Monday, June 30, 2008

Happy Pride!

So, my parents were in town this weekend - looking for some entertainment, we took them to the Pride parade in Mpls yesterday morning. What a good time! I learned a lot of things - 1) Most stickers in the world are printed for political campaigns, 2) Al Franken is a short man, 3) You can make almost anything out of a pair of high heels, leather straps and tulle, 4) Cameras seem to stop working at the most inopportune times (like when a white terrier painted like a rainbow flag walks by).

However, the thing that struck me the most was how involved the gay community seems to be. There were groups of every description - gay Jews, gay Athiests, gay Catholics (funnily placed right behind the athiests...), a gay hockey team, the Mpls Gay Men's Chorus, the Pride Band, riders from the gay rodeo, lesbian bikers, the list goes on and on. And not only were there lots of gay activists, but lots of people who support the GLBT community - PFLAG, Rainbow Families, Politicians (hopefully genuine), Chipotle (my new favorite restaurant doing good in their local community), myriad corporate clubs promoting diversity (3M was NOT among them). It struck me how proud gays are not only to be out, but to be out doing good in the community, not just for themselves, but for others, too. That a group of people can be proud of a community, which does not necessarily return them the favor, is very humbling indeed.

So, Happy Pride to one and all!

PS - on a separate note, I hate my job.