Disillusioned about democracy? Think of it as a community garden

On May 5, I spoke by phone with Wilfredo Raviosa, executive director of Waves Ahead, an LGBTQ community organization based in Puerto Rico. The organization has been providing mental health services, support programs and safe spaces to vulnerable communities across the island for many years. In our conversation, Mr. Raviosa confirmed all the concerns set out in the group’s official statement announcing the cancellation of the “Live Your Pride” event scheduled for Sunday in the northwestern city of Isabela. But even more than the economic struggles and organizational challenges, what stuck with me most was the emotional weight behind his words. There was pain in his voice as he described what it meant to see spaces like this slowly disappear.

This wasn’t just a cancellation of community events.

“Live Your Pride” was conceived as a celebration and affirmation rally for Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ seniors and their allies. In a society where many older LGBTQ people have spent decades hiding parts of themselves in order to survive, these spaces have great emotional and social significance. It will be a place where people can finally exist openly, without fear, apology, or shame.

That’s why this cancellation is even more important than Isabella.

What is happening in Puerto Rico cannot be separated from the broader political climate unfolding across the United States and its territories, where programs related to diversity, inclusion, education, mental health, and LGBTQ visibility are increasingly under political attack. These changes don’t necessarily come from dramatic announcements. Often they happen quietly. Funds will run out. Community organizations are weakened. It becomes difficult to maintain a safe space. Eventually, the absence itself begins to feel normal.

It is dangerous for this to become the norm.

For years, organizations like Waves Ahead have stepped into the gaps left behind by institutions and governments, especially in communities where LGBTQ people continue to face discrimination, social isolation, economic instability, and mental health struggles. Their work is not limited to event planning. That includes being there for people experiencing loneliness, trauma, rejection, depression, aging, and just survival.

“Live Your Pride” represented more than entertainment. This meant increased visibility for LGBTQ older adults who had survived decades of family rejection, religious exclusion, workplace discrimination, violence, and silence. These are people who came of age at a time when living openly could cost them employment, housing, relationships, and personal safety. Many have learned to survive by making themselves invisible.

When these spaces are lost, something human is lost.

Yes, gatherings are canceled, but it is also an opportunity for healing, connection, recognition, and dignity. For many LGBTQ seniors, especially in Puerto Rico’s smaller municipalities, these events are no longer a secondary luxury. They remind us that our lives still matter in a society that too often treats aging and queer people as disposable.

There are still political and religious sectors that portray rainbows as some kind of ideological threat. But no one erases the rainbow. It shines a light on people and stories that society has often tried to ignore. They reflect the lives of young people forced from their homes, transgender people targeted by violence, elderly people aging in silence, and families who spent years defending their right to exist openly.

Perhaps that’s why rainbows make some people so deeply uneasy.

Its color reveals abandonment, hypocrisy, inequality and fear. They force society to face realities that are easier to ignore than to honestly address. They reveal how human dignity becomes vulnerable when political policies decide that certain communities are no longer worthy of protection, funding, or visibility.

The biggest concern here is not just the cancellation of one event in one town in Puerto Rico. Even more deeply concerning are the messages that are quietly taking shape behind such decisions: that some communities can wait, that some lives deserve fewer resources, and that safe spaces for vulnerable populations become disposable in moments of political tension.

History has repeatedly shown how social regression begins. There is rarely one dramatic performance. Often caused by fatigue, silence, budget cuts, and the slow dismantling of organizations that perform essential community work.

Still, Waves Ahead made one thing clear in their statement. Although “Live Your Pride” has been canceled, the organization will continue to provide mental health and community support services through centers throughout Puerto Rico. Efforts are important because people cannot survive on slogans alone. They survive because somewhere there are still open doors, trained professionals, supportive communities, and people willing to continue to exist even as the world grows colder and more hostile.

Puerto Rico should pay close attention to what this moment means. A healthy society cannot be built by weakening the institutions that care for vulnerable people. No government should feel comfortable watching community groups struggle to survive while trying to provide services and compassion that public institutions themselves cannot provide.

Rainbows have never been an issue.

The real problem is the discomfort that color creates when society confronts the hurt, inequality, and human reality that too many people prefer to keep hidden.