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topic of the weekplease login to add to this item  Take (back) PrideMonday, 11 June 2007 Feeling Proud? Gearing up for the Pride season? However you like to parade, Pride marches and celebrations are very much a part of UK gay life. Dancing and prancing on these streets of ours has never been easier, more enjoyable or more supported. And we’re lovin’ it! But it seems not all are as safe in their sequins as us lucky ones. The 19th May saw 5,000 march for Warsaw Pride. And the hangover? It came courtesy of Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister For Education Roman Giertych who, joined as he was by 800 protesters, countermarched in support of family values and to oppose "revolting pederasts". Pederast, by the way, is a delightful word meaning according to the Cambridge Dictionary “a man who has intercourse - usually anal - with young boys”. Come May 27th, whilst most of us were partying hard through the Bank Holiday weekend, gay activists in Moscow were petitioning the major Yuri Luzhkov in protest at his ban of a Pride parade. It didn’t matter that the petition was signed by 40 MEP’s or that some of those MEP’s including Volker Beck were present. The egg pelting, punch throwing and kicking happened anyway – dished out as it was by those holding crucifixes. Many arrests were made even though the majority to feel the hand of the law were actually the gay right protesters. Yes we may find the mix of Peter Tatchell, Right Said Fred’s Richard Fairbrass and Tatu an odd one but at least they were there. And they needed to be. Europe is not proving a safe place for the LGBT community. We may enjoy civil partnerships, equality legislation and homophobia aware policing but may countries don’t. Belarus, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine are just of the countries coming down heavy on gay equality with their stated homophobia fueled by religious and political leaders. So are we lucky or should we just count our blessings and hope our own leaders continue to lead the equal way? Are we just a ‘we’re alright jack’ community or does the state of gay play in some parts of Europe effect us? And if it does what can we do sat in here in front of a screen? From the safety of our community is it time to come out of our bubble? After all if we don’t take on the homophobes how long will it be before our bubble bursts? Come out of your bubble and make a difference at: |
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said by jimmegee
on Monday, 11 June 2007, 5:47pm
I love Pride. It's a really special festival that makes us all feel gooey inside and has its fair share of debauchery and fun in equal measure.
But it's also a really important statement about continuing the fight for equality and tolerance which I really don't think has been won, even in our lovely rainbow-coloured seaside bubble. I'd really like to see this year's Pride make some kind of major statement of solidarity with the rest of Europe because recent events are truly shocking.
At the same time, we need to fight our own battle against prejudice. In the space of the past week, I've heard three comments that have made me sick to the stomach: a girl joking about "The gays" raping her to her mum (work that out); a young lad telling his younger son that some bracelets he picked up in Top Shop "make you look gay" and another group of lads talking about "the gays" as if we were invading aliens. I say we keep partying, keep smiling but also keep fighting, on all fronts, at home and abroad.