No knot unties itself.
Jun. 9th, 2002 12:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
judecorpYou know, sometimes I underestimate life in Columbus. Sometimes I underestimate beauty. Tonight reaffirmed my faith in life, beauty, Columbus... and parking meters. [Freedom! Beauty! Truth! And above all things, Love! Love is a many splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love.]
The HRC dinner was really a lot of fun. Thanks so much to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
millarose for inviting me! We had time to chat, schmooze, watch, eat, laugh, be inspired, schmooze more, and drive home. Hooray.
I wish I could effectively portray the feelings of the evening. My senses are filled with a heady perfume of optimism, dreaming, inspiring leadership, and television theme songs. Suzanne Westenhoefer was hysterical, as always. Mayor Michael Coleman rocks my pants. There was free wine, and it was pinot grigio, which I happen to particularly like.
Things that were not so great: the Billy Bean "we are just like you" speech, the veal entree (ugh!), the parking ticket.
Things that were good: getting to know Milla, the dessert, taking home my centerpiece (a television set flower pot with flowers that included two plucked flower antennae), seeing Patience, Erica, and Jason-David, walking downtown at night, the skits and comedy things, people in formal wear.
Things that were amazing: the award acceptance speech by Rev. Grayson of King Avenue Methodist Church. He is an amazing, amazing, amazing man. The short speech by Mayor Coleman was good, too. I love that man. I also love hearing so many people saying the words "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender" as common household words.
I dislike the HRC. I dislike them because their message doesn't speak to me, and their work isn't entirely for me. I realize that they do a lot of work in the legislature, and that they get things moving. I don't, however, like how they do it. The mission of the HRC, in my opinion, is to say "queer people are just like straight people, so straight people should accept them." It is an organization of members of the dominant paradigm (upper and middle class, middle aged White men) who are out to show the majority how "normal" they can be. I don't particularly care for that, and because of that, I've always been sort of sour on the HRC. I am /not/ "just like everyone else." I am like me. I don't necessarily want to be with one person for the rest of my life and raise a family in a cottage in the suburbs. I don't want to subvert who I am to be accepted. (Is that really acceptance?)
Tonight, however, I realized that people are more likely to listen when they're comfortable, and they're more comfortable when they're in familiar, less threatening surroundings. Perhaps upper class White men are the only way right now to reach the masses, and perhaps it's a necessary evil. I appreciate the work that the HRC does in the legislature, and I appreciate all of the work they've done in Columbus - but Columbus is not reality for most of the United States.
You know something? This really /is/ the Gay Mecca of the Midwest. It's one of the Top Ten Gay Friendly US Cities to Live In for a reason, and I got to really see that up close and personal tonight. It was really beautiful. However, if you're bisexual or *gasp* transgendered, there's not a lot of room for you here other than on a lip service basis, in most cases. There's still so much to do. Milla and I were joking about using the gala as an excuse to shake shit up. Hee!
But all in all, I had a marvelous time chatting with Milla, eating everything but veal, having free wine, schmoozing, shaking hands with rich people, walking with my nose in the air, dressing up, being told I had perfect hair, hearing television themes, laughing at Suzanne Westenhoefer and Mary Ann Brandt, admiring formal wear, taking my kitschy centerpiece, being one of the youngest people in the room, and walking in downtown at night. THANKS SO MUCH, MILLA!!
If only I could erase the lack of inclusivity and the parking ticket.
~//~
I can't wait to move into my new apartment! Another realization I had tonight is that I will be able to walk downtown. The city is at my feet, and I will be in the center of it all. I CAN'T WAIT!
The HRC dinner was really a lot of fun. Thanks so much to
millarose for inviting me! We had time to chat, schmooze, watch, eat, laugh, be inspired, schmooze more, and drive home. Hooray.I wish I could effectively portray the feelings of the evening. My senses are filled with a heady perfume of optimism, dreaming, inspiring leadership, and television theme songs. Suzanne Westenhoefer was hysterical, as always. Mayor Michael Coleman rocks my pants. There was free wine, and it was pinot grigio, which I happen to particularly like.
Things that were not so great: the Billy Bean "we are just like you" speech, the veal entree (ugh!), the parking ticket.
Things that were good: getting to know Milla, the dessert, taking home my centerpiece (a television set flower pot with flowers that included two plucked flower antennae), seeing Patience, Erica, and Jason-David, walking downtown at night, the skits and comedy things, people in formal wear.
Things that were amazing: the award acceptance speech by Rev. Grayson of King Avenue Methodist Church. He is an amazing, amazing, amazing man. The short speech by Mayor Coleman was good, too. I love that man. I also love hearing so many people saying the words "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender" as common household words.
I dislike the HRC. I dislike them because their message doesn't speak to me, and their work isn't entirely for me. I realize that they do a lot of work in the legislature, and that they get things moving. I don't, however, like how they do it. The mission of the HRC, in my opinion, is to say "queer people are just like straight people, so straight people should accept them." It is an organization of members of the dominant paradigm (upper and middle class, middle aged White men) who are out to show the majority how "normal" they can be. I don't particularly care for that, and because of that, I've always been sort of sour on the HRC. I am /not/ "just like everyone else." I am like me. I don't necessarily want to be with one person for the rest of my life and raise a family in a cottage in the suburbs. I don't want to subvert who I am to be accepted. (Is that really acceptance?)
Tonight, however, I realized that people are more likely to listen when they're comfortable, and they're more comfortable when they're in familiar, less threatening surroundings. Perhaps upper class White men are the only way right now to reach the masses, and perhaps it's a necessary evil. I appreciate the work that the HRC does in the legislature, and I appreciate all of the work they've done in Columbus - but Columbus is not reality for most of the United States.
You know something? This really /is/ the Gay Mecca of the Midwest. It's one of the Top Ten Gay Friendly US Cities to Live In for a reason, and I got to really see that up close and personal tonight. It was really beautiful. However, if you're bisexual or *gasp* transgendered, there's not a lot of room for you here other than on a lip service basis, in most cases. There's still so much to do. Milla and I were joking about using the gala as an excuse to shake shit up. Hee!
But all in all, I had a marvelous time chatting with Milla, eating everything but veal, having free wine, schmoozing, shaking hands with rich people, walking with my nose in the air, dressing up, being told I had perfect hair, hearing television themes, laughing at Suzanne Westenhoefer and Mary Ann Brandt, admiring formal wear, taking my kitschy centerpiece, being one of the youngest people in the room, and walking in downtown at night. THANKS SO MUCH, MILLA!!
If only I could erase the lack of inclusivity and the parking ticket.
~//~
I can't wait to move into my new apartment! Another realization I had tonight is that I will be able to walk downtown. The city is at my feet, and I will be in the center of it all. I CAN'T WAIT!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Yay!
Date: 2002-06-08 10:06 pm (UTC)I'm glad you had a cool time. I wish ColumbIA was like that. But gah. South. Ya know?
And what's the deal with the parking ticket?
Re: Yay!
Date: 2002-06-08 10:10 pm (UTC)Most of the meters here shut off at 6pm. We got there at 7, so I didn't even check the meter time. But this meter shut off at 8, and I got a $20 ticket. Poo.
But Milla split it with me. :) She's a sweetheart.
As for the south, Atlanta's pretty queer_ok. Sort of.
Re: Yay!
I thought "queer_ok" in Atlanta was reserved fer those people who wear hats that have beer can holders above each ear with plastic tubes that lead to the mouth, sport giant foam hands proclaiming "{insert NASCAR driver name here} is #1!", yet drink Pepsi from time to time when they think nobody is looking.
Which reminds me, if you don't care for HRC that much, mehbe (that's GroveCityese for 'maybe') mehbe ya oughta get a sticker of Calvin peein' on a blue and yellow HRC symbol...
Just a thought. Your mileage may vary.
no subject
Date: 2002-06-08 10:48 pm (UTC)(Which line, incidentally, I got to use in my dual role as Cinderella's father and the Wolf, when my HS did the show about 12 years ago.)
These things crack me up:
Date: 2002-06-08 10:57 pm (UTC)2. Calvin peein' on a blue and yellow HRC symbol
3. hats that have beer can holders above each ear with plastic tubes that lead to the mouth
I'll call you tomorrow!
no subject
Date: 2002-06-08 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
no subject
Date: 2002-06-09 11:20 am (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2002-06-09 12:31 pm (UTC)But, for girls like me, it's a little harder. There are only 2 girlbars that I know of, and the "scene" tends to be full of cliques. However, Decatur is like, lesbian heaven; once you find the places where people hang out. Except that you have to avoid the girls with the mullets and the girls that think that dressing like a cowboy is a good idea.
At any rate. Atlanta is definately the queer capital of the south. VERY gay-friendly. It like, got ranked as one of the best cities for such things.
Everyone should come down for Pride. We throw a good par-tay. =)
no subject
Date: 2002-06-09 01:38 pm (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2002-06-09 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-06-09 02:01 pm (UTC)totawwy awone!
no subject
Date: 2002-06-09 04:06 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2002-06-09 04:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-06-09 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-06-09 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-06-09 09:02 pm (UTC)And any help you'd want to offer would be greatly appreciated, but not necessary.
Thank you so much for inviting me! I had a really great time and it was a lot of fun chatting with you. Yay!
no subject
no subject
Date: 2002-06-10 08:03 am (UTC)