It's very late and I have miles to go before I sleep, but I could not help but be inspired by something I saw today, a picture of a Prop. 8 protestor that was on towleroad, and which I have copied here.
The man's sign says, "We are not a PARADE." I can't say without knowing him or asking him what it was that he meant exactly, but I could make a good guess. I believe he meant that we are not your minstrel show; we are not nothing more than your shopping friend, your "Jack" from "Will and Grace." We are not your "Queer Eyes," your flirtatious yet closeted pop singers, your chummy waiters, office mates, baristas, bffs, etc. We are not there for you to party with and say you "love!" us, while you would just as soon turn around and vote to deny one of the most basic of human rights.
Protests around the country, like the one the man to the left of this post took part in, are continuing and the calls to repeal Prop 8, and with it the tax-exempt status of the churches that made it pass, are getting louder. There have been some disagreements already as far as what the next steps should be in fighting this law, but inspired by that man's sign, I have an idea that anyone who sincerely cares about this cause should be able to support.
No More Parades.
That's it -- until same sex couples have equal rights across the nation, no more "Gay pride" (or just "Pride") parades, anywhere, in any city in the U.S. Can anyone say what exactly there is to be proud of at a time like this? Look at what the pride parades have become, anyway. Giant booze parties, with just as many voyeuristic and drunken straight folks as there are (equally drunken) gays, celebrating what? Stonewall? I'll bet not even 10 percent of the millions who show up at the pride parades even know what that was. Are they celebrating the mostly naked people dancing on floats throwing beads to drunks? Are they celebrating the mainstream acceptance of gays by the liquor distributors, grocery stores, politicians, realtors, hospitals, drug and utility companies who fill the streets of the gayborhoods with their floats on "pride" days? Like gays need an excuse to party on the weekends, anyway. Besides, it's such a chore for so many to get out the door before noon on a summer Sunday anyway; screw the parade, we'll just get together for brunch.
Imagine, if Prop. 8 hasn't been repealed by then, a summer with no "pride" parades -- except for Canada. Lovely, enlightened Canada. If the "pride" parades can't be used to make change as opposed to just throwing a party, well, what's their point, then? And imagine, just imagine, the party there would be once everyone is equal.
2 comments:
I know we aren't supposed to participate in such things, but if you aren't busy Saturday afternoon I'll be at the protest in federal plaza before I work at 2. I'm going to have Ali make some signs since I write like a 3 year old.
To paraphrase something then just Sen. Obama said at the Saddleback church forum, this so-called "objectivity" is above my pay grade.
Until I have decent health insurance and I can be sure that I won't be eating cat food when I'm not able to work anymore, I'll try as much as I can to be involved somehow. I just wish that protest was at the Cardinal's residence, since the US Conference of Bishops gave more than $200,000 to get Prop. 8 passed and now the Catholic Bishops are trying to bully Obama.
Post a Comment