We present a letter from the fearless Glinoludka, Monika Ticha, concerning ceramics companies’ revenues and exclusion at the Ceramic Festival:

The Bolesławiec Ceramic Brotherhood has published its appeal to LGBT people not to appear during the upcoming Ceramic Parade—as happened last year and provoked unforeseen reactions: viewers’ delight, hooligans’ aggression, the mayor’s disgust, and a court case over my clay-covered breasts.

The ceramic brothers write: "Everyone has the right to express their views, but we believe that the Ceramic Festival Parade is not the place for this. (...) Attempts to use it to promote one’s own ideas are not only unethical and immoral, but directly harm local ceramics businesses".

According to the Brotherhood, the procession of our rainbow bloc—walking in the Parade among other blocs, such as the University of the Third Age, the brass band and the PKS depot—was inconsistent with the idea and spirit of an event that for years has been a symbol of community, tradition and pride in local ceramics.

To the Brotherhood, concerned about its financial results, I would like to remind you that as a result of discrimination against LGBT+ people, Poland loses over PLN 20 billion annually. Lack of acceptance and violence from our own families and strangers cause depression, anxiety and an inability to work for many of us. Numerous talented people, educated at taxpayers’ expense, work below their qualifications, leave the country or take their own lives. More about this can be found in the Open for Business report. The link is at the end of the text.

So much for reason; appealing to the Brothers’ hearts, I would stress that more than one in ten people in the younger generation declare themselves LGBT+. If, dear ceramicist, you have three children and each of them gives you three grandchildren, statistically one of those grandchildren will be rainbow.

Our demonstration, in which I walked dressed as Eve, the first mother, and together with Mati, dressed as Adam, carried a rainbow banner reading "We are all made of the same clay," was not intended to "proclaim views"—unless one can call the belief that, as human beings, we are all brothers and sisters created by the same God/Nature (whatever we choose to call this force) a "view," which follows quite clearly from the slogan on the banner.

I hope that this belief is shared by all participants in the Ceramic Festival, including the Ceramic Brotherhood. What we showed while walking beneath the rainbow was not "views," but our identity and belonging. The same applies to other groups. If people can show at the parade that they are scouts or pupils/teachers at a music school, why should we in particular not be allowed to show ourselves?

If you claim that "the Ceramic Festival [ma być] is a space for joy, tradition and community, not a place for political or ideological confrontations"—do you want to achieve this by excluding us from the community? Make sure there is room in it for everyone and that no one is attacked for who they are, instead of hiding discriminated groups away in the closet.

You do not want confrontations? Appeal to aggressive people not to attack anyone. We demonstrated peacefully; heavy objects were thrown at us, one person was beaten and taken to the hospital emergency department.

You do not want politics? Appeal to politicians not to politicize our identity, because they are the ones doing it, not us. We only want to live. Being a lesbian, gay or trans person is not a "worldview," but how we were born. God/nature does not make mistakes—since it created us this way, there is a place for us in society. At the Ceramic Parade too.

This year’s report: https://pro.rp.pl/raporty-ekonomiczne/art41713801-ponad-20-mld-zl-strat-przez-dyskryminacje-osob-lgbt-mamy-raport

It can be downloaded here: https://kph.org.pl/przez-publiczna-nagonke-na-osoby-lgbt-polska-traci-az-204-mld-zl-rocznie-nowy-raport-open-for-business/