Pride and prejudice

It was good to see people enjoying themselves and celebrating diversity with such enthusiasm at London’s Gay Pride yesterday.

Bigots
Bigots

These guys on the right gave a great performance. They’d obviously been rehearsing a long time and — it may be a cliché — but they lived the part.

I was at the Pride by accident. I’d forgotten it was on but I emerged from Charing Cross station into Trafalgar Square and found myself in the middle of it. I didn’t stay long because I wanted to catch the last few hours of the nearby summer science exhibition, which was fab, by the way.

I was sorry I missed the parade through Central London an hour earlier but was delighted to catch this piece of street theatre by a small group of players, mainly old men and a few women wearing strange hats.

They had set up stall a short distance from the thonged throngs and were obviously determined to bring the Lord’s Word to as many sinners as possible.

I never thought I’d find myself saying I’d been to the Pride and seen a freak show but that’s exactly what this was. It was like they were just begging people to taunt them and jeer at them and people were happy to oblige. But whatever people did, the Christians, who were heavily protected by grinning police officers, bravely stood their ground and continued to rant endlessly about what Jesus said, as if anyone cared.

Even this inconsiderate couple, who went and stood in front of them and started snogging passionately to huge cheers from everyone else, failed to intimidate the valiant Christian soldiers, though a few of them may have got disconcerting erections.

Only when the dude in the blue frock and stilletoes (see pic below) went over and started wagging a finger at them did the steely masks crack and cold fear flash across the faces of the ranters, even though she was only giving them some much-needed style advice.

The Pride rocks!

2 thoughts on “Pride and prejudice”

  1. I have to admit my bias (I live there), but Brighton & Hove’s Gay Pride knocks the pink socks off London’s 😉

    Anyway, I’m a happily married straight guy who welcomes the gay community in all it’s colourful glory – you can’t not say that living in the UK’s gay capital.

    Hats off to them all, whether in London, Brighton or wherever – I’d rather have gay folk for neighbours than uptight god-botherers, Christian or Muslim, no question about it

    x

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