Happy Gay Pride Day.

Happy Gay Pride Day.

Yeah, yeah… I know. And I’m sick of hearing it.

Every year I go and ride my motorcycle in the parade, hang out at the festival, smoke a cigar at the cigar tent, meet some new people, watch a few bands play, have a beer or three, buy a couple souvenirs and then go home and read the mainstream media’s report on it which will include pictures of the most outrageous freaks they can find, looking repulsive and tripped-out, along with a description about how bizarre and overly sexual the whole thing was.

They’ll show lots of the Dykes On Bikes (my group of riding buddies calls them the “Cunts On Cruisers”). But only the fattest ones, extra points for the topless ones with horse shoes in their sagging boobs.

They’ll show the most outrageous drag queens they can find.

They’ll show a 90 year-old man in chaps and a harness, showing his ass.

Then every year my straight friends and uptight gay friends all chime in with the same refrain… “how come they don’t have any NORMAL people in the parade? Why is it only freaks and drag queens?”  “Those pride parades are what’s holding back gay equality” “people at home see that and vote against us.”

I say “shut up.”

Ok there’s nothing more annoying than a gay guy who sits and home and whines about how the gay community doesn’t represent him. The whole world isn’t going to shoehorn itself into your ideal party just to please you. You want the gay community to represent guys like you, you gotta be IN the parade. If it wasn’t for a bunch of freaks and drag queens who’d finally had enough and fought back at the Black Cat in Silverlake in 1967 and the Stonewall Inn in New York in 1969, we wouldn’t HAVE a gay pride parade.

And you know what? Gay Pride Day isn’t a day when the gay community puts its best foot forward so we can beg for some equality. I’ve never seen any straight people ask ME for permission to act like drunken disasters at Mardi Gras and I don’t think I’ve seen Girls Gone Wild videos being used as a reason for revoking marriage rights from heterosexuals.

I’m sick and fucking tired of the gay community having to grovel and always be on our best behavior just to get thrown a few table scraps by the straights.

I’ll happily ride my motorcycle with the freaks and drag queens and I STILL deserve some equality.

Happy Pride Day, Mr. Reeve. Even you are allowed to be proud of who and what you are.

Mr. Reeve says…………………

Since I was a young child my mother used to try and get me to watch the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving. My parents are from NY and it was a big deal to her. But it wasn’t and isn’t for me and neither is the Rose Parade. Parades are a way for people to see other people and what they represent. I could see the point of parades back in the days before email, youtube, twitter, facebook, text messaging, etc……you get the point. I have been to two parades in my life. I was bored out of my mind for one and the other parade was in South Boston for St. Patrick’s Day where I was being called a “Guinee” by a drunken bitch in a bar.  

With all that being said I will admit that I know zero about the Gay Pride Day Parade. After reading Jasun’s comments and looking at the pictures it looks like a parade with dudes being dudes (can’t see any chicks). I am not one who watches the news (because there is little news and tons of TMZ type crap on it) so I have never heard the MSM’s comments about the parade. The whole showing only “freaks” comment made me think, don’t most parades have freaks in them? Isn’t that the point of being in a parade, to be seen? Of course they are going to show the biggest freaks gay or straight. I think you may be looking for something that isn’t there. People of my generation do not care about someone’s sexual preference as far as I see and hear. Most people I know have friends or family who are openly gay and the average Joe Blow (no pun intended) does not view things like he did 20 years ago. Parade on my friends! Have fun and don’t give a crap what anyone thinks of the parade. If they don’t like it tell them to move to Utah and enjoy that shitty watered down beer and bad underwear. 

And thank you Jasun. I am proud to be me.