Brody's Scribbles... The Reason We Still Need 'Pride'

Boyfriends at DC Pride 2010  Photo By Brody Levesque

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) June 14 | Normally, when I write for this blog I strive to remain as professional and detached as possible. This Op-Ed is definitely NOT gonna be very detached or remotely professional. I am switching gears & 'hats' as my good friend & blog-mentor Tim Trent would say from Journalist who happens to be Gay to purely GAY. Ah, that felt pretty good saying that.... let me pause here to stretch & crack my fingers...

First off, I spent all weekend at Washington's Capital Pride & I had a blast! I also managed to sweat off about 20 pounds which is great but at my age is honestly not gonna land me a date that remotely resembles one of those heart-stopping walking adverts for an undergarment outfit. So enough blathering on about wishful thinking eh? I canvassed both the Pride parade Saturday and then the main festival yesterday for my dear friend Kevin Lynch, who is the manager of the HRC store up in DuPont Circle. I handed out the square HRC bumper stickers and a coupon for 10% off. (Okay, so part of my journalistic training tells me that FULL disclosure is warranted here.)

I met so many happy LGBT folk and I have to admit, that being surrounded by the greater LGBTQ community made me feel complete as a human being. The sense of purpose, of who we are as humans, and the mere fact that out on display was the 'normalcy' that we all as LGBT folk strive for in desiring acceptance and full equality. That is precisely why Pride is so crucial. I also loved hearing 'have a Happy Pride' or variant thereof from nearly everybody that walked by me. Then, there were the friendly straight persons that were attending with their Gay friends including one young man I met from the Chicago area, Scott, a graduate student who is working as an intern at the U. S. Treasury Department this summer.

Scott talked with me for about a half hour and was the embodiment of his generation's attitude that human sexuality should NOT have labels. He's 25, and frankly although he is hereto, sees no issue with homo.  I love that, I really do.

Pride is a political statement as well and this year being an elections year saw all the local politicos out working hard for the 'pink' vote. Of course, here in DC, the Mayor's office is up for grabs as is almost all city council seats, but in fairness, we received a huge boost from that lot when they gave us marriage equality earlier this year so bless them all. Oh, shameless plug here for the great job local anchor for WRC NBC4 News' Wendy Rieger did as emcee of the parade!

The festival was the ultimate meet & greet and yeah, there's pics to follow! 

Now, yesterday, after getting home I was tired, beat, sweaty, and my feet felt as though they'd increased to water-ski proportions. As I was cropping and fussing with my pride pics, I made the rounds of the blogosphere and landed on the following article from my friend & colleague Bil Browning at The Bilerico Project. I was so arsed about the moron who... well you can read it and then I've provided a link to Bil's original article. [Here] But what really got my attention was one particular comment by a member of a local PFLAG group that Bil had spoken to out there in the Indianapolis area that I am going to publish as well as it eloquently makes the case for why Pride is needed still. 

Mail: A Hater Asks About Pride

By Bil Browning (Indianapolis, Indiana) June 13 | While we get hate mail all the time, this one came in yesterday while I was at the Pride parade. It seemed apropos to overlook the tone, publish it today and ask everyone to answer the larger question it asks: Why do you celebrate pride month? 

From: Sam Riddick
IP: 98.19.133.114
Message: If you are so normal, why do you people have Gay Pride Month? I'm a heterosexual and I feel neither proud or ashamed. I certainly don't need a month dedicated to make me feel good about it. The fact you need your bumper stickers, parades, and entire months shows that you really need some reinforcement that you aren't just a bunch of crazy people. Until that crap stops, I will treat all gays like they are mentally diseased.

In case you're interested, Mr. Genius also sent another e-mail yesterday about Chris Crocker that came in before the one above. So how do you handle people like this in your personal lives?

From: Chris Crocker
IP: 98.19.133.114
Message: WTF is going with this website? Are you freaks pro gay or something? Are you the same morons who made fun of Fox News over that Chris Crocker crap? Guess what? The free world made fun of him assholes. God damn, I wish you freaks of nature would go back into the closet. In the good ole days, freaks were ashamed to be freaks. Now, you morons embrace it? If you aren't ashamed to be weirdos, you can never change. Sorry for your chronic bout with insanity. Good luck with it I guess. Cheers.

So, yeah. This guy has to e-mail queer websites under two different names to send insults. What's his motive? What do you think his story is? Closet case? Self hating? Small town bully? Feel free to make up back-story for him in the comments.

Now, here is Annette Gross, from PFLAG's Indianapolis Chapter's fantastic response:

Today Bil Browning spoke to our PFLAG group. We were a mixed group today with straight and gay people attending. So Bil asked us to respond to this person's post.

First off, you can't mess with a PFLAG parent. We love our GLBT children unconditionally. My gay son has done nothing in his life that I am ashamed of. He is a wonderful person and I will stand up for him until the day I fall down and die.

Why is there a Gay Pride parade and festival. Well, I'd like to ask this person if he has ever been discriminated against. As a Jewish person, I have been a victim of discrimination. It's a horrible, demeaning experience. Jews know first-hand what it's like to be excluded. Now it seems that it's fashionable to discriminate against the GLBT community. Many people think that GLBT people won't fight back. But times have changed and they are fighting back. And.....many in the straight community are fighting back with them. In PFLAG, we call them Straight Allies. They know there is injustice in the world and they are right there with their GLBT friends and neighbors.

The reason, as I see it, why there is a Gay Pride Festival, is that this gives the GLBT community a day where they can be themselves and not have to hide who they are. They can hold hands with their gay partner and not feel as if they're doing something wrong. They feel free to express who they are without being judged.

Maybe one day, when GLBT people are no longer discriminated against, a Gay Pride Festival will no longer be needed. Actually, I would love to see these festivals continue - I have an awful lot of fun at them - I get to see people I haven't seen in a year and we can catch up.

I'm sorry you feel the way you do about the GLBT community. It's too bad you're not willing to open up your heart and mind to people who are different from you. Many years ago, my family lived in Naples, Italy. My husband was a Naval officer. We had to learn how to get along in a new community. My husband's commanding officer said to us one day - "We're not better than them, we're just different." Perhaps you can view the GLBT community like that. We are all different and our country is made up of a tapestry of various peoples and cultures. I suggest you try to open your eyes and see the world with a different perspective.

I freakin LOVE this lady folks! Okay, enough dreck & drivel from me, here's some pics from DC's Capital Pride 2010. Enjoy. And to ALL of you celebrating LGBT Pride this month and especially my readers & guests, a very Happy Pride from me, and my crew here at BN&S! 

[Note: The following photos are mine & you are welcome to use them!]