Pride Day

So, I posted on facebook on Friday that I was taking my kids to Pride Day because we were proud of our GLBT family members. A perfectly harmless update not meant to inflame or cause debate. I'm not interested in debates. (So if you're reading this post and gearing up for one, move along right now, please).

The next day a cousin-in-law updates her status. No names mentioned, but it's pretty obvious that it was referring to mine. She called me a "mushy believer" (huh?) and inferred that my tolerance and acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle is leading me straight to Hell.

Whoah.

Meanwhile, her diatribe (that goes on through 3 more comment boxes because she obviously has far more to say than facebook thinks she should), spews judgement and mud-slinging. She even mentioned that she had a gay brother and that she regularly tells him that his lifestyle is an abomination and he needs to repent and turn from sin, yada yada yada...

Wow, how supportive. Can't imagine how family dinners go at her place.

So then I comment on her status about how I feel sorry for her brother (cause I can't keep my big mouth shut), and my cousin comes to her defense and throws a couple of Old-Testament Bible verses my way.

The fact that the Bible is written by men and has been, for centuries, interpreted by men to suit the opinion of the day, is lost on this couple. I mean, Jesus had long hair, wore sandals, and a gown... do you really think he's homophobic?

Anyway, long story short, Pride Day was great! The parade was clean and a colourful, there were craft booths and activities for the kids, everyone was loving and happy and I only heard the F-word once. The best part, I didn't see any hate-mongering going on the way I have in previous years. It was a really tame event and fairly family friendly. The marchers threw candy from the floats at the children and the occasional condom at the adults. Alex found a couple on the street afterwards and said, "Mama, what kind of candy is this," but I pocketed his "candy for adults" and changed the subject. He hasn't thought to bring it up again. Whew!

My kids accepted it without any shock or disgust (and why would they, we have never promoted bigotry in our home). There were a couple of awkward moments when the drag queen was being crowned (Kirstin: "Those are weird princesses!" and "Why does she talk like a man?") but for the most part, they just enjoyed themselves and took it in stride.

In fact, when I asked my boys afterwards, if either of them had any questions, Alex replied, "YES! Why do you have to be 9-years old to go on the velcro wall?" and "Can we come back next year?"

So, there you go. I stand behind my status update. I'm proud of my GLBT family members. I think it's time to do a clean-up of my facebook friends list. Might just make it two people shorter and make my life all the much more pleasant!

In the meantime, have to figure out a way to get this message through to them before I unfriend them...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhGk6eF65Fo