Portland Pride

I have often been ambivalent about Pride celebrations, do we really need to celebrate something that we intrinsically "are"? Redhead Pride? Left Handed Pride? This weekend is Portland's Pride celebration. The events include a pet parade, a Drag Race, the ubiquitous Pride Parade, a festival on the waterfront in Downtown, & a two day "block party" in the area that comes closest to being a "gay ghetto" in Portland. Do we need Pride Celebrations? I think we do & I think that they are a positive thing for our community & for the world at large. Pride is an annual celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender people or any person who has different sexual or gender identities. The concept of Pride declares that sexual preference & gender identity are part of a person’s biological make-up & something to be proud of. Someday, when nobody cares that we are gay, when you don't have to worry about being called names or attacked, when there is no hate, when we have full equal rights under the law... maybe we can give up on Pride, until then here are some reasons why Pride is important:

Remembering STONEWALL (40 years ago this month)
celebrating that you are not alone, that there are others like you
celebrate the freedom to be who you are
visibility & strength in numbers
it's political, it's cultural
have fun, get drunk, be silly
Dykes On Bikes
activism
showcase the diversity of the Gay community- Queens, Queers, Drag Queens, Seniors, youth, Presbyterians, PGE workers, P-Flag, marching bands, Gay Chorus, Firemen, Police, dogs, Police dogs, families...
protest
cruise
Marriage Equality
to get rained on

to show how far we have come:




Will you add to this list?