Pride Parade
We marched in Atlanta's Pride parade yesterday with our church. We brought Hermes. He was a little intimidated by the crowds, but did really well otherwise. I made him a little construction paper rainbow jester-type collar. There were a few hecklers. I was thinking yesterday that I am willing to respect free speech, even hateful free speech. I disagree with the message, but they have a right to speak their mind. This morning though, it dawned on me how brave those people are to stand against the tide of people. There were police guards for one of the fundies. He was giving running commentary on everything he saw. He had quite a bit to say about the current direction of the Episcopal church, but we could hear him because we were having too much fun drowning out his speakers with whooping. How arrogant to think that you know the message God wants to send to his creation, but how brave to proclaim it when surrounded by the enthusistic and flamboyant crowd. Maybe he gets a power trip from it but, still... We thought about the fun we could have with a "faux-test" of the Pride Parade. Instead of condemning people to Hell, we could inform people that God loves his creation. We had fun brainstorming "protest signs." (Although above I said it is arrogant to think we know God's mind, I am willing to assume God is a loving God and that he loves his creation.)