Matt Drudge has always reminded me of that inexplicably popular kid in grade school, the one who wasn't particularly clever or witty or rich or anything, but who could get a tooth knocked out riding a bike and send half the class to the nurse's office because of the fumes they inhaled while coloring in their teeth with Magic Marker in solidarity.
The post below devolved into the same conversation that often happens when an atheist uses the same public forums aggressively used by believers to spread their beliefs---i.e., speaking up in books and websites. Why do atheists have to go around making the nice religious people uncomfortable? The religious people invoked in defending the religious privilege---the right not to be made uncomfortable, a privilege not extended to non-believers---are always the Platonic ideal of non-offensive believer, someone who barely believes really, keeps it to themselves, has no moral differences from an atheist, stays the course on the liberal party line and doesn't squirm over Teh Gay or Teh Abortion, and maybe even agrees that "under god" should be taken out of the Pledge. We all like liberal Christians, so can atheists just stay in the closet and not upset the nice ones?
A young child with spina bifida and splints on his legs tears them off and bolts across the stage. He cries as he declares that his legs have strength like never before."The boy's been healed," says the preacher as thousands cheer him on.
TCOOO Productions the label behind the "18 Karat Reggae" CD series is holding the first ever Straight Pride Parade in Brooklyn, New York on August 31, 2008. The parade will take place on Eastern Parkway along the same route as the annual Caribbean labor day parade.New reggae / dancehall sensation Jango Fresh said, "the Straight pride parade is a great idea because when a song like "Hit them hard" by my label mate Stapler can be banned just because it stresses the importance of a male and a female in every family, it is a sign that heterosexuals need to wake up.
This crap is in reaction to the cancellations of concerts of performers who have written songs specifically advocating violence and death to gays. The shock to the wallets of these homophobes has clearly riled them up:
The president of TCOOO said he hopes the event will unify the reggae community who has seen many reggae events cancelled recently not only in the United States but all over Europe and the Caribbean. "I sat quietly and watched as they cancelled artists like Buju Banton, Sizzla Kalonji and Capleton" he said, "but when the gay community went after TCOOO artists like Vineyard the Rebel Priest, Stapler and Jango Fresh we decided that we must make a show of strength."
Good grief -- Eastern Parkway is several train stops -- and apparently a world away -- from my relatives' houses in Stuyvesant Heights, where I stay when I'm up in the City (see "My Bed-Stuy" to get a flavor of that neighborhood).
Hat tip, Jeremy at Good As You, who said, "It remains to be seen if New Yorkers will turn out in any markable numbers for this thoroughly discouraging anti-civil rights march. But this Upper East Side writer certainly hopes not, as moving out of town is such a hassle." You should also click over for the bizarre story of the anti-gay sign seen up in a West Village Rite Aid store. WTF is going in in NYC, peeps?
But back to that North Carolina Straight Pride Parade...it was held in Chapel Hill, NC a few years ago, a sad-sack event put on by the always-un-PC-and-in-hot-water G-105 radio. See the hilarity -- complete with my on-scene photo report -- below the fold. So here's my coverage of that pathetic 1st Annual Heterosexual Pride parade in Chapel Hill, sponsored by ClearChannel radio station G-105.
Really, if the community down here can mock this kind of bad taste event (and there hasn't been another one since, to my knowledge), certainly you folks in NYC can tell these dance hall bigots where they can put their "heterosexual family values" (whatever the F that means) in August.
[M]y partner Kate and I drove into CH from Durham, listening to word of the event from the DJs. Didn't even hear a mention of it until we were driving up and down Franklin Street at 10:45, which was the start time for the parade. There were no signs of activity, other than the usual Saturday traffic and locals strolling and shopping. We turned around and checked the other end of Franklin, toward the Carrboro side. We saw a few balloons and figured this was it and parked just off the parade route. (This was already a sign of things to come -- parking in CH at anytime once UNC is back in session is difficult).It was a pathetic turnout for Bob and the Showgram (the morning drive time show), even by radio stunt standards. G-105 didn't even bother simulcasting from the "event," and had only a couple of trucks in the parade with smallish logos promoting the station. (the trucks had blow-up sex dolls as passengers), There was a sad little table at the beginning of the parade route with a few T-shirts and merchandise with "Flaming Heterosexual" emblazoned on them. Not a lot of selling going on.
Oh, did I mention that about half of the crowd was visibly gay or gay friendly (carrying supportive signs)? That knocks down the straight turnout to just a handful of people.
The poor souls couldn't muster enough people to close down the parade route. Or even the whole street during the procession. The Chapel Hill police held off traffic on one side of the street, for less than a block at a time as they marched about a quarter mile.
I don't think there's going to be a Second Annual Het Pride event.
West Franklin, street where the parade was held. So pathetic the turnout that the traffic was still flowing at the start time (10:45) Well, here is the whole crowd that showed up, no lie.. However, about 1/2 of this crowd was actually queer folks. So the parade begins. The other mascot finally gets his suit on. Again, more gay representation than straight. The G-105 logo was not abundant during this. By the way, this was one of 3 trucks that had a blow-up sex doll aboard. The festivities ended after about 15 minutes, tops, at Henderson St. There was a table selling "Flaming Heterosexual" merchandise. We didn't notice much sales activity. We came prepared with a sign, but decided the event was too pathetic to participate in it... We'll save it for the NC Pride parade.
At the airport, I spied the paperback version of the atheist polemic that caused so much grief that I haven't read yet: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I'll admit; I get influenced by blurbs, and this book had a gazillion really great ones. And even though I'm a hardline atheist like Dawkins, and I'm in full agreement that the hysteria greeting this book says more about the people getting upset (that they're trying to bully atheists into silence) than about Dawkins, I cracked and bought it. If all these people enjoyed it/were offended by it, then surely I could learn something from it, right?
Herrrrrerdeherehdeherheherherhherrrherrrknowyourplace.
