Let's begin with something amusing, that perhaps the current crop of kids coming out don't run into, but my generation certainly did (though, as the commentator pointed out, with some minor edits).
Moving right along, we have Bill O'Reilly - that font of journalistic tact, empathy, and accuracy - after all, it's all for the kids - right? He appears to be attempting a trifecta - besmirching the Pink Pistols, some kids who seem to be playing a mean game of "let's see how YOU like it" (with, perhaps, a certain amount of over-enthusiasm), and generally bully-ragging reality for profit.
And then we have a differing view on the whole Pride thing, and some intriguing responses. Myself, I think the Pride events do have a purpose - more than one, actually.
They're one of the few locations that pretty much whoever you are within an incredibly broad spectrum...you're going to see someone whose life looks enough like yours that there's cause for hope that you can pull off a reasonably successful life on your own terms, whether you're Dem/GOP/Libertarian or fuschia with pink polka dots.
Pride is another canary in the proverbial coal mine - the bigger the party, the better off we are...the angrier the crowd, the uglier the coming year. It's a dandy fund-raiser for community groups and charities. And then there's the whole one-stop shopping concept - the fact is, that most Pride events are where you'll find everyone from the Log Cabin sorts to the Radical Women, the Gay Biker group to the local LGBT swim team, and usually a square dance troupe or two thrown in someplace, and more often than not anymore, a high school band, a few police cars, and a fire engine or three. Oh yeah...and some drag queens and leather folks :)
The liberal activists of yore may still hold substantial influence over the community, but, the event itself is dominated by those of any viewpoint who get off their dead butts and help organize it. If you don't like what you see, get involved and work to change it - or hold your tongue.
My patience for them as kvetch and don't work, is limited. My respect for those who get pissy and step up to the plate, is rather more substantial.
What can I say, I'm a sentimentalist...
1 comment:
Thanks for commenting on my post. To be clear, I don't have anything against gay pride festivities and that really wasn't what my post was about. My post was about the gay rights leadership and their allegiance to the leftist establishment. I've never actually been to a gay pride parade and I suppose I might like it if I went to one. As I said in my post, I'm fairly ambivalent toward such parades and I tend not to pass too much judgement on such things until I've attended them myself.
As a side note, I should also say that I have nothing against scantily clad people or people dressed in the clothing of another gender. That's just not my thing - believe me, nobody wants to see that.
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