Yesterday was a momentous day; it was Fredericton's FIRST gay pride parade! Not news to most of you, I know, but for posterity's sake I thought I would restate the facts.
I felt so loved, so celebrated yesterday. Some straight people I know have said things like 'What in the hell do ya need a parade for? I don't get a parade just cuz I sleep with my wife' or 'If you want so badly to be equal, why are you calling attention to yourselves?' I'd like to answer these questions...I find them ignorant and insensitive to be honest.
Firstly, it's a cultural celebration, much like Acadien days or Carribanna. As gay people (and this term includes all the GLBTQQ community) we are a unique and diverse population, offering a lot of positive qualities to society. We are also different from mainstream society, and we like it that way. Gay Pride is a celebration of who we are, and how we're different.
Gay Pride is also an anniversary of the famous Stonewall riots of 1969. Over those few weeks, gay people of New York City fought back against the discrimination and unlawful treatment by police, politicians and other authority figures. Gay pride is a commemoration of the hard battles fought to give us the freedoms we enjoy today. We celebrate others' and our own everyday bravery and the guts it takes to live fully in a society that is largely unwelcoming of gay people and relationships. Watch Milk if you want an entertaining 1.5 hour history of the beginning of the gay rights movement.
Thirdly, straight people DO get a parade: they get one everyday, every time they walk down the street holding their loved one's hand, kiss in public, or stroll safely down the walking trail at night. This one is hard to explain, because until you truly experience what it's like to be a minority, you won't know how it feels to be left out. Imagine (if you are a male) being dropped into a completely foreign city, where no one speaks your language or looks like you, where you fear for your safety sometimes. Then you are condemned, spit on, looked down upon or pitied for holding on to your love for your wife; sorry, but that's not acceptable here and you are not allowed to be with her. Try to see that being gay isn't all about who you sleep with. The gay pride parade is not about sex...
To see so many people marching in the parade, out and proud and joyous, was so wonderful. The straight allies who showed up to support us are a gift; it's because of you that we will change society into a more tolerant, loving place.
It's a civil rights movement.
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