CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Cape Coral PRIDE has released a statement in response to the firing offormer Cape Coral City Manager Rob Hernandez, and his letter to the City accusing other leaders of discrimination.
"As a board and community that Rob has backed since his arrival, we are saddened by this news," the statement said.
Cape Coral PRIDE went on to say they do not know the full details of the situation but felt the need to issue a statement after being named in the letter.
The statement then reads:
We know many still question our mission and our community at large. It's human nature to question what we may not understand or know. While we have definitely come a long way, we still have very far to go. So we wanted to remind everyone of the definition of a few words that have been used extensively as of late.
The Miriam Webster dictionary defines the following as such:
Woke: adjective, a person aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).
Liberal: adjective, 1. willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one's own; open to new ideas. 2. relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.
PRIDE: noun, confidence and self-respect as expressed by members of a group, typically one that has been socially marginalized, on the basis of their shared identity, culture, and experience.
• a public event, typically involving a parade, held to celebrate LGBTQ identities, culture, and experience.
These 3 words have been brought up repeatedly in a derogatory manner towards not only Mr. Hernandez, but all supporters of PRIDE across the globe. We ask that anyone who feels this way or questions what the "end game" is of an organization such as ours, to please remember the true meanings of the words you are using.
We are an organization that stands for life, love, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for ALL people regardless of where they fall on any spectrum. We extend these beliefs not only to our closest friends and family, but to our detractors just the same.
Cape Coral PRIDE
