probably doing so in support of liberation for all marginalized people.

The Palestinian flag has become a symbol of the fight against oppressors. The LBGTQ+ community is fighting against homophobes and transphobes and all sorts of other phobes just like the Palestinian people are fighting against Israel.

Israel, the only Jewish nation in the world, is the oppressor that symbolizes all other oppressors.

How I can help you with the college process

I offer college counseling and essay coaching for LGBTQ+ and Jewish teens.

I recommend starting the college counseling process junior year, so if your student is a rising junior, now is the perfect time.

If your student is a rising senior who could benefit from essay coaching, now is also the perfect time. If there is any chance your student will need professional assistance, it is best to secure it early. As the deadlines come closer, I may not have the capacity to assist. Plus, who doesn’t love getting challenging tasks out of the way?

If you are the parent of a student who needs college counseling and/or essay coaching, the first step would be to discuss it in a free initial consultation. Feel free to respond to this email with any questions.