re: The glitter element.

I didn't watch the parade - I was in it.

I was part of the genderBLUR contingent and I can honestly tell you that we were neither corporate-sponsored nor boring.
We had drag queens, kings, stilters, puppets, and rollerfolks.

Perhaps we were in the minority?

The whole point of our float was remembrance of those who came before us, visibility, and transformation.

I was frustrated by the number of folks that I knew who skipped out on the parade because they needed to sleep in due to partying too hard the night before. Even worse, I suppose would be skipping due to apathy (or preconceived notions of corporate take-over).

I skipped because of apathy or preconcieved notions of corporate take-over...

Maybe next year you can organize a Precision Buggery Drill team to amuse the crowd...non corporate sponsored of course.

On the flipside, a lot of the people representing their company in the parade are proud to have an employer who so openly supports them and offers benefits. If I hadn't been driving KFAI's pickup (we'll definitely have something better next year) I would have been on my bike with the other members of my Red Ribbon Ride team from Wells Fargo.

I agree it doesn't make for the most interesting parade ever, but isn't it a little cynical to dismiss it all as pandering to the gay crowd? Face it, this is still the Midwest--we're not all going to magically sprout sequins and sweat glitter just because it's Pride.

I agree with you Jeremy. I do think corporate sponsorship and participation are important. Big business has been a great ally of GLBT people, mostly because we buy things.

I'm just saying I'd like to see more 'roots' of GLBT history, some of the culture.

what i found disturbing was the booth giving away bibles. i asked a pride board member about it and was told that they will not deny anyone a space in the park. so, if the minnesota family council or fred phelps wanted to have a booth to spew anti-gay hate, they would allow it.

As a former board member, I can tell you that Phelps would never be permited to get a booth as they would not follow the rules setup by the Pride Board. Just handing out bibles is not a bad thing. As long as they follow the rules the Pride Board will not discriminate against anyone. However, if this group is the one I think it is, they have had a booth at Pride for several years now. They have always show respect toward people even if they don't think being gay is correct. If they were not respectful towards you or you saw them being disrespectful, I'm sure the Pride Board would get rid of them as they have violated their contract.

Now the real problem is if anyone will tell the Pride Board. The Pride Board hold public meetings all year round and maybe 1 or 2 meetings will anyone outside of the board even come to voice an opinion.

I've mixed feelings about Pride corporatization. I enjoyed the parade this year, but that was about all. I spent most of Sunday wandering around Loring Park but I might as well have gone to a trade show at the Convention Center. The only redeeming experience was running into some old friends. The park was dull!! At the very least I was expecting to enjoy some live music at one of the four stages. Perhaps I was always in the wrong place, but all I found were empty stages playing prerecorded music or nothing at all. The only place that people seemed to be having fun was at the beer garden but I was with my mother and she wasn't interested.

"They have always show respect toward people even if they don't think being gay is correct." ???

How fucked up is that???

re: corporations

Its the corporations who have been on the for-front of granting us benefits and working with local goverments to write them into laws.

re: handing out bibles

So just because these folks are handing out bibles you want them banned?!?! Wow ... that comment is disturbing. Who else do you want to ban just because you don't agree with them?

re: parade/pride

The only advantage of the pride is that it brings everyone out of the woodwork for the weekend. Personally i don't believe the parade or the parkgrounds hold much of value. I skip the parade, visit my company's booth and then I go home.

tim - the bible is the only weapon the right-wing has to justify their efforts to keep us from having full civil rights. personally i would want quite a few groups banned, i.e. Focus on the Family, Exodus International, the KKK, etc. pride is supposed to celebrate our very existence. most of us put up with that bullshit on a daily basis - we shouldn't have to be subjected to it at our community's celebration.

>>the bible is the only weapon the right-wing has to justify their efforts to keep us from having full civil rights

This comment makes little sense. The bible is not their only weapon. They are using all sorts of tactics to try to push us back in the closet. The bible is also our weapon against them.

In addition - a group giving out bibles is no threat to "our community's celebration". The problem I have with your comment is that it assumes that something that one finds insulting or "hurts feelings" should be banned.

Tim - I never said the group was a "threat" to anything or anyone. Just because I say I don't want to see something, doesn't mean it will go away. But I have every right to express my opinion. It's called freedom of speech and I find it disturbing that anyone would deny someone else that right.