While it is true that many LGBT face intolerance in society, we would be mistaken to say that SF gay pride parade is not mostly a big party, similar to Mardi Gras, or more comparably, other SF events like the Halloween parade or even Bay to Breakers. SF holds many parades every year, and most are not related to any civil rights issue. As I mentioned before, I am not opposed to these events, as they are good for the local economy. However, if I was an oppressed minority, I would probably prefer to be quietly liberated, rather than have a very flamboyent celebration.
It’s a fair point though, it’s easy to hold bigoted or stereotypical views of whatever group if you just see them as one big homogenous (eh…) group of people rather than individuals.
I think the type of oppression experienced is why it’s celebrated different. Gay rights was not a fight to vote or own land. The fight was to be recongized and not forced to hide or face punishment. The reason it’s flamboyent is to reinforce the idea to not hide.
Hmmm, wonder how many here would react similarly to an Islamic pride parade? Just a thought.
Back to the OP, I don’t see what gay PRIDE has to do with men in S&M gear. That is not what gays are proud of, are they? It’s not exactly kissing or holding hands or any number of acceptable PDAs for heteros. If gays did that kind of PDAs and someone complained, they would have a legitimate evidence of double standard - if it’s OK for hets, it should be OK for homs.
And BChad, the difference between Halloween and Gay Pride parade is that no one pretends that Halloween is any kind of pride parade.
^Reminds me, we need a female pride day.
Isn’t that what’s going on in northern Iraq right now? The pride brigade even has a happy name - ISIS.
Not if they’re an only child.
(To counter your “quantifiable” remark, earlier.)
Devils advocate here:
One group only allows for a single religion on this earth, the other group wants to be left alone.
Are you referring to Christians (John 14:6) or Jews (Exodus 20:4)?
I agree that the need to “stay in the closet” probably motivated many modern gay pride practices. However, I also think many gays want to feel special and thus loudly shout out their sexual orientation during gay pride events. You would only need to spend a short time in San Francisco to realize that gays are more or less treated like any normal person here. If someone really wanted to be left alone, they would not parade down Market Street in leather outfits with bare ass cheeks.
Ohai, I hope you don’t mind me immortalizing your words.
I agree with you for the most part, but I think until you don’t need to qualify your statement with ‘more or less’ it still has a purpose. In a very gay neighborhood in New York City last year a guy was shot to death for walking around with boyfriend. I’m not sure if San Francisco had any incidents like this, but I think hate crimes in gay friendly cities highlight that we’re not fully at the point where people can just say - “you’re gay get over it.” There are a lot of rights still not awarded to this group. I would think that most of the more flamboyants gays are from areas where they felt repressed and are now acting out. Just like overprotected sheltered girls get coke habits and stuffed by entire frats when they get to college and it’s okay to be themselves. They settle down by senior year.
I think a lot of gays in small town communities end up flocking to big cities like SF where they won’t get lynched. Kid goes to the candy store for the first time is an understandable side effect.
I was joking in my comment above, but apparently ISIS does throw parades:
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/06/breaking-isis-shows-off-massive-scud-missile-in-syria/
^ SCUD missles are still around? They’re sooooo 1990’s.
^Kinda required when you have no air superiority and fixed sites get pounded in the pre-build phase.
Whoever comes up with these operation names is the best though - Desert Shield? Desert Storm? Badass.
A computer comes up with the names.
Hmm, I guess you have a point that many paraders are probably first timers or so, similar to people who do one half marathon then never put on running shoes again. 60-year-old gay San Francisco guy is probably not going to go all rainbows for this.
Does this really inconvenience you guys this much? You could just you know, not go…
SCUD missiles were already soooooo 1970s in the 1990s…
As for Pride stuff, I think we have better uses for our time than trying to come up with dumb excuses to hate other people. Besides, I find all the wackiness in the parades amusing. One day per year for that stuff isn’t such a terrible sacrifice, and the wacky stuff is not the only thing that Pride stuff celebrates, it’s only the most televised.
As I said earlier, we see similar wackiness in Mardi Gras and Halloween without assuming that people are going to act that way every day of the year.