There are at least two sides to pride. Pride can be a terrible thing. It can be many terrible things: snobby, smug, conceited, self-important, cocky, insolent, condescending, vain. Not to mention overbearing, immodest, narcissistic, boastful, and supercilious. The arrogance that it takes to assume superiority over someone else and deny them their dignity, for example, is certainly pride in one of its worst manifestations. Pride in its best light is self-esteem. It delights in the dignity of self and others, and shares its wealth of honor, self-respect, and high regard. For to be a good person to others, one must first be a good person to one’s self. So the cocky, nasty version of pride gone amok involves a lot of self-loathing. It’s so common to learn that those who hate the hardest carry an unwieldy amount of self-hate inside. This is why it is crucial to let people know (and especially very young people) that every human is worthy of dignity and respect, no matter what they’ve been told.
So why is there Gay Pride? It’s 1999, and gay people are all over the place. They’re in the schools, they go to church, they even have their own bars, for crissakes. They have nice jobs, nice houses. What the hell else more could they want? What do you want? What do we as a society — as a species — want? Simple pride. Dignity. Respect. Why is there Gay Pride? Because as sad as this reality is, in 1999 we humans have not evolved enough to realize that not hurting others is good for everyone. In 1999, people still think of other people as “others” and divide people into groups. Differences are scary. Lack of understanding breeds misunderstanding. The reason that there is Gay Pride is because many people still want you to believe that gay people or being gay is evil. Many people want to strip others of their dignity simply because of who they love. Many of these same people will do heinous, hurtful things to see this through. Can you blame gay people for sticking close together?
Complaints about events like Gay Pride remind us of our youth. We were too young to know that being bestest friends with a black girl was an act that defied the code of the time. We had no idea that something as natural as finding a best friend could result in so much controversy. Try as they might, the adults would dance around their own prejudice, attempting to make their hatred sound reasonable: “Well, it’s not that we don’t like Angie, she’s a very sweet girl, but honey she comes from a different world.” What? Mars? “Honey, you wouldn’t be comfortable playing at her house. One-on-one is quite different from hanging out with an entire group of them.” “Why can’t they just stay on their side of the tracks?” (Yes, in our town there literally were tracks. Think that’s funny? I-35 must totally crack you up.)
What do gay people want? Who can speak for a whole group? But we’ll tell you one thing: Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas (LGRL) is throwing a big ol’ Gay Pridecelebration this weekend, so we can all find out. The festivities start Sat, Jun 5, 7pm with the Womyn’s Pride Dance at Fiesta Gardens and in the same spot the next day, Sun, Jun 6, at noon is Gay Pride proper featuring a slew of bands and entertainers (see community calendar for more info) and booths and activities for everyone, straight, gay, or swinging on a fence. 474-5475.
Swingers
Don’t forget that Project Transitions’ Texas Swing is this Fri, Jun 4, 8pm, at Saengerrunde Hall, 1607 San Jacinto, featuring the swingin’ tunes of Alvin Crow. Tickets are $20 in advance at Top Drawer Thrift Store, Horsefeathers Hair Salon, and the PT admin office, 7101 Woodrow. The price is $25 at the door. 472-6235.
E-mail: pnotice@auschron.com
This article appears in June 4 • 1999 and June 4 • 1999 (Cover).