Thanks for the discussion about Pride...

I wanted to thank everyone for the discussions we've had on this site about Pride--even though they frustrated me immensely... All the talk about how we really shouldn't have them or they should be different so as not to offend straight sensibilities and the like really made me think. I've thought more about how important Pride is to me this month than quite possibly any June since the first parade I went to twenty years ago. All that thinking and arguing allowed me the chance to see it afresh with not quite so jaded of eyes... and you know what? It was awesome... brought me to tears several times...

Anyway, Chicago had its Pride parade today. I haven't seen attendance figures yet but if past years are any indication there were probably around a million people there--every sort of person you could imagine (a lot of them straight). It lasted about three and a half hours and it had everything. Politicians--it was led off by the mayor, the governor marched, the attorney general, the comptroller, the treasurer, president of the county board, one of our senators, several congresspersons, pretty much every alderman I've ever heard of... Churches--honestly I think at least a hundred different churches represented... Schools--most of the universities in the area, several high schools and at least three elementary schools (yeah elementary schools)... Cheerleaders, drill teams, a marching band... Sports teams and clubs--everything from water polo to rugby to three different roller derby clubs (yeah, three)... Ethnic group delegations--Filipinos, Brazilians and Israelis oh my... Political organizations--HRC, Equality Illinois, Lambda Legal, the ACLU... Professional organizations--gay cops, librarians, nurses and the teachers union... Gay employee groups--everything from Boeing to Pfizer, Chase Bank to Walgreens, Bloomingdales to the Gap... Businesses--every bank in the market, most of the insurers, all the airlines, Facebook, Google, Orbitz and of course all the retailers... Cultural groups--the major museums in town all had delegations, theater groups, art galleries... The media--all the local television networks and most of the local radio stations had floats... The clubs--square dancers and two-steppers, motorcyclists and leather guys... And of course there's always PFLAG--I feel like they deserve their own category. And, yes, there was a fair sprinkling of attractive young men in very short shorts--but then again my guess is that if it's nice next Sunday you could walk this same route during these same hours and encounter--you guessed it, attractive young men in very short shorts!

It was an incredible feat of civic life. Everyone was festive but orderly. There was bright colors and dancing and great music. I saw a lesbian couple get married--for reals--in the street on a float sponsored by the Sears Gift Registry, as hundreds of people cheered and applauded and just seriously lost their minds with glee. There are about four things in that last sentence that I could not have even imagined five years ago. I had beads and stickers thrown at me--and some knew kind of Doritos (Frito Lay is always there:lol. We cheered for the church groups, we cheered for the transsexuals, we cheered for the leather guys, we cheered for the vegans, we cheered for the first gay couple to ever be given a marriage license in Illinois--everyone cheered for everyone and it was glorious.

Now I understand that it is not everyone's cup of tea. If I was seriously claustrophobic I probably couldn't go. And I understand that people have the right to think whatever they like--and I really do support that right. But this afternoon in Chicago a million people took to the streets--they came with their families, friends and neighbors, they came together with their elected officials, the charities and organizations they contribute to, the companies they work for and the businesses they patronize. They all came together in the public streets to celebrate the right to be whoever you are and love whomever you will in the best way you can manage. That's amazing--and, no, you don't have to go, but if even in the back of your mind is the nagging notion that the fact that this thing happened is anything other than a good thing I honestly think you need to think less about how the parade should change and more about how your mindset should change.

I hope everyone had a great pride--I know I did!!