What started out as volunteering at an information table for
the Houston Atheists morphed into a nascent observation of the LGBT crowd
on Saturday at the Houston Gay Pride Parade grounds adjacent to Montrose St., the
main route of the parade. As much
as I wanted to otherwise, the constraints of time and distance from Angleton, TX (70
miles) necessitated spending only four hours at this celebration and long
before the actual parade at 7:00 pm.
As I neared the the Montrose District there were signs of festivities as young, uninhibited men walked about; toned, shirtless and wearing
speedos. Parking the vehicle several
blocks away, I walked into the main venue where dozens of tables were set
up including that of the Houston Atheists.
I introduced myself to Julie and in a few minutes to Mellie and Jimmy,
the latter being the table organizer and a proud Gaytheist. I settled in,
parroting Julies’ spiel to the curious about the Houston Atheists being the
largest community in the country and a social organization for atheists and freethinkers
who could enjoy the company of like-minded folks without the stigma of being labeled
everything from immoral to Satanists by forgiving believers. From here I could people watch, taking in the
diversity of the LGBT community for the first time in my life. My encounters with gay Americans I could
count on one hand. They were always
somewhere I wasn’t and my somewhere
was usually in an intolerant community which adhered to the stagnant malaise
of religious edict. As an atheist and an outsider I felt a common struggle with the LBGT community.
Only now is society accepting them as legitimate Americans, free to love
and marry whomever they wanted in a growing number of states and also free to
defend my country in the military. I
couldn’t help but wonder if Atheists now are the recipients of the last great prejudice
in this country. After all, Houston has
a lesbian mayor. Would the denizens of Houston
be so inclined to elect an atheist for mayor?
After an hour and a half of handing out information I
ventured out, observing the crowd and every shape and size of people therein no
matter straight or gay. Despite the
boldness of attire or lack thereof the same cultural rules applied – those with
great bodies displayed more skin and those, shall I say less toned chose to wear more apparel. Yes, there were the stereotypical flamer but other men you would not give
a second look walking down the street. In
what was considered bold for me, I sought out gay men and lesbians who were
sitting in the shade to ask their views on the current state of acceptance in
this country. All were cordial and
polite and the replies centered basically on the same opinion that the country
is moving towards acceptance of the LGBT community, albeit slowly, as equal Americans and in
the near future same-sex marriage will be legal in all states.
Some of
the vendors hawked merchandise, some solicited petitions to give the poor more
rights but one I happened upon was as paradoxical as you could encounter – The Log Cabin Republicans. According to their website the LCR are
conservative, moderate and libertarian Republicans, including
LGBT Americans and our straight allies. They are united by the belief that
inclusion wins and that the GOP is stronger when it does not alienate LGBT
people or their friends and family through antigay rhetoric and policies. The
men at the table were smartly dressed, well groomed and very much with an
appearance counter to their brethren walking about. I resisted the urge to debate Roger, gay and black
and truly a minority within a minority within the Republican Party. Instead I asked how he reconciled his core
beliefs with that of the anti-gay national platform of the Republican Party. He echoed nearly verbatim
from the LCR web page; a mishmash of statements that would make the reader believe they were in a perpetual state of Stockholm Syndrome. Roger cited his
concern for national security and the failed fiscal policies of President
Obama. You would get a repeated reply
from any republican but I couldn’t wrap my mind around why this organization
existed at all. Shifting the ideology of the Republican Party to accept gays and
lesbians as equal citizens was noble enough but why affiliate with a party determined to keep
them as second class citizens? Later I
explored the LCR web page further; looking at an interactive map of the states which
gave information on LGBT public officials or as they were called: “Out” LGBT
Public Officials. According to the
map Texas has 27 but none in the U.S. congress.
Looking over other Red States I saw the following:
OK UT KS MS AL MT AZ LA WV
US Congress: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
State Legislature 1 0 0 0 1 3 5 0 0
State Executive 1 4 1 0 1 0 3 1 1
Other 1 2 1 1 0 3 6 2 2
Missing from the map is which LGBT public
official is a Democrat, Republican or other party affiliation. I’m willing to bet there are no republican LGBT
public officials. Granted, the
affiliation of Democratic LGBT public officials may be paltry but there is
not a concerted effort by the Democratic Party to purge all LGBT candidates
from its ranks.
What I saw today was a microcosm of our future society - inclusion of same sex men and women as equal loving partners. Despite the money and
power of haters wanting to turn society's clock back , there is no
turning back. Time is on the side of the LGBT community.
