Making your grandparents proud

This past weekend was Gay Pride, which to my friends and me, means giant parties for lesbians and gay men, beer, bands, food, and fun. It also means the Pride Parade. So, on Sunday morning, I showered away my hangover, drank a beer, and headed to Boystown for the party with my girlfriend and best friend.

An hour later, as per the usual late "gay time," we arrived to the geographic place where the parade ended, and saw that first rainbow flag rounding the bend. We made it just in time to see the parade, which we watched in time for me to hear from an ex, for my girlfriend to run into an ex, and my best friend to hear from her ex and her ex's new girlfriend, and the girl my friend had been "talking to," but who was now back with her ex, but not having sex with (because they "love each other, they just aren't in love anymore.") Such is life in the lesbian world. Lol. We are all connected to Melissa Etheridge, Jodie Foster, Portia, and Jennifer Beals by, like, 3 degrees.

Okay... so maybe not Jennifer Beals...but we can all wish, can't we?

Anyway, the point of this, because I don't often like to delve into my personal life on my blog (because there are some truly sick people out there in cyberspace), was to post the following photograph, which I took on Sunday at the parade:

Bear in mind that the Chicago Gay Pride parade was attended by an estimated 450,000 spectators this year.

Also bear in mind that, of the 450,000 people, this picture shows those who were protestors of the event (maybe 10-15 people, tops).

So, you can imagine the public mockery they made of themselves, standing there like perfect little hateful, bigoted charicatures. A tiny group of about 10 people, donning sandwich boards, megaphones, and stereotypical, by-now-meaningless bible quotes telling each person as they walked past, that they are "going to hell."

At one point, the man with the megaphone in my picture above stated, "You must make your grandmother proud" to a gay man who was proudly showing off his rainbow-colored necklace to the protestors.

Honestly, I am sure he does. At least more so than the bigot brigade that was on (such small) display.

If the sole "vice" those protestors were judging this man on is that he is gay, then he already is light-years ahead of the monsters behind the sandwich boards and megaphones.

If his "vice," is that he--on the day of the year that a gay couple can walk down the streets of Chicago holding hands like their straight counterparts with no fear of violence or catcalls--stood up a little bit to a hateful group of tormentors, then he is eons ahead of the bigots hiding behind the police like cowards.

And that, I know, would make any grandmother proud.