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Post subject:
 Posted: Aug 08, 2007 - 03:06 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 08, 2007 - 05:34 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Quote:
DJs pump music from ships packed with dancing partygoers, vying for who can put on the best show or provide the most outrageous theme. Visitors can expect to see plenty of men wearing leather thong underwear, cowboy hats, disco glitter, and nothing else.
There you go  Allowing for a certain amount of journalistic inaccuracy, it sounds like a perfect celebration. I'm missing any references to baby oil, and I'm sure that if there were go-go boys they would have been mentioned separately from the more vague "plenty of men wearing leather thong underwear, cowboy hats, disco glitter, and nothing else."
This is something they can work on for next year. I'd recommend at least three boatloads of go-go boys. More would be better. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 08, 2007 - 05:48 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Apparently in response to the events related in this story (as well as others), Dennis Boutkam of COC has demoted Amsterdam.
Amsterdam 'no longer gay capital'
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Amsterdam is no longer the 'gay capital' of the world where everything is possible, but foreign homosexuals have not yet realised this, says Dennis Boutkam, chairman of the Amsterdam organisation for gay rights COC in today’s Parool newspaper.
His comments follow media reports of a number of violent incidents against homosexuals during this weekend’s annual Gay Pride parades.
Assuming his remarks have been reported accurately, I'm not sure this is a reasonable statement. Amsterdam certainly has it's difficulties these days, but then pretty much all "capitals" have their difficulties. I am unaware of any evidence that some other city has supplanted Amsterdam. I also do not see any evidence that the "gay capital" (wherever that might really be) has fallen in some conflict. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 09, 2007 - 05:48 AM
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Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Posts: 472
Location: NYC
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| If Amsterdam is our gay capital, is the Netherlands our gay homeland? |
_________________
Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless - each of us with his or her right upon the earth; Each of us allowed the eternal purports of the earth; Each of us here as divinely as any is here. ~ Walt Whitman
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 09, 2007 - 05:52 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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 I'm afraid not. I think this idea of Amsterdam being a 'gay capital' is rather metaphoric. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 09, 2007 - 07:18 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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So, this fellow in the Belfast Pride parade last week was holding a poster that read "Jesus is a fag", and now Belfast City councillor Christopher Staltford (a member of Ian Paisley's über-bigoted DUP party) is calling for restrictions on future gay parades, saying that they offend Xtians.
But here's the paragraph in the story that made me *really* snort...
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Councillor Staltford, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party, argued that the placard was designed to upset Christians and was not in the spirit of tolerance and respect that Pride is meant to represent.
This is despite the fact that:
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Belfast Pride is habitually picketed by groups of fundamentalist Christians, but usually passes off peacefully.
[...]
A Free Presbyterian preacher [a church also led by Paisley] demanded that a DUP government minister block a grant to Pride, calling it a "celebration of sodomy."
[...]
The Free Presbyterian Church mounts a yearly counter-protest against Belfast Pride at the City Hall. Last year they even tried to get the Parades Commission to ban the event outright.
[...]
Free Presbyterian protesters infiltrated the march in 2006, handing out extracts from the Bible in protest.
Yeah, that's really the "spirit of tolerance and respect that [Christians are] meant to represent", all right.
Hypocritical assholes. |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 09, 2007 - 09:20 PM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Posts: 440
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Rain wrote:
If Amsterdam is our gay capital, is the Netherlands our gay homeland?
Not yet.  Were we now in position to represent a couple more of folks, we could politely ask at least for a representatve, exterritorial seat.
No matter how nice and welcoming straight people might be in a particular country, they are not willing to welcome poor and hungry immigrants, them being straight or Gay. Netherlands, among other European countries accepts Gay refugees if they somehow managed to entry the country, but they do the hell to keep the folks out. A true Gay homeland would let us all in without conditions, and of course no straight-controlled country comes near this.
Gather under the Gay-Republican flag, my brethren! |
Last edited by vanrozenheim on Aug 11, 2007 - 01:24 AM; edited 1 time in total
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 10, 2007 - 04:12 PM
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Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 10, 2007 - 07:39 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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It's an acceptable policy. I'm unclear why the fire department participates in ANY of the events it places equipment in. I'd prefer them to stick to their business of putting out fires and rescuing people and leave the revels to people who aren't on the clock.
Though if this policy change is some maneuver to avoid this sexual harassment suit, it is not in anyone's interest. The city and the fire department are either liable for what is alleged to have happened to these men or they are not. What is alleged to have happened is either unlawful conduct or it isn't. There is at least one precedent suggesting that the firemen were NOT harassed because no reasonable person would interpret the remarks or gestures as credible sexual advances. That precedent wasn't in a California court though, and the actual boundaries of what is lawful and what is unlawful are unclear. The best way to clarify them is to proceed in the courts. The men have the right to sue. A court may or may not rule in their favor.
It could easily be imagined that what we have here is a simple lack of physical courage. Surely California's sexual harassment laws would not exempt a fireman from entering a pornography store that was burning because the fireman might (*gasp*) be exposed to inappropriate images. I hardly think that, should the rescue department be called upon to extricate some poor fellow trapped in some overly-elaborate BDSM dungeon, they would be required by the state of the law to ask for volunteers who would be unlikely to have offended sensibilities. Now, clearly NONE of the behaviors mentioned in the complaints would be in the least bit acceptable in most offices or even restaurant kitchens (this latter is notorious for its tendency to skirt the absolute limits of legal propriety in this respect). This particular profession has an unusual "workplace" though -- the real world at large. Just how far does "the workplace" extend? |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 12, 2007 - 03:59 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Thousands take part in Tokyo's Gay Pride parade
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Some 3,000 people took pride in being GLBT to the streets of Tokyo today and led the annual Pride Parade. Numerous floats decorated in rainbow-coloured balloons and flags blasted music from speakers while participants wearing pink boas or G-strings danced and waved to the onlookers.
Although the number of participants to the Tokyo Pride Parade has been increasing every year, many still choose to remain anonymous in Japan and others refrain from marching in the parade for fear of being recognized as being gay or lesbian, according to the Pride Parade committee.
Because people of the sexual minority community still experience difficulties coming out to their coworkers and families, the sixth annual event called for visibility of gays and lesbians in society and promoted their presence in the mainstream society.
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_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 13, 2007 - 07:26 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 19, 2007 - 02:40 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Pride in what, exactly?
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A Royal LePage float asks me if I'm looking for a house with a bigger closet. BC Hydro urges me to use energy more responsibly. Women in bunny ears and tails better suited to the Playboy mansion urge me to sign up for AZZ Wireless. Fatburger urges me to buy their food.
Now on the one hand, I suppose I might be pissed if businesses on Denman, that make a lot of money off our community, didn't pay tribute to us in the Pride parade. But really, I wonder, what is the purpose of this parade?
It used to be an expression of self, a courageous act of boldly stepping forth and declaring our sexuality to the world, like us or not. Now it's a place to be seen by businesses eager to capitalize on our cash.
Meanwhile the ratio of skin and sexuality seems to be dropping as the number of moving ads increase. What is happening to our Pride parade? Have we forgotten its purpose, lost touch with the celebration of self that once lay at its core?
This year's parade seemed pretty tame to me. Sure, our bars flashed a little flesh from their floats, and the Cutting Edges guys writhed cutely on the pavement in their mock glove-dropping tussles, and the Pacific Canadian Association of Nudists still had the courage to show their Pride, and Velvet Steele injected a little much needed raunch into the proceedings —but overall there was very little of the spirited celebration I loved six years ago.
What happened to our celebration of gay culture, of flesh and fun, skin and sexuality? Is this really the direction we want to take? Or is this the direction selected by a handful of people elected to run our parade?
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_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 19, 2007 - 10:56 PM
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Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Posts: 472
Location: NYC
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Quote:
Pacific Canadian Association of Nudists
Ouch! |
_________________
Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless - each of us with his or her right upon the earth; Each of us allowed the eternal purports of the earth; Each of us here as divinely as any is here. ~ Walt Whitman
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 20, 2007 - 01:21 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Quote:
What happened to our celebration of gay culture, of flesh and fun, skin and sexuality? Is this really the direction we want to take? Or is this the direction selected by a handful of people elected to run our parade?
This is a valid question.
Quote:
Meanwhile the ratio of skin and sexuality seems to be dropping as the number of moving ads increase. What is happening to our Pride parade? Have we forgotten its purpose, lost touch with the celebration of self that once lay at its core?
This is much less so.
Read my lips -- if you wish to spend money, you must acquire money. The techniques of getting money have not much changed for a very long time. One way (and it works very well) is to sell advertising.
Now, I'm not looking for a house with a bigger closet. I'm not even looking to own a house. I'd bet a bazillion Coral Sea Dollars that more than a few people in the crowd ARE. It is reasonable for Royal LePage to suggest themselves to their prospective market. That I am not in that market is not all that relevant. If some power company wishes to urge people to use energy more responsibly... this is good advice. Perhaps you should listen to it. Wireless communication is not something my computer is going to be getting anytime soon... I fail to see the benefit to it at all. There are, however, more than a few 'mos who think that's just a fine service that they really must have and promptly. The tech thing with the 'mo is fairly notorious, you know. It's hardly foolish for some company to hawk wireless service at a homo event. Some burger joint wants me to eat their food? Probably not going to happen... but you know -- I'm still working on the idea that 'mos ought to be able to eat in restaurants of all stripes without being thrown out. That some burger joint actually wants my money badly enough to ask for my patronage directly (and in what is probably the second 'moest of possible circumstances) -- this is a good thing.
I'd be pleased enough if these hideous money grubbers came grubbing after my money for free. We certainly complain loudly enough when they refuse our custom. But -- and it's a huge but -- they're paying for the privilege of doing so. Take the money. Don't want a house with a bigger closet? Fine... don't buy one. Don't want to use energy responsibly? Whatever... don't (though you should reconsider). Don't want AZZ wireless (or some approximation thereof)? Duh... don't buy it. Just knock off all this whining about services duly rendered for consideration received.
I'm otherwise on the same side here. As celebrations of "flesh and fun, skin and sexuality" many of our Pride events could use work. Hell -- they need an entire make-over, some of them. The problem is, way too many of us are under the delusion that Pride events must be "mass marches for equality." Or they've gotten the oh-so-clever idea (not) of 'hijacking' a good time for some puritanical demonstration. Go throw your own damn parties.
Then there's this issue of "a handful of people elected to run our parade." Ooooh you got me there... or I have you. Somebody has got someone though. Yes... as the organizers of the events, this "handful of people" have considerable input into their character, their 'direction' if you will. Guess what? They aren't elected.
Nope.
I don't know of any place so weird as to do something as peculiar as to hold an election for Pride Committee.
The more typical run of such things goes like, "fine, you ungrateful bitches. I quit."
Happens time and time again. Sometimes it happens behind the scenes; sometimes it happens in the full glare of the public eye.
Want to organize a Pride event? Pop on over to the relevant web site, look up the pertinent e-mail address, and sign up. They'll probably be glad to see you (presuming you know what you're doing). No election will be held. The game is played by those who show up. If, as happens from time to time, this "handful of people elected to run our parade" should ALL quit (I'm thinking Sydney, for some reason) or throw in the towel on the parade (Montreal) or go bankrupt (Seattle springs to mind, though really... this could be a lot of towns) ... somehow the parade goes on anyway. Someone steps up and does the thing.
They have a cultural life of their own, you know. It's disgustingly democratic -- public spectacles springing directly from the public like this.
Don't like your local Pride event? Can't stand the damn thing? Throw your own. Maybe it'll fly. All you have to do is be right. You ARE right, aren't you? There's no reason at all why there can't be competition in such things. It wouldn't last very long... the public just won't play that. Like I said... Pride events have a cultural life of their own.
Yes... there is a lamentable 'skin and sexuality deficit' in many Pride events. It happens to coincide with the so-called "moving ads." For what it's worth, this deficit also coincides with an ever-escalating tirade against 'skin and sexuality' from our own people. Someone's put this idea into their heads that Pride events are marketing vehicles, that the things have a 'message,' that there is some 'image' to sell to the greater (straight) public. Some of these 'someones' are sitting (quite unelected) on Pride Committees. Of course this idea has infected Pride events. Of course it has contributed to a lack of entirely appropriate celebration of "flesh and fun." And not one day after the event is over, some 'mo wonk will start in anew about how there's all these photographs of *gasp* drag queens in the media.
You want a celebration of skin and sexuality and flesh and fun? What a fine idea. Let's throw one. Take the money and dance with the one who brought you. Then use the money to hire some fucking go-go boys.
They don't dance for free, you know. They just don't. And why should they? |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 26, 2007 - 03:36 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Ottawa Pride gets political
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Ottawa's Capital Pride committee hosted its first queer human rights vigil Aug 20, highlighting the battles yet to be fought internationally and for trans people.
"Some countries couldn't dream of having an event like this — the police would come down on them so fast," said Gordon Boissonneault, the chair of Capital Pride.
About 50 people showed up at Ottawa's human rights monument to listen to speeches from local activists. The vigil was part of Capital Pride, which runs from Aug 17 to Aug 26. Many in the community felt the event brought some much-needed politics back to Pride.
(video @ link) |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 26, 2007 - 09:41 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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Kootenay Pride '07
For any who are going to be in the area of Nelson, British Columbia (Canada) over the coming week, here's a partial breakdown:
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Pride week kicks off on Monday Aug 27 with the banner going up at 8:00 am on Baker Street and a 'Coffee House' free event at 7:00 pm at the Scouts Hall on Cedar Street, where we will have local performers and artist playing.
Pride Parade is on Saturday Sept 1, starts at 3:00 pm and going along Baker Street, ends up at Cottonwood Market/Falls area. There will be performers, speakers and food. The Pride Dance is later on that night at the Best Western starting at 9:00 pm.
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_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 26, 2007 - 11:16 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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berto wrote:
Kootenay Pride '07
For any who are going to be in the area of Nelson, British Columbia (Canada) over the coming week,
I want pictures. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Aug 27, 2007 - 01:05 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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| I shall do what I can -- however, I may not make it myself, as I could well be working (and right now, I need the work even MORE than I need to go to the annual Pride Parade. I shall let you know what transpires either way, however. |
_________________
"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 04, 2007 - 08:59 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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March, equality speeches end black gay pride
Quote:
A parade and rally helped wrap up a weekend of events at this year's Atlanta Black Gay Pride celebration.
Some 50 marchers made the trek from the King Center to the state Capitol as a show of unity and to call attention to their issues and concerns.
The parade, organizers said, also helps put a face on African-American gays, lesbians and those of transgender and transsexual orientation.
"People are here, and they are proud of who they are," said Zandra Conway, an In the Life Atlanta board member whose group organized the parade. "It gives us a chance to show people what's happening with us."
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_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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