Revitalizing Gay Pride
I've been meaning to tell you all about my big fat Gay Pride weekend here in gay mecca, but the truth is I don't feel that there is a whole hell of a lot to share - a feeling that has left me wondering if there is an overall necessity for such events anymore, at least in communities like San Francisco, and/or have I simply become too saturated a queer, as a result of living in gay ground zero for so long, to truly recognize and appreciate the incredible freedom that surrounds me. I honestly don't know, but I love that Victor is brainstorming and I think his idea makes sense.
He writes, "This will be my 10th year and I have to admit that the thrill is gone. Though I'll attend the festivities, I will admit that it's done out of a place for something to do this weekend and not because I feel like I need to make a statement. Living in the bubble of San Francisco I got it pretty good. A home, a husband, a good job and a blog. I'm quite comfortable and feel somewhat untouchable by the events you report on at Queer Day that happen elsewhere in the US. Recently, I complained on my site about gay pride and something Joe said got me thinking it's really easy to complain about something, but if you really want to make a change you got to take some action. It's been nagging at me in the back of my mind and now I think I may have something that could really take off."
The idea/campaign is called:
"Go Home! for Pride"
"It actually came to me as a joke at first. I was walking home from work through the Castro and seeing the prep for this year's Pink Saturday and Gay Pride. I was thinking about all the people who were going to pour in over the weekend and thought, 'God, maybe these people should go home to their own Pride parades.' But then when I really thought of the application of this idea, I thought it could be something actually quite amazing for the gay community as a whole." "Think of all the LGBT in San Francisco. I would bet most of them (myself included) came from some small town in some other state. Their own state may have their own gay pride events which is probably half actual residents of that city and the rest are inflow from surrounding towns. Many smaller towns have their own Pride celebrations/parades that are usually pretty small. Well, what if everyone made the arrangements to go home for their town's (or nearby town's) gay pride? Everyone's hometown would have more people attending, making every event a bigger deal and causing the local newspapers to report on the event. It would show the nation that there actually are gay people in every town in every state. It would give a gay face to the people in the small towns, making them realize that we are everywhere and we are the children, the students, the people who grew up and went to their churches years ago."
While Victor thinks his idea is still at the brainstorming stage, I think it's ripe for picking. There's some discussion already afoot to look at creating a home base for such a campaign on the web, to explain the idea and allow people to pledge their commitment to it. I think it could also be chock full of resources to help everyone get information on when their local event is happening and who to contact for info. Essentially the sky's the limit. I'm the only person he's talked to about this, what's your opinion? Do you think we could figure out a way to rock this idea?
I personally could head back to Seattle, even if it's not that small Pride is still smaller than it is in San Francisco. And I could do something more than wander from one end of the Pink Saturday festivities to the other, only to escape in pursuit of a plate of onion rings. Pride Day would be much more interesting than the excitement I get from attending my annual excuse to eat a lot of meat-on-a-stick. While I would have missed time with my friends, and a fantastic show by Deborah Cox, beyond that my time and energy could have been much better spent elsewhere. Your Opinion?
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