THE EVOLUTION OF A PROUD GAY MAN Im old. Let me just say it again ... Im old. And I get that with being old, comes a certain amount of crankiness, cynicism and jadedness. I came out in the 80s and have done 20+ years of Pride celebrations. Ten of those years were spent working professionally for the LGBT movement -- so Pride Season for 10 years meant traveling across the country to 4-5 different cities each June to help organize Pride goers into the national movement. So no one could blame me for being burnt out on all the Gay Pride marching and mayhem. I also know Im not alone. Id say most of my age appropriate (age appropriate for me) LGBT friends feel the same way about Gay Pride -- especially those whove also fought in the trenches of the LGBT movement. But Ive had an interesting experience Id like to share this year. If you remember correctly Id just come back to DC right before Pride last year (after spending a year and a half in Florida caring for my dad) and many didnt know I was back in town yet, so when Pride Weekend came around, it wasnt like I was getting bombarded with messages asking me where I was headed to or what I was planning to do. Fast forward one year and Ive had a ton of friends asking me where I was going to be for the Parade or when I was headed down to the Festival, but whats interesting is that almost all the inquiries have been exclusively from my straight friends -- not my LGBT friends. And it dawned on me ... as an Equality activist, my job is no longer to be there to organize my LGBT friends and community (that train is now on autopilot), but to be the connection to all things Gay Pride for our allies who want to show their love and support for us, and need a connection to feel like a welcomed and appreciated part of it all. So to all of them, I want to say Im sorry. Im sorry I wasnt there for you this year. But I promise next year, well paint the town rainbow and fabulous.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 19:57:48 +0000
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