No More Parades! Thanks to The Gays!

Up there in Spencer, North Carolina, and the neighboring town of Salisbury, they hold the Holiday Caravan Parade every Thanksgiving. It was a tradition; but that’s all over now because the organizers have cancelled this year’s parade because of The Gays.

In 2017, parade organizers banned a float sponsored by AVITA Pharmacy because the company invited members of the local PFLAG [Parents and friends of Lesbians and Gays] chapter to ride along with them. Donna Brown Odrosky, the local PFLAG president, said that organizers objected to their rainbow paraphernalia and black PFLAG t-shirts.

The organizers claimed the pharmacy violated the rules by allowing another group to advertise their message with “signage, apparel, fliers” without prior approval, and Odrosky accused them of discrimination, as did many in the community, and thousands from around the world. And so now the parade is off; it will no longer be held, and the organizers are blaming the response they got when they decided to ban the LGBTQ group for the end of the parade.

See, they’d rather shut down a 58-year tradition than allow everyone to march, well, at least The Gays.

The parade organizers website says:

“[S]ince last year’s parade the all-volunteer board members have received hate mail, emails, and threats to protest the 2018 parade to not only their personal email addresses, home addresses, social media but also to their place of employment. These board members have dedicated their entire lives and heart to this event each and every year, some of them for over 30 and 40 years!”

PFLAG had their own statement:

“Since the incident in November 2017, PFLAG has asked for, and welcomed a dialogue with the Holiday Caravan board, to no avail. It has always been our vision at Salisbury Rowan PFLAG to have ‘a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected and affirmed inclusive of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.’ …We look forward to working with a future parade committee whose mission and vision more closely aligns with PFLAG, the cities of Salisbury and Spencer, and event sponsors.”

I keep going back to that old folkloric tale of the first Thanksgiving, when Native Americans and Pilgrims came together in peace and harmony, in an attempt to understand one another, to work with one another, to live side-by-side.

I don’t think the organizers of this parade remember that, so maybe, one day, someone with a more open mind and a more accepting heart will decide to revive the parade. It’s sad to see a tradition end because of Hate.

I mean, it’s a parade! What can you possibly hate about a parade?

LGBTQ Nation

In the Age of _____, Stand Strong and Tall and Firm For Equality

Everyone makes jokes about Thanksgiving dinner and the family feuds that erupt over a meal meant to be thankful and grateful I once read openly gay comedian Bob Smith’s book, Openly Bob, and loved how he said he’d come out to his family, over Thanksgiving dinner by quietly asking if, “Someone would please pass the mash potatoes to the homosexual.”

My family never had those uncomfortable holiday dinners; I don’t think we ever fought once, or argued, or disagreed, we were just happy to be together sharing a meal. But this isn’t about me or my family on Thanksgiving; it’s about a woman, a straight woman who is an LGBT ally and the request she received before ever leaving home to travel to her parent’s house for Thanksgiving.

See, her father texted her and asked, well, he actually kind of demanded, that she could either remove the bumpersticker from her car before arriving at their house, or maybe she could find some alternative transportation so the offending sticker wouldn’t be on view.

The sticker? The Human Rights Campaign [HRC] equality sticker.

But before making any decision, the woman, identified only as “Rachel” decided to share her story on the pro-Clinton Facebook group Pantsuit Nation, where it went viral and finally reached the HRC blog where they reported that Rachel had thought about covering the equal sign with an index card to avoid a confrontation:

“Ultimately, Rachel realized that removing the sticker was allowing discrimination to win, and she refused to back down from something she so strongly believed in. Unwilling to compromise her convictions, Rachel decided to leave the sticker on her car.”

Rachel saw her story on HRC and replied:

“Thank you for the outpouring of support and suggestions through comments and private messages. I truly did not anticipate this response. It’s comforting to know I’m not alone in this battle. Many of your comments have brought me to the realization that covering the sticker would be equivalent to removing it.

 I am an ally at all times, not just when it is convenient or easy. My father would win by forcing me to back down from something that I believe in, and it would validate his belief that he still has control over me and can bully me into submission. So there will be no compromise, as I am not willing to compromise my convictions anymore than he is willing to compromise his.

I have decided that I will be parking elsewhere and walking to their house, even though that will be a good little hike since they live down a country road in the middle of nowhere. I feel that this will send a far stronger message than if I were to refuse to remove the sticker and just cover it instead.”

Equality. Her father was offended by equality, but, in the Age of _____, such liberal ideals will face scrutiny; people will still stand up for those who can’t stand for themselves but it might get harder. That’s why we have to stand, strong and steadfast, to let those who would seek to deny equality ... equality for god's sake ... to anyone will not win.

For me, I would have parked the car in Dad’s driveway, with the bumpersticker facing the street; hell, I might have painted the car to look like the HRC emblem.

Whatever we do, we keep doing it.

LGBTQ Nation