Neil G. Schloesser: Pride Parades

To the Editor:

We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going away! It’s that time of year again, when gays hit the streets to protest our lack of inclusion in American society, and show the fence-sitters and haters that we are in fact human, and bleed when pricked by the hand of intolerance.
As we hit the streets for our parades and the parks for community barbeques, now is the time to remember that as a community we are judged by the worst of our actions, not the best. We, like all movements, are selling ourselves to the larger community. In order to sell ourselves effectively, we need to offer a product that is palatable to those we are trying to sway.

It is one thing to yell angry chants but quite another to wear purple Speedos on top of a tower of speakers while grinding the air. While the parades in Fargo don’t normally get that loud, they do in big cities, but the point remains the same. If we want to achieve social equality, then we need to sell ourselves to those who hold the keys. We as a movement need to present one side of ourselves to the straight community. If heterosexuals were demanding marriage equality they wouldn’t take their club scene and put it on display for everyone to see and then expect respect. There is a reason why things involving booze take place in the dark.

The point of Pride is to publicize ourselves, our cause, and our plight. We draw attention to ourselves to show those who oppose us that we are the same as they are and not to be scorned. We come out of the closet and make a big deal out of being gay because we need to humanize bigotry.

We need to show that bigotry has real consequences and inflicts real pain. Most people respond to the pain of others but only if they can relate to their pain. That’s why propaganda must first dehumanize someone, for we are hardwired as a species to care but only if that person is part of the group.

We are the faces of victimization but we shouldn’t be victims. When we march we need to present a relatable face, familiar and safe.

-Neil G. Schloesser
Fargo