// on the budapest pride ban sometimes, silence is more violent than noise. hungary banned pride. and the european commission told its own people: don’t go. not because it’s unsafe. but because it might upset orbán. because pride might be… too much. so instead, they are told to stay respectable. to “not provoke.” to perform pride only when it’s convenient. only when it fits the press cycle. only when the stakes are low. i remember when being queer was about showing up anyway. even when it was uncomfortable. especially then - especially in my second home, budapest. now the president of the european commission tells us she’s our “ally.” but tells her team to stay home. no statement. no lawsuit. just pink graphics and closed doors. this isn’t strategy. it’s betrayal. and we know the difference. i’m tired of decorative queerness. do your job, ursula. — r.b.

// dream, every night queer hands paint the light— a room, a song, a promise. we dance toward dawn. - r.b.