Rescheduling Pride

After spending the past couple of hours doing yard work in 90 degree temperatures, I started thinking about outdoor LGBT pride festivals/parades.  Lexington’s Pride Festival is next weekend, and I think it’s about time we gays got together to rethink this whole hot mess.

I’m a huge proponent of Pride demonstrations.  Although attitudes are changing, there is still a great deal of fear, hate, and stigma towards my people.  I fully support large gatherings of gays.  But do we really have to do it outdoors during the summer time?  I know, I know.  June is Pride month, because at the end of June back in 1969, gays finally started fighting back during the Stonewall riots.  I respect and revere our history.  But back in 1969, the average person wasn’t acclimated to a controlled climate.  In 1960, only 12% of homes had air conditioning.  It was hot inside, and it was hot inside – so no big deal.  It’s really hard for me to feel proud about who I am when I’m sweating buckets.  I feel like Mother Nature is committing the ultimate hate crime every time I venture out for Pride.  Do you know how quickly a lesbian can have a flannel-induced heat stroke?  

Too hot to feel proud

Here’s my proposal:  Let’s move Pride festivities to October, sometime on our around National Coming Out Day.  After all, October is LGBT History Month.  And, more importantly, the average high temperature in October in Lexington is a flannel-friendly 68 degrees (compared to a lesbian-liquefying high of 83 degrees in June).    

Let’s vote on this at our next group meeting, please.