I am a registered member of PFLAG (Pareents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), a card-carrying member of Human Rights Campaign and been to numerous GLBT support functions/rallies/parades/bars (lawl).
Hal seems to have hit it on the nose. Like, with a brick. The majority of people who feel only 'slightly uncomfortable' around a person that is apart of the GLBT 'lifestyle' seem to be so only because people aren't ashamed of themselves for being so. I'm not saying this is the way
you think Urat, I'm just making a generalization. Why should anyone be disallowed from being themselves? Why should a queen act like anything but a queen? Because it would make you feel better? Why should people not feel pride for who they are? Why doesn't the man wearing a petite golden cross around his neck get harassed for his pride in his love and faith in christ, when my friend Josh in San Fransisco (National Gay Headquarters
) gets his car keyed with the word 'Faggot' on the hood for having a Pride sticker on it? It doesn't make sense right? I dont get hassled for kissing my boyfriend in public, but my friend Dante does (not
my boyfriend mind you, I'd slap a bitch).
I've had gay friends for as long as I can remember. I was shocked the first time I went to a Pride Parade. Why? Because some of the outlandish shit that goes on. Yeah, weird shit happens there but if you can't get used to the extreme, you can't take the mundane. That's a rather off-kilter rationalization I know but whatever, they're not my rules.
Pride Parades happened just the same as Equal Rights and Women's Vote parades started. People wanted a voice. People wanted acceptance. Yeah, a lot of it is for show. But, how else are you going to get people to look? When it began, people were getting beaten, killed, stalked, harassed. Anything you could think of. The parades began to make people stand out and say 'Hey, we're people too'. It's not about getting a fucking day off of work, its not about kissing your boyfriend or girlfriend in public. It's about accepting people for who they are and respecting them as a fellow human being.
And, I've noticed something. The only thing you have an issue with is male homosexuality? I'm sure the double standard just shines right through if you ever see two women kissing. As long as they're hot bitches, right? Shit like this disgusts me. And while I'm picking and choosing topics. The rainbow?
Fuck you. That was applied to the GLBT community by people that were bashing and making fun of them. They applied it to the community to show that they're 'girly and weak like silly children' in the 80's. The community embraced it. The "traditional symbol" for male homosexuality is a purple triangle, female homosexuality is an inverted pink triangle. The Rainbow Coalition/PUSH, an anti-racism and equal rights group actually uses that as their trademark, hence the name. Go yell at Jesse Jackson if you want to remove the rainbow from the spectrum of people involved of every race and creed.
