Does anybody else dislike Pride?

[coulditbeme2323]

Does anybody else dislike Pride?

We have one in our town for the second year running, and it's just really off.

Now before I get the "don't be homophobic comments" I am very much live and let live.

It's just that it can be very adult in the middle of the day.

Perhaps you could explain your preferred middle ground principles?

For me, it's mainly about not looking to persecute or punish a whole group of people for the individual "crimes" committed by one of their cohort. Which is what is being suggested with the rise of nationalism and populism being pushed at the moment. Throw in religious intolerance and calls to cultural conformity and we're repeating history.

Play the victim? Goodness that’s unpleasant. I want everyone to enjoy Pride and I still feel there’s a need for it. I don’t know what end of the stick you have got but I suggest there are better targets for your ire.

I live in Brighton. I love the Pride parade - a carnival of inclusiveness, but apart from that it's hell. For the entire weekend it's illegal for shops/bars to sell alcohol in glass containers because violence is 100% expected. The station is like a gulag with a massive police presence and an enforced one way system. The filth and litter in the streets is indescribable.

I time my holidays around Pride now. Brighton is always alternative and never squeaky clean or vanilla which for me is part of the appeal but Pride weekend is an absolute race to the bottom.

Framed like that, I agree.

The right reason to remove the kirpan exemption is not about whether to ‘punish’ Sikhs or not. It’s: how do we balance liberty with identity with safety. If it’s sometimes reasonable to carry a knife for identity or religious reasons then let us all have access to that claim. If not, then not, even if Sikhs are inconvenienced. Do we want want school exemption to be easy, hard, or impossible. Why and when? Then if it turns out travellers have it right, great. We can loosen up. If not, then tough luck travellers.

If anti-gay attitudes are a cause for condemnation then they are whether its Muslims or Mormons or Millwall. If freedom
of belief is more important then likewise.

If we don’t Believe Women, let’s not believe them across the board. Or let’s.

If only the oppressed group gets to define its own oppression then that means Jews too. If it’s a matter for public debate and policy calibration then we stop taking the knee.

etc etc etc.

When someone points out the inaccuracies in what you’ve posted and you respond with a disingenuous ‘I don’t understand what I’ve done to deserve this response’ that’s quite unpleasant behaviour actually.

Pride in Brighton (and elsewhere, it seems) was, back in the day about celebrating the right to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. It was an all-round fabulous event.

I've been here 28 years. I know.

And now Pride centres on trans, trans, and more trans. Same-sex attraction is bigoted. Men who claim to be women dominate. Men in nappies walk with men dressed as animals. Men with masks and sunglasses dressed entirely in black carry "anti Terf" banners, threatening violence, rape and death threats to women.

Lesbian groups I know have been banned from the event due to their "hateful" stance. I kid you not.

So-called "transmen" (women) hobble along with walking sticks or get pushed along in wheelchairs, damaged too early through osteoporosis caused by testosterone being pumped though their bodies.

Gay people simply aren't there anymore.

The whole thing is horrible. Utterly horrible.

And do you think it is ok for children to see men with their arses hanging out their jeans, people in bondage gear recreating sex scenes? Surely only people with very warped minds would think it is ok?

As a liberal, I think this is a superb principle.

Let adults live their lives how they want, with maximal freedom consistent with the legitimate rights and interests of others.

Adults to debate (in fora like this) where those boundaries lie.

The rights and interests of children to be privileged in this framework, because they aren't yet adults, are vulnerable in various ways, and can't fully advocate for themselves.

If this is your platform I think a lot of people can get behind it.

And in Brighton, it's also crammed full of "be kind" straight students - hundreds of them - shouting about inclusion for trans people, accepting no debate and branding people nazis. Gay people are nowhere.

Even the Brighton Gay Men's Chorus's parade float is covered in trans flags.

Everywhere - men with fetishes.

Oh yes - these students are covered with glitter and falling over pissed.

I wonder what the founders of Pride think about it all.

Finally, Google Stephen Ireland Pride in Surrey. Just the tip of the iceberg.thede

I agree, OP. Watching (mainly) men getting to parade their fetishes in public is tedious now.

What the bloody hell have I just seen? A child right next to a group of blokes in fetish gear?

And presumably her parents think this is great?

Which prides do you go to? This is wholly untrue and I've been to many.

Actually I think it's a bit much. It's not about love - it's all about sex, and quite frankly I'd rather not either be subjected to that myself or have my children subjected to it.

I don't care if a person is straight, gay, bi, trans or whatever, it is their own personal business not mine, and that is how it should stay.

That's the exact demographic I saw in London a few years ago, I didn’t even go to Pride, I just happened to be outside Victoria Station when lots of people were leaving.

OMG can you climb down a few rungs?

Let's hope your hyperbolic typing isn't matched by your pulse rate or you're risking a stroke. All from imaginary gay men in dom gear.

Jesus Christ I sincerely hope that’s not true!

I've been to several Prides starting in 2018 and I have never seen anything even close to that.

As for Pride being demonic - that's a graphic being used by homophobic evangelicals who highlight priDEMONth. Pathetic.

We still need Pride. We will need it until there are 0 countries in the world where LGBT people are not persecuted for being who they are.

How does someone wearing a gimp mask on a pride march liberate gay men in Iran?

I wouldn't be seen dead at it, but I do not resent any section of the community celebrating and having their "day in the sun".

However OP is dead right to call out some of the modern things at it for being lewd / unsuitable for daytime / public places / kids. Consenting adults can indulge in this in private venues, its not for the high street at noon.

Pride was originally a political / campaigning / radical platform, but with those battles in the past it is now just corporate funded hedonism. It is pure establishment now, not radical.

I have heard gay people bemoan the modern pride events, both for the change in emphasis and the fact that some of the content (as per above) stokes negative gay stereotypes / gives a bad impression.

100% mumsnet gets used as a platform by certain PR agents for social media propaganda. God knows in a world of AI bots pumping engagement, what's even bloody real public opinion anymore. I say this not as a conspiracy theorist but someone who works in an industry that is being ravaged by AI and knows how it can be utilised for nefarious means (as well as it being capable of being a super useful tool)

You are the reason we still need pride 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

I don’t give a shit what peoples sexual interest is but really don’t see the need for special events simply to celebrate it - we don’t have ‘straight’ week -
I used to feel the same about the MOBO awards ( music of black origin) ( and I work in music) - we didn’t have MOWO awards and there woukd a right hoo ha rightly if we did - ! To me music is music -

FFS OP. It cannot be a closed event. That would defeat the object - it is a march about, obviously, pride and visibility. If you dont like it, dont go. You do sound homophobic and not at all live and let live.

There is so much wrong with the 'we dont have a straight week' comment 🤦🏻‍♀️

It's not something you 'attend' , it a parade through the town then street events . It's a bit much and can't be avoided if you work in town .