Sunday, June 14, 2009

A FAMILY OUTTING WITH PRIDE

Today we went down to the Legislative grounds to take in the Pride Day Parade. Believe it or not my homewtown of Whateverpeg was the first large North American city to elect an openly gay mayor back in '98.

Today was a beautiful sunny afternoon full of colour, music, and the perfect way to kick off Summer. I had my youngest son with me (nurturing an open mind) and we met my oldest daughter on the grounds of the Legislative Building.

We (and about 5000 other folks) listened to a beautiful selection from the choir and heard an inspiring speech about the '69 Stonewall Riots in New York. Forty years ago this month marks the defining moment in the birth of the Gay Rights movement in North America.

I have a few openly gay friends and family members, in my case some cousins and an aunt but for me it's just another part of who they are. We're all complicated mixtures of charm and tedium..I can't believe that in the 21st Century we are still stuck with religious fanatics trying to pigeonhole this as a "personal decision" to commit a diabolical sin? Imagine..in this day & age?

It was quite moving to see all of the supportive parents marching with their kids. There were so many young people walking with pride...our society is far more tolerant and accepting than when I was turning 12 back in 1969.

I learned a new term today. In the parade there were marchers from the aboriginal community known as TWO SPIRIT people, wouldn't it be easier to be referred to as Gaytive North Americans?




There is still a long way to go to reach full equality throughout North America. Hopefully in 40 more years when my little guy is my age this won't be much of an issue...

but the parade will prolly be just as fun as you can see from these pictures.

Yes that was a chocolate treat passed out by marchers, quite good actually and no I didn't let my son see it :)

He-LLO! it's perennial crowd favorites "Pictoria & Gloria" in this year's fabulous ensemble.




Gloria was kind enough to pose with me after the parade..sort of Dr Seussian eh?
:)

31 comments:

  1. Personally, I would like to have seen you wearing backless leather chaps to this event.

    Maybe next year.

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  2. You look so dandy here. I must say, a rarity for you..

    *grin*

    Gloria is so beautiful!

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  3. OMW I want a flower wig-hat!!!
    Gay pride parades and festivals are always so colourful... in more ways than one.
    :)

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  4. Good to see you gobbling on a chocolate treat...
    Sx

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  5. Aw, that looks like so much fun! What a great way to celebrate! Everyone luvs free candy, even from strangers (Halloween, anyone?)!

    I remember the first Gay Pride Parade I went to. It was in Atlanta back in the late 90s. I thought it was a celebration of Hotlanta, when I was told by a friend that it was a gay parade. I responded, "Well of course it's a gay parade! All parades are gay and festive events!"

    After they stopped laughing, I was told what it really meant. And all this time, I thought some people really liked rainbow flags because they're so pretty and colorful.

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  6. Wow - those trousers give a whole new meaning to the word 'flares'
    I think you should get some.

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  7. wow, sugar, y'all and gloria just fit together so well! xoxoxo

    @eroswings...i will be laughing over your comment for the rest of the day, honey! xoxo

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  8. Blimey, your town's liberal innit. Not sure if mine would be as well behaved and open minded as your's, which is a shame.

    Weather held up lovely for you didn't it.

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  9. excellent!
    thank you so much for sharing, Don. did you enter the karaoke comp advertised on your bottle of water?
    $500 is not to be sniffed at.

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  10. I had no idea when I bought my rainbow umbrella that it was gay. Even though I bought it in Sitges. Should have guessed really. Anyway, at least that's cleared up the mystery of those nice ladies who smile at me at the station every morning.

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  11. gaytive...lol.. nice ;)

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  12. Great post,a real treat,lol!

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  13. I hope Pictoria & Gloria were not following any horse units in the parade.

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  14. Anonymous11:56 am

    Love it! Hope you all had fun! Manchester Pride isn't until August. A friend of mine has spent all year helping to organise it and is getting increasingly frantic with every passing week! Sadly, its about the only time of the year that the gay community really opens up and drops its elitist facade. One of the sad things about being a persecuted minority is that it encourages internal persecution to keep the 'fakers' out. Club rules, and all that. Hypocritical times...

    DAPHNE WAYNE-BOUGH - my friend Rob bought an umbrella that was black on the outside and rainbow underneath. He called it his Closet Umbrella :D

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  15. Yer post is aimed at me isn't it? I see how close that Gloria is standing.

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  16. do Pictoria and Gloria have feet?

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  17. Awesome!

    I love that you are teaching your kids to be openminded. Looks like a blast and you look good.

    Yet, yellow is not your colour but then, yellow is nobodys colour.

    When do you need the shorts?

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  18. Anonymous3:26 pm

    Yes, teach your children.

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  19. Donn, you are SUCH an abomination!

    Glad to see you passing the good thoughts of tolerance onto your proginy!

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  20. CyberPete said: Yet, yellow is not your colour but then, yellow is nobodys colour.




    Thank you, CyberPete, for saying what I was thinking.

    You would think, with the hundreds of gay men that were at that parade, that ONE of them would have gently taken Donn aside and explained that to him.

    It had to be said.

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  21. Thanks Everyone..
    for being so patient with me.
    I just haven't felt like doing much until I was convinced that within whatizface was out of the woods :)

    MJ
    Backless Leather Chaps eh? I might be able to arrange an exclusive..could you "promise" not to post it on your blog?


    GAUTAMI
    "Dandy" is right..that isn't a deliberate slip is it? I'll have you know that there aren't many fashion rules at these events so you can pretty much wear whatever you like.

    ANGEL
    Yes they are..and this year the organizers made a special plea to the participants to keep it flamboyant yet family friendly, no easy task for some.

    My little guy's interpretation..
    "It's OK for some Dudes to walk around in their underwear"
    so no harm done eh?

    SCARLS
    Ha-Ha. I debated whether or not to include that shot but it was hot out and it was gonna melt so I was merely being practical...and a few onlookers smiled approvingly :)

    Mr SWINGS
    HA HA You're right.
    All parades are pretty ghey!
    That Candy was actually made at a bakery near my house so I was supporting the local merchants. Who turns down chocolate?

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  22. KAZ
    Those suits were very Dr Seuss and I have no idea if Dr Scholls was being worn on the tootsies?

    SAVANNAH
    Yes, quite!
    I don't actually remember how she skootched in during our picture but what are ya gonna do? I should have at least sucked in my gut..too late now :)

    EMERSON
    Yes we are a little piece of heaven aren't we? We have an incredibly vibrant Arts scene for a moderate sized city in the middle of the continent...hard to explain really...we should be a little more redneck but 9 months of Winter gives us a lot of time to ponder the Big Picture so we don't sweat the small stuff.

    PROJECTIVIST
    No dammit but I should'a..
    nobody can touch my musical styling of Glen Campbell's monster hit "Wichita Lineman"
    ..nobody! I own that song!

    DAPHNE
    Those "nice Ladies" who smile at you in the station every morning..have you ever had a lash at their adam's apple?
    I think that everybody smiles at you because you are a ray of sunshine in grey drizzly world.

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  23. XMICHRA
    Doesn't Gaytive make sense?
    It's economical and all encompassing...
    with just a hint of sass!

    CANDIE
    Don't forget that this is North America where Puritanism and Victorian prudery is still alive and well in most of our cultural regulations. Seriously..we have more rules than reasons.

    HAI XL
    You make an excellent observation and the Ponies were behind them...not sure if anyone actually thought of that but it could have been a recipe for disaster.

    LIONTIGERELEPHANTBEAR
    Keep the fakers out!!! Why can't we nondescript middle-aged bland-caucasian run-of-the-mill boring-as-hell people have as much drama in our club!? Oh yeah, because we're all trying to look and act exactly the same!
    I keep forgetting.

    You're right about the infighting and it is a wonderment..seriously, there is no need for a divide and conquer strategy from outsiders. Honestly!

    MY DEAREST KNUDSEN
    That shameless trollope snuck in there on her own accord! I did nothing to encourage her...as you can see I didn't even flex my schwartzeneggerian arms or even suck in my belly?

    I look remarkably unattractive to members of any gender excluding the Asexuals who don't give a Rat's ass anyway.

    ZIGGI
    I wouldn't be much of a Gentleman if I had queried now would I. Maybe they were covering up their "smallish" feet on purpose *wink wink ;)

    ZYBERPETE
    Well you know that I am a Classic "Winter" and therefore a blueish Yellow is a possibility..anyway I wore it because it was the brightest shirt in my closet!

    You can send the shorts whenever but I won't start the contest until the Fall.

    MAGO
    It's something that I feel strongly about.
    Thank You for all of your kind words and support throughout this thing..really, thanks.

    THE Michael
    Hey how are ya doin? Thank you for the abomination declaration I'm sure that in some Southern States that this outlandish display of corruption would not go unpunished by the local gossipel group.

    MJ
    You'd think eh? They was all too yeller to say sumthin!
    I explained that I am a Classic Winter so I should be able to get away with it...maybe in the Winter when I am pastier..but it says so right here in my Colour Me Beautiful Book!!!

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  24. I've just noticed you and Gloria have matching beards!

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  25. Man I just love Gloria's trousers! WOW! They're so psychedelic!

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  26. Backless Leather Chaps eh? I might be able to arrange an exclusive..could you "promise" not to post it on your blog?




    *waits by inbox*

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  27. Yellow and orange are two colours nobody should wear. Ever.

    Whatever you say about being a classic winter yellow should always be kept in the closet.

    I'll buy the rest of the stuff later this week so I can send the Shorts. Those pickled herring won't buy themselves you know...

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  28. Great pics--the Gay Pride Parade in NYC is incredible, we used to go every year, but it's pretty NC-17, make that triple-x-rated, in parts, some of the floats anyway, so I haven't felt totally down with bringing the 8-year-old girl yet...some year soon.

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