What's the Point of a Parade?

So, this is Gay Pride Month, and what have we done? Well, so far this month we have seen President No Hope defend the Defense of Marriage Act, refuse to repeal (or claim he can't) Don't Ask Don't Tell, and generally ignore and certainly piss off, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and supportive allies community.

Some people are upset. Some people are REALLY upset. Some people say "told ya so!" Some people are calling for a march in DC in the fall, when Congress will be out. In the meantime, the bloggerworld is filled with anger, shouting, name-calling of the President from a place formerly known as Hope. Isn't there anything else we can do?

Cancel all the fucking pride parades. With the exception of the seven states where gays and lesbians can legally marry (each other, Mr. President, not opposite gendered people, and even those marriages aren't recognized throughout the rest of the U.S.) what is there to celebrate this year?

Instead, hold letter writing and envelope stuffing and phone calling parties. You can still close off the streets, but fill them with tables and chairs for people to do this stuff at.

Tell all the fag hags and the folks who wander on down to the "pride" parties because it's a good time that if they wanna party with the queers, drink the queer beer, throw up in the queer streets, they're gonna have to do something to earn that drink or that string of beads (and I'm not talking about more college wrestlers doing porn).

If the big corporations want to show their support, instead of obnoxious floats with naked dancers on them or giant shopping carts, have them provide snacks and drinks for everyone making the calls and writing the letters and stuffing the envelopes and calling the congress people and senators. Instead of flooding the streets with drunks, let's flood the switchboards with calls to repeal DADT and DOMA and make marriage equal and well, as long as we're at it, switch the U.S. to a civilized, single-payer healthcare system.

You think that those who don't like the gays and who make money by preaching against the evils of "San Francisco-style values" and who put video of drag queens and go-go boys on their Right Wing/Religious "news" shows get their panties in bunches by watching and talking about Pride Parades, imagine what would happen if instead they saw hundreds of thousands of queers and others in a number of major U.S. cities calling their Congress people and writing letters and collecting donations to get equal marriage on the ballot, to get the President to keep his promise to repeal DADT and to make sure all the queers are registered to vote? How better to honor the memory of Stonewall?

Yeah, I know, it'll never happen, but like that $3 Lotto ticket I sometimes buy, it is nice to dream for a little while.