It was a beautiful day in sunny California and no one was going to rain on their parade.
Well, actually there was a posse of highly-vocal religious zealots out to utter up slurs and denounce the LGBT lifestyle.
Uh-huh!
At the Long Beach Gay Pride Parade yesterday (Sunday May 20th) hateful Christians perched on a "pulpit" at one end of the route hurling insults and waving crude signs about the evils of "Homo Sex" and "Jesus" being angry.
Youtube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=j8pdtbPur2U
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=O1l173qL988
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=vApCXxzUL1A
Meanwhile, gay marchers ("out-and-proud) - for the most part - were inclined to pay them no mind as much as possible.
But, a few "politely" responded less-vocally.
Their signs were a little more low key.
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=S_pPbsKkDHQ
Farther down the street, less confrontational members of the LGBT community articulated their stance on issues by waving signs that called for "equality", the "entitlement to marry", and so-forth-and-so-on.
YouTube videos:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=KgSuI_ajcz8
In addition to the activists and revellers, a handful of major corporations (Wells Fargo Bank, WalMart, Walgreens, jetblue, State Farm Insurance, Monster, etc.) showed their wholehearted support for the gay community by joining in and participating in the festive parade as it wound its way down Ocean Boulevard in downtown Long Beach.
Walmart:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=KykdVDiM3Ro
Wells Fargo Bank:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=ez85dofV52U
Shocktop:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=ov3cSmU_338
The parade kicked off with an imperssive police escort, by the way, which delighted thousands of bystanders who stood curbside two-and-three deep in some places along the pretty strip.
Teachers, gay parents, and glad-handing politicians got roars of approval as they strode by, too.
Fred Karger was there to put in his bid for President, too.
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=kPzkkQGwmng
One of my favorite floats was the one featuring Elizabeth Taylor which was sponsored by "Out of the Closet" second hand stores.
An Elton John ballad played in the background and brought a tear to the eye!
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=H6997l-Bc8g
Of course, there were a posse of Drag Queens, Nuns, rainbow flag wavers, and leather boys.
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=2WjAc8Rwpic
What would a gay pride parade be without them?
Silver Fox - a local bar - paraded by, too.
For those in the dark, it's a bar that caters to silver-haired gay dudes (and the studs who chase after 'em).
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=aWwqoWlKOxY
To take a gander at the dozens of videos I captured, cruise over to my YouTube channel:
http://www.YouTube.com/ijulian9
By the way, in about ten days, West Hollywood's gay pride is slated to kick-off!
Stay posted for updates.
http://www.YouTube.com/ijulian9
0 comments:
Post a Comment