Are gay pride day necessary ??

[G-Lexington]

>>>I'm all for the people that do, doing it. I'm not for that becoming the definition of what it means to be out and proud.

But that's just it. I don't see it as the definition.

It's a "party" in a generic sense. I go and have a great time watching the parade, watching some of the music artists and what not, visiting the booths, maybe going to a club early on in the evening.

And then I go home and go to bed, and the hardcore partiers stay up 'til all hours.

The events start early - 9am or so - and run until extremely late. The earlier things on the schedule aren't given short shrift - they're just as big and prominent in the list of events. The "headline" performer usually performs around 4 or 5pm. Yeah, a couple people start drinking at 9am and don't stop until their body does, but they probably do that most Saturdays, anyway. And I don't see it advertised - even subtly - as "this is an orgy of drunken debauchery, public nudity and illicit behavior". I neither get the sense of "squares stay home" or "we'll begrudgingly allow the non-partiers to stick around". It's open to all. Yeah, a couple people look forward to it as a day to "go nuts", but I know my neighbors look forward to it as a day to ride their bicycle in the parade. And I don't think either group is catered to any more than the other.

Lex

 

[BostonPirate]

^^ You can berate or debate. I've chosen to debate.

Malice isn't the objective here. Anyone can post the ascerbic.

I am posting my views, which are not the ones you are rebutting.

No?

no real debate from anyone but you? no substance? you're just the victim of a crime.

You wont change your mind, and you dont need to.

the people that you are saying embarrass you? they will be out in parades to insure that you never get arrested for being gay, or get fired for it.

you stay home.

they have you covered.

 

[Kulindahr]

By repeatedly and endlessly "celebrating" LGBT by equating it with a party mentality, the heft or weight of the issue is continually diluted and reduced.

Where did you get such a hang-up about party mentality?

The whole aspect of California defeating the most prominent gay rights initiative in decades is left unaddressed. California has been synonymous with social progressives, liberalism, and reform. It takes a little more than Catholic and Mormon marketing dollars to result in that sort of defeat. It meant something, and we should be honest enough to stop and consider it rather than keeping on keeping on with the same old stuff.

The defeat in California was the result of people who like to be quiet staying home. It was a majority of the people who are supposedly our friends not caring enough to budge their asses and vote.

It had nothing to do with the people who hate us -- they were going to vote regardless; merely the existence of a Pride festival is enough to enrage them, even if it was all three-piece suits and quiet coffee discussions with patriotic music. For Prop 8, we should have been MORE outrageous, not less -- outrageously going door to door,, outrageously kicking the butts of young people who stayed home in droves.

By endlessly, I meant annually, back to the same thing. In most communities, it is the signal gay event of the year, other than Halloween, when again the party culture is extolled.

What do you think festivals are FOR????

I was simply trying to make the distinction that pride events ARE staged for political reasons, and therefore the comparisons to the other parades fall a bit flat.

No, they're not. They have a political aspect, but it isn't why they're staged, not any more.

Next you'll be asking that anyone incapable of making a reasonable political presentation be told to stay home.

We don't enjoy it. We aren't partiers. We don't feel represented by it.

You don't feel represented by it.

Then grow up. It's about being gay --that's all it's about. It isn't about saying gays have to be party people.

That you don't feel represented by it tells me you want the gay community to conform to your expectations, that you aren't willing to be a part of something unless you get to define it, that you don't really accept who you are -- you want everyone else to conform to what you want you to be, so you don't have to accept the parts of your community you don't want.

News, dude: you didn't get to choose this community, and you don't get to decide how everyone else is going to behave so YOU can "feel represented". You gay, then it DOES represent you!

Thew way to feel represented is to go, meet all those other kinds of people, bring some of the more mellow kind, and accept that what you see IS your community -- and stop trying to change anyone else.

Until you're willing to link arms with a twink in a thong with angel wings and freckles on the one side and a leather dyke with a beer belly on the other, with a muscle stud in leather jockstrap and assless chaps leading the way while a Neo-Nazi gay Pink Pistol all in black brings up the rear, then one thing is certain: YOU have no business either saying what should represent the gay community, or representing it yourself.


I certainly wouldn't want you representing it for me, not after I've spent a lifetime finally crawling out of the small-minded oppression that boxed me in so I couldn't even realize who I was until I was nearly forty, and fought with myself until I could do exactly what I just described.

 

[thewiz]

DC Pride kicked off this week with a number of activities; last night was the opening party at the Newseum -- not exactly a glory hole on the side street.

My husband had his short shorts and 8 inch heels and we stopped so many times for pictures with straight women walking to the event from our house a few blocks away (and a number of their boyfriends). They all asked where we were going and if there were tickets left (there weren't).

Our friend was, fortunately, the organizer so we didn't have to wait in the lines that snaked down Constitution Avenue, C Street, and 7th Street. We enjoyed a drink on the balcony overlooking the U.S. Capital and National Mall and laughed with friends throughout the six floors of the event.

We enjoyed dancing on the rooftop as well as in the entry lobby. The straight staff had a great time and remarked several times about "how fun of a group" this was to the Newseum (it's actually the third or fourth time they've hosted the gays).

I enjoyed seeing guys kissing while overlooking the Capitol; I enjoyed dancing with my husband to our friend spinning our favorite music. Yes, some people had a few too many drinks and we left somewhat early because the hubby has to work today and I have to drive in the parade.

But I've been to straight events at the Newseum and other venues and people have too many drinks; I've even had one too many once or twice (especially if they mix them strong). Heck, the last time I was at the Swiss Embassy people were getting quite tipsy and they were on the roof overlooking the Kennedy Center! lol!

The hubby and I stopped at the Eagle after we left the opening party last night (and after he shed the heels). There, we met guys in leather, chaps, shirtless and a couple from Pittsburgh who bought us a round. The Eagle is located next to a huge nightclub that caters largely to the young and if I had a dollar for each of the women that wanted to touch my hubby's legs, I'd retire! Most are dressed to the max and stand in line while guys in assless chaps and harnesses walk by.

The first 30 units in the parade today are politicians, "heroes", and church leaders. There are the DC gay sports teams (mmmm...spandex) who regularly compete with the area college teams (and win). When I rowed last year, we did so alongside American University, Georgetown, and even high school teams. There, too, are the DC Cowboys who have appeared on national television events and the DC Gay Men's Choir and Chorus which performed for the president's inaugural events....

The area clubs will surely have some crazy costumes (and hot!) Will some people drink? Yup...but probably no more than I saw at National Police Week when my area of town has 50,000 police officers from around the country descend upon us for a week. Heck, they even pull a beer truck across 6th street by the Irish Pub at night and dispense right from the tap and fill the street/block.

Today more than 100,000 people and 140 units will make the parade route around DC before heading out to events across the city. Tomorrow Pennsylvania Avenue up to the capital building will be wall to wall in booths, entertainment, and people of all types.

To those who may criticize, I always remember what an older editor once told me from a local newspaper as I was preparing to organize an event. "No one likes to go to funerals; you have to put some circus into it if you want people to enjoy and come back."

I always remembered that.

 

[stevexxx]

so dragqueens and leathermen are of the same moral equivalent to you as murderers and pedophiles.

You DO realize what that reveals about how you view your sexual desires, right?

as well as everyone here that doesn't "ACT STRAIGHT" ?

After reading my posts on this thread i want to apologize for being an ignorant and idiotic for my comments. i am sorry if i offended anyone on here and i deeply apologize for making anyone upset. It takes me like a day to reread what i wrote and i realize how foolish i present myself and how stupid i make myself appear. that should be no excuse because i should think before i post anything..
As i said before, i am sorry for my rude, ignorant, and idiotic comments.
I wish everyone well and have a great, relaxing, stress free weekend.

 

[bulge]

Is carnival necessary?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my-xo8-I6Kg[/ame]

 

[stevexxx]

No?

no real debate from anyone but you? no substance? you're just the victim of a crime.

You wont change your mind, and you dont need to.

the people that you are saying embarrass you? they will be out in parades to insure that you never get arrested for being gay, or get fired for it.

you stay home.

they have you covered.

what i think the guy you are responding to is an example of this:
Let's say that i am African American right and it's Martin Luther King parade. African Americans go and celebrate of course. The parade gets rowdy and people start fighting and drinking and someone gets shot. and lets say it makes it to the news. the news says, "someone gets murdered at the martin luther king's parade. if i was a black man i would be disappointed at my own race because they do not how to act at a parade.

I want to make it clear that i am not saying at a pride parade gay people are shooting at each other.

i think we are all disappointed or ashamed *or to a lesser degree) if what our own race does or our own group does.
Like if i was black, i;ll be pissed what they show on B.E.T. because that shows a negative view of african americans like they act ghetto, kill, speak improper.
I am not being racist, the point i want to make is in every group including race or any other, we are like, i am embarrassed of what they are doing.
This isn;t my viewpoint by the way it's just what i think the guy was trying to say to you boston pirate

 

[BostonPirate]

Hey everybody! Let's all go rollerskate down central avenue in nothing but a golden g-string, blowing glitter in every ones face shouting "WE'RE HERE WE'RE QUEER SO GET USED TO IT YOU FUCKING BREEDERS!" And then we'll all wake up the next morning and act real surprised when we find out that another state overturned some appeal to let gay people marry and adopt kids and have library cards and stuff and that people think we're weird!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd2ABDqE3s8[/ame]

 

[Kulindahr]

Hey everybody! Let's all go rollerskate down central avenue in nothing but a golden g-string, blowing glitter in every ones face shouting "WE'RE HERE WE'RE QUEER SO GET USED TO IT YOU FUCKING BREEDERS!" And then we'll all wake up the next morning and act real surprised when we find out that another state overturned some appeal to let gay people marry and adopt kids and have library cards and stuff and that people think we're weird!

Let me lose twenty-five pounds and see if my six-pac is still there, and I'm in. Except foe one thing: insulting people is childish and barbaric. Instead let's sing "And we'll all be GAY when Johnny comes marching home", and then laugh like fiends.


But other than the fact it could be fun, it doesn't have anything to do with the subject at hand.

 

[miken1999]

As part of a minority group, Ones action will represent the entire group. It sucks but that's how it is. I just hate to see the parade as a way to feed into the negative stereotype. We all want to be treated equal yet we insist on wanting a "Special" day to separate from everyone else.

 

[Kulindahr]

As part of a minority group, Ones action will represent the entire group. It sucks but that's how it is. I just hate to see the parade as a way to feed into the negative stereotype. We all want to be treated equal yet we insist on wanting a "Special" day to separate from everyone else.

Well, at the rate of say three days a year that are focused on us, I estimate that in about 120,000 years we'll have caught up for all the time when none of the days was allowed to be for us at all in any way.

If people in the straight community would start getting together and lynching gay-haters the way that has been done to gays throughout history, maybe a 50% discount on that would be appropriate, and we can call it even in 60,000 years.

Though come to think of it, as long as there is bullying of gays anywhere in the world, the clock hasn't even started yet. So, I'll get back to you with the numbers a week after it's clear that no one, anywhere in the world, has any inclination to treat gays like crap just for being gay.