Part I:Summer of Pride Divide!

The Saga Continues...

Part I: Summer of Pride Divide!

by Nevin Jefferson

Thank God, that I'm blessed and not stressed! Had I been the other, I'd be a basket case after the themed summer of cease and desist razor edged fruit & fiber feud that slashed the 2006 Gay Pride Parade into 2. 2-2-2 Parades not ONE!

The idea is for all of our diversities, personas, and other elements to blend into one; the total being of who and what we are. This great sensational feeling is one that should be continued throughout the year. It's the time for businesses, organizations, bars, and people who do great work in the community to be recognized and honored for the hard work that they do.

Once upon a time, the shakers and makers of the gay community were asked to be keynote speakers. I asked to be a keynote speaker, then, introduce the punk rock group "The Dead Vampires" to the stage. Their finale would have been playing a song "Black Cock" with my dancing around the stage. "What?" I was told NO! The parties that be had no idea or clue about who I was and the things that I do in the community. One would think that the Pride committee should have a steady pulse on the community and know who's who. And people wonder why Blacks don't participate or are visible in the gay community.

The hell and havoc started last year in 2005 when the folks at the Seattle Gay Pride announced that the Gay Pride Parade would be held Downtown the following year, complete with the Pride Rally at the Seattle Center. The Gay Pride Parade originally started on Occidental then sashayed and marched down 4th street in Pride years past. I've been advocating for the longest that the Gay Pride Parade be held on a main street instead of our own neighborhood. If you're going to take it into the streets why not the major ones?

The Dykes and Business owners on Capitol Hill wanted the Gay Pride Parade kept on the hill. Business hasn't been good since Mr. and Mrs. Straight -- complete with unruly juvenile children -- have taken over Capitol Hill with it going to hell in a hand basket. Mr. And Mrs. Straight can't afford to shop like we can. This is why the business owners wanted the Gay Pride Parade to stay on Capitol Hill. This way, they could make a killing in profits from the festivities. As the occasion neared, a media battle took place on the pages of the Seattle Gay News.

Adverbs, adjectives, nouns, verbs, pronouns, punctuations, and exclamation points fired off onto the pages. It really got ugly when the Capitol Hill Parade folks demanded that two of the biggest sponsors sponsor their parade. Microsoft shut down their systems and Miller stopped serving after both felt bullied, pressured, and caught in the middle of a fruit and fiber feud. Loyalties were lost, feelings were hurt, and Lesbians decided to call themselves "QUEER!" Oh dear! As the dust cleared Queer Fest was born. Their agenda included festivities complete with Jody Watson and a Dyke march.

On a June day before Gay Pride Week, the gay community found its dirty laundry hanging out to dry on the front page of the corporate mainstream rag that's afraid to publish my Saga's. They quote and print every lame brain, hateful, and ignorant brain farts from the homophobic anal retentive morons that disgrace the pages of the press. Why not a positive rebuttal or informative, provocative, and thought provoking Saga? The article instigated, twisted, and pulled out of proportion the fact that at a time for celebration, joy, pride, and unity that the Gay community was at war with one another. For the first time in Gay Pride History gays and lesbians had to choose what Gay Pride Parade they would attend. The article also hinted that by having events on the same weekend was a power play by both sides. The logical thing to do was to have the events on different weekends.

The majority of us gay guys thought that this was a Dyke affair now known as Queer Fest. The majority of guys and studs felt like they wouldn't feel welcome at the other Parade because they weren't Queer Dykes! Dykes as Queers? Oh, no you don't boyfriend! Keep your lipstick off of our Queer. If this wasn't enough, I was hit by the comments:

"How can you write about the gay community when there is no gay community?"

"There is no Gay Pride!"

"The Parade is a big embarrassment to those who are your normal everyday looking folks. The images shown on the news and in the papers are stereotype images that bring the community down."

I was in a Bath House at the time, one that didn't have any bathtubs which I found odd since it was supposed to be a Bath House. A place where men get it on, get it off; then, flee the scene in a guilt ridden rage wrapped in shame. The closeted, married, and deep in denial men bolt out of the door before checking out of the club. This is the part where the job duty of key retrieval is enforced -- long sprints and all. I ran track in high school. I was 8th in the Statewide Cross-Country Competition. Why didn't I finish in the top spots you ask? Because I stopped to smoke a cigarette. Okay?

Abnormally, I tell the them that if they are that ashamed of what they do, they don't have any business doing it. Then, I'd place my hands on them and say a prayer for forgiveness of themselves and those whom they had hurt and those who had hurt them. A prayer for peace, comfort, acceptance, and rest in the truth of their being. I pray for the day when they call Jesus to enter their hearts, life, world, and affairs with God a part of their lives. From this point on, the way that they handle the many of aggravating challenges in their life is how they become into the person who they are from within to without. Since it was Gay Pride Week, I let it go with a tsk-tsk-tsk after taking the key away from them.

I watched the Queer Fest Parade and was shocked when I saw Dykes on Bikes in shirts, tank tops, and midriffs. Gone from the Parade and crowd were the bare chested, screaming, flaming, effeminate queens who make the Queens on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy look straight. My up close and personal lesbian media star chided me about watching "The L Word". Why? Because no lesbians look like the ones on the television show complete with its own fashion line. I saw them at this Queer Feast! For a very quick moment I thought that I was hallucinating from the toxic meds that I take.

Getting back to the point, I not only saw, but I wished greetings and Queer Fest salutations to Pearl Petites (slang given to my mother Pearl Jefferson who was pretty, petite, fun, cute, and didn't like to be f*cked with!), great 8's (dress size not dick size), shapely tens, and buffed, pumped, and stout manly Queers who know how to make a pussy purr. I asked one in particular, in a guy to guy talk, that opens the door to bragging. What? Not only does she make it purr, she makes it M-E-O-W her name. You go Stud! I didn't participate in the Dyke march because I didn't have a flannel shirt to wear.