Pride
Did I mention it's gay pride in San Francisco this weekend?
Other than going to that opening night party for the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival I haven't gotten into this whole pride thing. Am I proud to be gay? Well, I'm not ashamed if that's what you mean so I guess that's halfway to being proud.
I'm proud that gay people have made such dramatic strides in acceptance in this country over the past 30 years. I'm proud when I see the footage of enraged homos and lezzies smashing windows and burning police cars in San Francisco 25 years ago during the White Night riots. That riot showed the city and the world that homos weren't just going to sit back and take shit anymore, when we're pissed, we're PISSED. I'm proud of my friends in the military who are gay but I'm also sad that this country makes them be liars in order to serve.
Burning police car in 1979
I'm not proud of self-indulgent and amoral homos who are re-creating the septic tank subculture of the 1970's and driving the rates of HIV and other STD infections right back up. I'm not proud of the gay community's seemingly never-ending obsession with political correctness, especially here in San Francisco.
But all-in-all I'm happy. Gay men and lesbians still lead difficult lives in this country, except for a few urban ceasefire zones, but things are getting better and will continue to get better. Social change and progress is incremental but also irreversible. The Republicans and the right-wing are in a panic because they know over the past thirty years that our march has been unstoppable. We've had a few bumps in the road but we're winning, and they know this. The more important question is: Once we have won what do we do then?
8:59:49 AM 
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