Pride week started on the 3rd of June and for the first time, I went down to see the flag raising at City Hall here in Boston. I really wanted to take stock in what is actually means to be a part of a community of like minded folks who are truly there for each other. What I got was a group of privileged, elitist, racist folks that I couldn't suffer to be around. Familiar faces in the crowd reinforced this attitude as I flashed back to conversations I have had with them and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
The theme for this year's pride is Equality: No More, No Less. Which raises the question, are we talking Marriage Equality (which is not on my gay political agenda; it's gonna happen) or Equality for all. The issues of teen suicide, disenfranchisement, gentrification, & skyrocketing HIV infection rates seem to not be popular for these ivory tower fags and it pains me.
There were a handful of brave, fed-up, queer people who started this movement and I feel like the point is being missed. They paid with blood, jail time, and unrest for all of us to be viewed as human beings and not deviants, freaks, or pederasts. As much as I love to play and shake my ass during these festivities, it can be hollow when your audience is too high or drunk to really take stock in what this really means. Sorry if I am getting too deep, but I think it's needed to remind folks of what Stonewall means then and now.
