Tuesday, June 05, 2007

SLC Pride 2007

I’ve enough time to just post some pictures from pride, right? I deserve a break, right? :-)

I sure do.

SLC’s pride festival was the largest I’ve ever seen (eh, “pride,” if only I was powerful enough in the gay cabal, I’d task a queer committee to come up with a better name. Alas, my gay powers are too weak.). It’s really become a fun event and I can see why they’ve grown from 1 to 3 days. I must say I also very much appreciate how they’ve made it much more inclusive of families; we got a whole big kid's section this time and our boys loved the magic show and face painting.

Here we are:


Damnable seagulls! They covered up Rob and the boy’s faces, not to mention my parents. They missed my aunt there though :-).

Anyway, in the parade we had many churches:

Many politicians:

Many advocacy groups:

The people were from all walks of life, cheering them on:

But what’s get’s the most attention?

That’s right:
Oh well. It’s certainly their day too :-).

Lastly, of course, there’s the part I worry I’ve gotten too numb to:

You can’t see it in this resolution but “Mormons” are on that man'snaughty list too (the guy with the middle sign). Or is it “Sex Addicts Mormons”? Here, I’ll blow it up; it’s kind of funny in a gallows humor sort of way.

No matter, they’re an expected part of the event, and they almost make the loving and jubilant feeling of the crowd even larger by the contrast. People just march right on.

I want to give one anecdote that really got to me, though (I’ve already spent more time here than I should have :-)).

We weren’t going to walk in the parade, but Alan insisted on it once he saw some people he knew (He likes the waving and cheers of others I guess :-)). So Alan and I walked on with a bunch of other families and Brian, more shy, stayed back with Rob and the rest of our family.

As I was walking a kid came up behind me yelling Brian’s name. At first I thought that my blog had found me ;-), but it was Brian’s real name. I turned and didn’t recognize the kid but he kept on and finally it was clear he was trying to get my attention, though he’d mixed my kids up. I felt bad I didn’t recognize him and was a bit leery (Being away from Rob I didn’t want to be seen talking to a handsome young man I didn’t know :-)). He quickly reminded me that we met over a year ago. He was a cousin of a niece (outside my direct family), and, at that point in his life, was having a very hard time with his parents, his faith, and his view of his future. When my niece told me his story, we offered to help and he and his partner had dinner at our home. I had forgotten it; it had been so long ago (or maybe it's my memory? :-)).

I’ll not go into the whole of what he told me there, walking in the parade route, but he basically made me feel like I’d made a positive and lasting difference. It’s funny that I didn't even know it, and that such a forgotten gesture of a dinner could come back to you like that. Walking in any parade is just fun for the community and people-watching aspects of it alone, but that made it feel a bit important too. I walked the remaining blocks with much more purpose.


Anyway, I'm still officially on blog "break". Now back to non-blog work :-).

7 comments:

B.G. Christensen said...

Ah ha! Now that I've seen your aunt, I know your secret identity!

Hm. Feels sort of anticlimactic.

There was a guy at UW with one of those GOD WILL JUDGE YOU signs a few weeks ago. I found it interesting that I felt as indignant about the inclusion of Mormons as I did about the inclusion of homosexuals (or, as this particular sign put it, "Girly Men"). If you're so sure that God is going to judge me, sir, then doesn't that make you a bit redundant?

playasinmar said...

Ahh! Seagulls! RUN!!!

Craig said...

Apparently, Liberals and Muslims are totally evil people.

I can sort of understand why the put the other groups on there (we all know how terrible party animals are), but COME ON! Liberals and Muslims?

(But not Jews or Hindus or Buddhists, or even Atheists, apparently, or Libertarians, or Independents, or The Pot Smokers Party, or the Communist Party,)

Oh, the horrible stupidity. How do people become so hate-filled? I think they put themselves on their own placard under "So called Christians".

Sean said...

just to note on your weakend powers - I suspect there was celantro present, which undoubtedly affected your superpowers.

as for those birds. i do recommend to spray Bird-B-Gone right be for you take the picture. You may find that your shot will be clearer and importantly, Bird Free.

"Sex Addicts Mormons". LOL. this is just too good. but i think the whole "rebellious women" is even funnier. what the heck does me mean?

with love

AttemptingthePath said...

one of the signs says "Porno Jesus" I laughed really hard at that one

Kengo Biddles said...

How many ways am I going to hell? Let me count the ways:

I'm a liberal.
I'm slightly gay, thus demon-spawn.

Hm. Only two out of the whole list. Maybe I should look up Porno Jesus and that would be my return-return-trip down to the fiery pit.

Scot said...

Mr. Fob: “Ah ha! Now that I've seen your aunt, I know your secret identity!

Curses! Where’s another seagull when you need them.

Iwonder:

It’s probably a good sign to be unable to understand the reasoning behind it :-).

Sean: “i do recommend to spray Bird-B-Gone right be for you take the picture.

I fear, if not birds, I’d be something else. I am having too much fun not getting a clear shot. Besides, you can imagine our faces, sans birds ;-).

Atp, Kengo:

Maybe he also meant that “BABY PARTIES” “SO CALLED WOMEN” and “FREAK MOCKERS” are bad?

Sure the sign comically sucks. Wouldn’t you love, though, to be a fly on the wall during the brainstorming session that led to it, or to listen to the guy describe it to the printer?

Abortion is pretty clear, but side-by-side with “PARTY ANIMALS”? I’d just get such a kick out of even hearing the discussion on the layout. The decision to use all caps, of course, is obvious. Such people I’ve met on the net seem to have a busted caps lock. But the other stuff, like, you know:

Now, I only have so much space; I’ll be judging sinners all day and I don’t want it to get too heavy. I’ve already had to reduce the size of “JUDGE YOU” to the point it where doesn’t really read with “GOD WILL,” so what do you think? Of all the horrible sins of the world, should I include “REBELLIOUS WOMEN” or “MURDING RAPISTS”? No, I’ll stick with the woman thing. What do you mean I could get rid of “PARTY ANIMALS” in favor of a ‘real’ sin because I already have “DRUNKS”? They’re totally different sinners!

Font? How about Arial? Or Curlz MZ? No those looks too… umm… friendly. Do you have a font that says God hates you and I’m here on a big head trip because I like the idea of you remembering my gracious futile attempt to even bend down to warn you away from writhing for an eternity in hell fire because, unlike “SO CALLED CHRISTIANS” and “MUSLIMS” and you, I’m gifted enough to know what happens after you die, without actually saying that? No? Fine, Times New Roman then.


Oh to work at Kinko’s on that day! :-)