Gay Pride
June 15, 2008
Let me start off by saying that in no way do I speak for any group of people. This is MY opinion and mine alone. And opinions, mine at least, are fluid and evolving. So I may not believe the same next year as I do today. But speaking only for today and only for myself, here are my thoughts on Gay Pride.
To me Gay pride isn’t this feeling that I am gay and therefore I am so very special. It isn’t about pushing myself into your face and saying I am better than you. It isn’t I am gay and I am so great. Gay pride to me is the lack of shame or feeling guilty. It is the refusal to accept the position of second class citizen. It is the understanding that I am who God created me to be and that I am good with God. It is acceptance for who I am, where I have come from, and where I am going.
And yes, I do have to admit there is some pride. Pride in the fact that I have traveled the journey and come out the other side as a whole person and a child of God. Pride in the fact that I am finally being who I was meant to be. And pride in the fact that I have grown emotionally, spiritually, and mentally in these last few years.
I have had people say to me that they, (being straight) don’t need a parade so why do gay people feel the need to march and “make a spectacle of themselves”. To that I reply that whenever there is inequality there are marches. Think of all the civil rights marches and women’s right to vote marches. Through out the ages there have been marches just to say that we are here, we are the same as you and deserve the same rights and privileges as you. Keeping women barefoot and pregnant didn’t work, keeping African Americans separate but equal didn’t work, and someday we will look back and say that keeping the GLBTQ community from marriages and equal status didn’t work. That is why we march, to remind people that we are human beings too.
Entry Filed under: homosexuality. Tags: gay, Gay pride, homosexuality.
18 Comments Add your own
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
1.
Stephanie | June 15, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Nicely written Hill, good thoughts.
2.
tasithoughts | June 15, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I stand with you , sister. I am your brother in the same cause. we have to celebrate Pride. We have to stand up until there is Equality. Happy Pride!
3.
wvhillcountry | June 15, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Stephanie, May I call you Steph? Thank you for your posts because many a time I hit the publish button and think I was crazy to do that. No one will get where I am coming from. I hope you don’t mind that I added you to my blog list. So many times your comment or post will be exactly what I am thinking.
tasithoughts, Welcome Brother. Equality does seem to be the central issue. I long for the day that my gf and I can walk down the isle and know she has the same rights as any other wife. I want her to inherit my stuff and be able to make medical decisions because we ARE married. Not because we had to jump through a bunch of legal hoops. I want to be able to put her on my health insurance and take care of her like any spouse would. And she feels the same for me.
4.
Stephanie | June 15, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Hill, you may call me Steph. For now, until further notice, is it ok that I just call you Hill?
I know exactly what you mean about hitting the publish button and wondering what people may think or wondering if they will get it. Usually when I hit the button, I’m thinking y’all are just going to figure out that I’m crazy.
I’m trilled that you put me on your blog list, (underneath my breath I’m acutally saying “about time”). LOL. Just kidding. Seriously though, that’s great.
Love your stuff Hill, keep on, please.
5.
wvhillcountry | June 15, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Hill works just fine. But you can call me Kelli if you want to. I’m just too darn lazy to change the name of my blog to Kelli’s blog. LOL. I think everyone is crazy at some level. The only sane people are the ones who can admit that they are crazy on some level.
I wanted to add you for some time, but In some way I still wait for permission from people. But as I said before, so many of your post and comments reflect what I am thinking that day. So I took a chance you wouldn’t be offended.
6.
snaketat | June 16, 2008 at 12:54 am
Very nice comments. I think that many LGBT folks feel some of each of those points as Pride season rolls around. My personal motivation is based in the history of the pride/gay rights movement. Lots of braver gays and lesbians took many risks to gain all of us what freedoms we have today. It is not a perfect world so we all need to do our part in the effort to gain full equality and acceptance. If we don’t we are letting down those who risked much.
7.
anita | June 16, 2008 at 1:49 am
Oh fine Kelli! Ruin my thunder! You said much of what I planned to say in an upcoming post on Gay Pride, though I suspect you said it better than I would AND definitely you said it more concisely. Wherever there is inequality there are marches. Now THAT is a great and oh-so true observation. I’ll be quoting you on that.
8.
Lisa | June 16, 2008 at 4:25 am
Wow, that was a great post. Thank you for your words. I really appreciated reading what you said and putting things into perspective.
9.
queerunity | June 16, 2008 at 6:01 am
i agree as long as we are treated unfairly we must have pride parades and demonstrate our strength and unity
http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com
10.
wvhillcountry | June 16, 2008 at 8:00 am
snaketat, When I think of all of those who have gone before me, I am humbled, because I know that they have faced more than I ever will and I owe them my gratitude.
Anita, I didn’t mean to rain on your parade, (pun intended), but seriously; I love reading what you write. There is such honesty and truth and even humor thrown in for good measure. I am looking forward to reading your post.
Lisa, thank you.
queerunity, and just to say “remember us?”
11.
Stephanie | June 16, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Not offended at all. It really does take a lot to offend me.
Hey, I hope I haven’t offended you with my jokes above about takin g so long to add me. It’s so darn hard to tell how someone is truly reacting to something you say on the net. But, I think by now you know how to take me.
I’m really just a girl who is sarcastic, full of bad jokes, goofy comments and an opinion, who means no harm and really seeks to be some like Jesus. [Exahaling]
12.
lesbiansaidwhat | June 16, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Straight people don’t need a parade because they can parade every day. They can hold hands with out looks, kiss with out getting looks all these things they can do. It’s a parade of their acceptance in society.
If Cara would let me get arrested for sticking up for gay rights I’m sure I would be out there marching in the front instead of the middle.
Ceara
13.
wvhillcountry | June 16, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Steph, I laughed when I read your response. I understand a quirky humor because I have one.
14.
wvhillcountry | June 16, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Ceara, I am very glad that you dropped in. I understand what you are saying, but don’t forget we need the front lines and the middle back up and reinforcements in the rear.
Personally I am not a marcher or parade type of person. I don’t like big crowds and the confusion. Because I am a bit hard hearing I get a bit confused when too much is going on. So I am a rear reinforcement.
I long for the day when those who disagree with my life can do so without acting like asses. I long for the day when I can walk down my road and hold my gf’s hand and not worry that some redneck is waiting to take a pot shot at us. I also long for the day that being gay is no worse or better than being straight. But till then, you and I both make a statement everyday that we live by being true to ourselves and the way God lovingly created us.
15.
Stephanie | June 16, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Ceara-Very well put. So true.
16.
Stephanie | June 17, 2008 at 12:41 am
Kelli-
“I long for the day when those who disagree with my life can do so without acting like asses. ”
LOL! Amen. Amen. Shouldn’t be so hard.
17.
flayed Hypatia | July 2, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Wow, Kelli, I’m so impressed. And late to the party, I see. I’ve been thinking about posting on gay pride, but here you’ve gone and written something succinct and true that would probably have taken me paragraph after tiring paragraph. Thanks for this insight, and for saying it better than I ever could. (Not that I won’t have something to say later on, I’m sure.)
What hit me especially was the comment that gay pride is about being proud of having traveled the journey and having come out the other side as a beloved child of God. Amen. Don’t mind me as I quote you when I finally do add my two cents’ worth.
18.
wvhillcountry | July 2, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Flayed, Thank you so very much for coming here and reading. I am impressed by your site and try to check in every day. Sometimes I think I need to write more and other times I think I write too much. But thank you for your sweet words.