Pink Dot 2014: For Family, For Friends, For Love

Pink Dot 2014: Pink Dot believes in the Freedom to Love!
Daniel Smith Watercolours with De Atramentis Ink on Moleskine

I was there to be counted.

The first Pink Dot SG event took place at the Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park on May 16, 2009.

It started as a dot of about 2500, made up of pink umbrellas and then it grew, as love does, into 4000 the next year.

And then it exploded. Exponentially.

“More than 10000!” screamed the headlines in 2011. It also inspired the organisation of international renditions of Pink Dot in locations like Utah, New York, Hong Kong, Anchorage and Koahsiung and subsequently Okinawa as well in 2012.

And then, in 2013, the number multiplied again, like any healthy organism would, into more than 20000. A night Pink Dot event recorded the love and acceptance of an illuminating pink glow shining bright against the evening backdrop.

And then this year. 2014.

It is the first year where the event received negative attention. The opposition came from organisations that preach love as a universal language.

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." ~ Winston Churchill

How did the public respond to the opposition? By accepting the message that is preached, of course, and made a record-breaking turnout of 26000 persons in attendance at the Pink Dot event.

I believe that every individual has the right to live their life as who they are, without fear and prejudice. I believe every individual has the right to live their life with dignity and grace.

I am proud to stand up and be counted. I will always stand up for this cause to be counted.

To find out more about Pink Dot and what it stands for, click here.

Pink Dot over the years...