Should we really be proud of PRIDE??
Chicago's Gay Pride was this past Sunday. As a gay man who is an active member in the community, more days than just the last Sunday in June I was ashamed of the way I saw the "proud" LGBTA ( lesbian, gay, bi, trans, ally ) community behaving.
As I looked down the parade route I was astonished at how many people decided the thing they were most proud of was having the least amount of clothing on. It seemed the larger the person was, the smaller the outfit was! I realize it was 90 degrees but that does not mean you should leave your self-respect at home in the freezer while parading around without a moment's thought to "pride" or decency.
As I watched the cesspool of parade watchers slip deeper and deeper into their celebratory states of intoxication, it became clear to me that most of these Proud Marys would scream and holler for a float supporting euthanasia, as long as the people on the float were shirtless and threw something shiny at them!
After three and a half hours of shirtless men, loud music, trannies in evening gowns and Republicans who paint their elephant rainbow colors to get a few votes. The streets were filled with people who seemed to be proud they could walk straight.
My neighborhood looked as if the city dump had been dropped in the middle of it by a homophobic tornado. Somehow, the hundreds of trash cans that were provided to accommodate the crowd were still empty! I enjoyed catching a few groups trying to get up and migrate away from the spot they just trashed to find greener pastures. In my best Miss Manners-meets-Mommie Dearest impression I said to one group, "Excuse me. Are planning on leaving your garbage behind?" They looked at me puzzled, as I pointed out the nearest trash cans, expecting some sort of drunken retort about how I should mind my own business I was fully ready to shame them into thinking twice about using the ground a their own personal dump. Imagine my surprise when it seemed as though they appreciated me pointing out their lapse in environmental conscience, and apologized.
How is seeing how drunk and trashy we can act in public the major theme of Gay Pride?
Boystown, USA was the first government-recognized gay neighborhood in the country! We receive government funding for public programs to educate and support diversity, respect and tolerance for everyone. We have public-health programs to educate our youth about safe sex, drug addiction, and mental well-being. Boystown sits one block away from Wrigleyville, frat boys and fags shopping at the same Whole Foods without fear of being gay because of intolerance. These are things to be proud of and celebrate.
If we continue to congregate in drunken mobs and tell the world this is who we are proud to be we will lose everything the generations before us have been fighting for. The men and women who stood up to a society that had forced them to hide for so long, probably wouldn't have fought so hard, and risk their own lives so we could "come out" and act as We did on Sunday. We owe it to ourselves and the people who first stood up and said "I'm Gay & I'm Proud" to behave as a community that deserves a parade because they "really are top-drawer."
Sincerely,
D. Beekman
