The Boston Pride Theme:
"Ask. Tell.Proud to Serve Our Community, Our Country, Our World.
The LGBT community is an integral part of society at every level of organization: community, country, and the world. We are your doctors, lawyers, teachers, leaders, engineers, custodians, bankers, and bakers. We our proud of our service and we are happy to share our lives with you. Just ask, and we'll tell! Please consider this theme when building your float and organizing your parade contingent -- an award will be given to the group that adapts this theme best in the parade! "
Here are just a few better (I think) theme ideas:
- Support Our Youth: Celebrating and supporting our LGBT Youth!
- Beyond Bianary: Celebrate your unique gender expression and identity!
- Health Care For All!
- Proud To Resist: No More War, Oppression, Racism, & Sexism!
Plan of Action:
1. Contact the Pride Committee and let them know how you feel about the theme
2. Write a letter to the editor of BayWindows, InnewsWeekly, & EdgeBoston
3. Post your comments and thoughts on this blog and other blogs
Contact the Boston Pride Committee today, and we will keep you informed about our future actions to encourage the committee to change the theme. http://www.bostonpride.org/
14 comments:
Military inspired theme? How oringinal. NOT! May as well called it Boston Assimilation & Shame Celebration 2006.
SHAME is right...
Come join us for...
Our youth are killing themselves anyways why not send them to war!!
Can't wait for all those american flags....
We need to show up in numbers to their next meeting.. I think they meet every Tuesday at the Wainwright Bank in Back Bay..
The theme was probably picked by the same people who try to coerce us to sing patriotic songs at our own protests. I'm sorry, but the queers will never be able to "out-patriotize" anyone. EVER. Nor do I want to.
What a terrible, awful idea.
I demand whomvever idea this was to be relieved of all duty.
You can't be serious a gay man wanted this?
How absolutely dumb.
Dumb is a good word for it. It really is just terribly dumb!
Last year's theme:
"Pride not Prejudice, Diversity not Division"
MUCH BETTER! But if I remember, didn't they change it to that after complaints of the first choice last year??
How about this year's theme: "Out Against The War".
"Proud to serve" - uhg - "ask. tell." ugh - "we love your unjust war... please let us fight in it too!"
What would our queer forefathers and mothers say!
I guess I would have to respectfully disagree with you.
When I saw the theme:
"Ask, Tell, Proud to Serve our Community, our Nation, our World" I didn't think solely of the military. LGBT people every day are serving in many areas from Teachers, to social workers, to politicians and to community activists. To think that the theme is just being about the military is short sighted.
One of the pathetic arguments the anti-side always throws out is how rich the GLBT community is when in reality, the majority of GLBT are not rich (see Mark's posting of the LGBT homeless) nor holding glamorous jobs but are working to pay the bills yet they are also working to make the community, the country and the world a better place.
I think its a good theme since we still have many people in our "community" that still haven't come out. Yes, people should ASK and we should TELL.
I just don't see why it is a problem. For me, there is a clear intent to subvert. And there is also a clear intent to reclaim. Many have been hurt by Don't ask, don't tell, to take it and use it as a tool for pride/empowerment, i just don't see wha the problem is.
perhaps I'm missing the point.
once again, the issues go beyond the surface. Marriage equality is about having the same rights as our straight citizens to the rights and burdens of citizenship. The same is true of the military, or any other profession. It's about equality people, not fetish. And another thing, gay people are being murder across the globe for being gay --- despite out human imperfections, this Country still stands for justice and freedom. Those are values worth defending; and all citizens (gay and straight) should have the right to protect and defend those values.
Um, I'm sorry but "this country still stands for justice and freedom"? Maybe that's what it stands for if you're white upper middle class and higher...but let's see. There are and have been plenty of Americans that were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay without being allowed their constitutional right to legal representation. We have the most prisons and people imprisoned of any developed country in the world and most of those persons are people of color who, in a lot of cases are losing their ability to vote which has been detrimental to their communities. We are still being treated like second class citizens and many corporations are creating a demand for immigrant workers who are being paid slave wages and used as scapegoats in a similar manner as us despite their adding considerably to our economy, in some cases paying social security without the hope of ever being able to use it and they are even serving in our military, in a war, which is providing more and more evidence to the argument that we are turning into an empire at the mercy of a military industrial complex that has run amuck...*taking a heaving deep breath*...Need I go on? :)
Our fight shouldn't be focused on what the white-gay-males in 'our' community have long 'lead' ($)
I know I have had it up to here with all this marriage this and that....
Our representation politically and in the media is 'log cabin'
(shame)
It Pride our party or is it a yearly political fish bowl that we need to present to the world for its approval. Good little gays saying the right things and look the theme speaks to Mr. and Mrs. Suburbia.
I apologize for being so sarcastic but we all know how difficult "messaging" is. Any of us who run an LGBT activist organization or contribute to one with time or money or mental anguish. Think about it. Pride is a political statement AND a let it all loose party. I really do not think that they both can co-exist when the political statement is at the helm.
Pride is for us. And we need to make Pride open, nurturing, accepting, empowering for the LGBT--first and foremost. I truly believe that Pride themes need to be more apparently directed in not out (not reverse pun intended). We need to welcome each other first--that is where the real challenge is.
what if the theme for pride, was pride?
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