There hasn’t been a whole lot of news the last few days, and that always has me roaming around FARK and blogs looking at what people are yammering about. Digby brought my attention to a very interesting article in Gothamist, NYC Gay Pride Parade Welcomes Catholic League & “Straight Is Great” Sign. It is delicious.
Just as many liberals have been upset that the New York City St Patrick’s Day Parade wouldn’t allow explicitly gay participants, many conservatives became upset when other people pulled out of the parade because of its intolerance. After Guinness pulled out, Catholic League president Bill Donohue was hopping mad. In an effort to show how everyone is intolerant in their own way (Sounds like a song!) “he said he wanted to march in the NYC Pride parade, with a banner that says, ‘Straight is Great.'” Unfortunately, everyone is not intolerant in their own way.
March Director of NYC Pride, David Studinski, released a statement:
Other parade organizers have made similar statements including “pointing [out] that it’s ‘probably not the first time’ that a ‘Straight is Great’ sign has been shown in the parade.” But all this wonderful tolerance does not mean that the LGBT community is blind to what Donohue and his group are all about. In their statement, they included information about his beliefs and past statements:
Meanwhile, the Catholic League is busy working on a boycott of Guinness. Donohue said that the company has declared war on Catholics. He has a right to think what he wants, but that’s just silly. It is unfortunately, entirely typical of American conservatism with its constant feelings of persecution when people don’t provide them with special rights. It is the basis of the whole War on Christmas nonsense. But what is most clear in this whole incident is that the two sides are not equal. Everyone is not intolerant in their own way. And in the future, Bill Donohue will be remembered for his intolerance, not for any good works he may also do.
