Pride tells the world we are here and we are not going anywhere.
Pride stays strong in the face of violence and hate.
Pride says we are okay with who we are.
Pride is what keeps us from being washed away back into the closet, where nobody cares if we get killed for who we are.
I would rather celebrate my differences than be silently killed for who I am, because I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud to fight the fear people try to instill in me through hate, bigotry, and violence. I'm proud that this world fights so hard against me for being who I am, but I shout it out anyway. For a lot of us, pride is the beacon of hope that holds back the fear and darkness.
If pride makes you uncomfortable, nobody said you have to be proud. You don't have to march in the streets, don rainbows, or wear pins. But pride has pulled a lot of people away from fear, brought to light a lot of horrible things done to us, and given a lot of people outlets when they had nobody to talk to about their differences, and how to numb the pain that a lot of us feel from being treated as less than human. It's how we fight for our rights. If you don't want it, that's fine, but please, don't try to get rid of pride entirely. A lot of us badly need it.