Christian protest at Pride - Endcliffe Park

[Robin-H]

I'm with you on most of those things. My point is that people do stop and stare and make judgement about what they see at Pride (or what is reported on the news about it) more than they do about seeing two people in the street.

 

I have lived with another man for the past 20 years in a variety of locations, and not once have a Christian group felt the need to protest outside our house, or the neighbours have any problem with us. Not that they were brave enough to voice anyway. Yet I drink with friends in the pub who look at coverage of Pride and say things like 'I'm glad you're not like that'. Things is, most of us aren't. But that's the image it portrays. Hence why I no longer think it does any good.

 

I get your point, but I'm not sure that I totally agree with it.

 

Firstly, you are lucky that you have lived in locations where you felt you got didn't get funny looks. I have lived in places where I wouldn't have dreamed of walking down the street holding hands with another man. It would have been suicide.

 

Secondly, I have never attended a pride event myself, and don't ever foresee doing so. I have however seen footage of a number of events, and know people who have attended them, and it seems to me the vast majority of people who go are just ordinary people, not trying to 'flaunt' anything. In fact I would think the vast majority of people attending the Brighton Pride (which I think is the largest?) are straight.

 

Your comment that your friends made about them being glad that 'you're not like that' surely just shows that we are far from a society where people are accepted for who they are.

 

Don't get me wrong, I find flamboyancy a huge turn off, and don't associate with the stereotypical 'gay culture' at all. I would imagine that the majority of gay people do not. I get your point that media coverage of pride events might make people assume that all gay people are like that, and so cause prejudice, but don't flamboyant people have to right to act how they like and celebrate how they are as well?

 

I hope that we will live in future where the need for pride events does die down as it is not seen as something that needs highlighting, but I strongly believe if it does die down it needs to do so naturally. We cannot, and should not, enforce it.

[birobasher]

I'm with you on most of those things. My point is that people do stop and stare and make judgement about what they see at Pride (or what is reported on the news about it) more than they do about seeing two people in the street.

 

I have lived with another man for the past 20 years in a variety of locations, and not once have a Christian group felt the need to protest outside our house, or the neighbours have any problem with us. Not that they were brave enough to voice anyway. Yet I drink with friends in the pub who look at coverage of Pride and say things like 'I'm glad you're not like that'. Things is, most of us aren't. But that's the image it portrays. Hence why I no longer think it does any good.

 

Well you're lucky then. If you can somehow talk the rest of Sheffield round to your way of thinking, that'd be a start. But it's not the LGBT folk making the protests happen, it's the vindictive, bigoted Christian group Potter's House who can't bear anyone to differ from them. I'm bi, and there are plenty of things in mainstream 'gay' culture that bore me. The music, for a start. I like Nick Cave, PJ Harvey etc. Not Gina G. Then again, what is it your friends are glad you're not 'like'? What's it to them? If people want to wear feather boas and listen to duff club music, that's the least of your problems.

 

Pride events have their roots after riots against police oppression at the Stonewall bar. People talk as if everything's fine now and it's really not. There's been progress, but no way is there a level playing field about this subject. That kind of talk is designed to make people campaigning for mere equality seem demanding and unreasonable. They're not.