Confession time...

I'm a gay man, and I hate the Pride Parade.

No, really. I can't stand going. When I first came out, I was very enthusiastic about participating in the parade... I was the organizer of the float when my company participated... I really got a feeling of empowerment, of acceptance, of progress, of community.

All of that changed after a few years, though. Why? I have a few reasons:

1. Lack of Purpose: Back when I first started participating, I felt a sense of purpose in marching. We were still a very much maligned and persecuted community. Hitting the streets was a means of protest, of demand for equality. Seeing PFLAG marching made me realize that not all parents hate their gay children. Seeing all of the organizations gave me a sense of community. I really felt a sense of accomplishment after the parade.

Now? It's a tea dance on floats. Sure, we still have PFLAG marching, we still have the Dykes on Bikes, we still have the organizations and political leaders. But groups with "purpose" are in the minority now. And let's face it, everyone's there to see the boys in their underwear on the Altoids float. There was also flesh when I first started attending the parade, but now it has become the main focus. Get in your y-fronts and shake it for the crowd.

2. Feeling of Exclusion from "The Community:" I'm not a perfect-bodied, gorgeous gym queen. When I see all the hot boys at the parade, I feel ugly, fat, and shoved aside. Getting older doesn't help, either. I really get a feeling of "ugly and old need not apply." Again, this is just me; it's not intended, but it does make me feel unwelcome.

3. Commercialization: It's very liberal "no logo" of me, but when I see floats for Budweiser, Altoids, and a million other advertisers, I get angry. Especially when I know the company doesn't support gay rights in their actions, but they're more than happy to take our money.

Anyway. Call me cranky, but I just can't get enthusiastic about the Pride Parade anymore.

But lately, I'm wondering....

Bush wins the election, and a large part of the reason is homophobia. There's the recent Microsoft nonsense, and things like the Texas Gay Foster Parents Ban. (Go read Francesca for more.) The new Pope hasn't even had time to wrinkle his new robes yet, and he's already railing against gays. States are rushing to change their constitutions to discriminate.

It's okay again to hate faggots, and the bigots aren't being shy about it.

So... my fellow GLBT-ers.... (and friends)

Are we going to take our most powerful public forum and begin using it again? Are we going to take to the streets, and demand equality? Are we going to say we're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore?

Or are we going to strip down and show off our sixpack?

Call me a grumpy old man, but it's time to once again get deadly serious.

(cross-posted from my blog)