And so we have it, this weekend is Gay Pride again in my home city of Long Beach, CA. The gayness of Long Beach was one of the things that drew me to the city. My oh so conservative brother, with whom I am very close, recommended Long Beach to me many years ago. He said there were a lot of my people there. He was right.
So every year there is the tired debate about how irrelevant, tired, and uncreative Gay Pride events are. Tomorrow, the California Supreme Court is set to release its decision on whether to legalize same-sex marriage. The way I see it, Gay Pride and the court decision are closely related. Gay Pride started as a celebration of freedom and a socio-political statement regarding the right of the LGBTQ population to be whoever the hell they wanted to be. It is also a statement about equality. You can't shut us up, we're not going away, and we demand same entitlements, protection, and voice as the rest of society.
So if Gay Pride started as a celebration of who we are and a statement that we want our share too, the Gay Pride event cannot become irrelevant until we have equal everything. As corporation continue to get low scores for the way they treat LGBTQ employees, as gay bashings continue, as same-sex marriage is continually denied, and as gay students are getting shot in the head, it is obvious to me that our work is not done.
So look past the assless chaps if you must. Look past the drag queens if you must. But don't look past what they stand for - freedom and equality.
