Guinness Opts Out of NYC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Over Anti-Gay Policy

reply to post by Christian Voice


this is what gets me confused, how would i leave my Sexuality in the Bedroom? are you talking about Public Displays of sexuality? like Grinding on people? groping people? making out? all things straight people do


are you purposing that the entire world be androgynous? are you purposing the limit of freedom of expression? so you can't wear any religious Jewelry in public and it would be illegal for you to even mention your religion in public or in conversation... is that what you are purposing?

Keep my sexuality in the Bedroom, i don't believe anyone is having sex in public

Christian Voice
reply to post by bastion

 

Yes gay people are an embarrassment to humanity. Immoral and Godless.

While. I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt over that being saracasm, the people who starred your post obviously agree with that statement as a standalone thing.

And this is where the truth actually lays;

No matter how moral I try and live my life, despite the fact that I am from a proud Catholic family, I believe in God and own a bible that I still sometimes read, I go and speak to God when the church is empty some days, some of you will never ever accept me as an equal because I am who I am. And that is how one earns the title of discriminator or bigot.

I am beginning to perceive that part of the fear that is being shown about gays participating in a parade like St Patricks is that you think we will turn it into some sort of gay pride even with nude, crude and lewd displays. That's an irrational, but not entirely unfair concern.

I've already shown that we as gay people can show our sexuality without such displays and yet you completely ignore the evidence I present, preferring to claim that I belong locked in my bedroom or must remain invisible.

I ask you then, how can we break out of our stereotype if you won't ever allow us to take part in anythng other than our own parades?

reply to post by Darth_Prime


Are there parades where people proclaim their straightness? How about people waving flags or banners saying how proud they are to be straight?

No, there arent.

Is it too much to ask for the gay community to do the same?

Being straight or gay isnt some sort of achievement to be proud of. Same goes for those idiots marching in the illegal alien parades with their goofy little brown pride signs.

I fully support gays and lesbians. (Transgenders not so much... But that's another topic)

However, these parades are disgusting... They promote sexuality on a level that should be beyond acceptable.

That can be very offensive, and I believe it works against the actual acceptance of gays...

They are no different than us. So why parade in underwear and rainbows and all that brouhaha?

A straight pride parade with as much promoted sexuality would be an afront to society and morally wrong.

Why should it be different for them!?

I have countless gay friends. My brother whom in love very much is gay. His bf of 7 years was like family to me.

And most of them agree with me on this.


As for guiness stepping out....I agree its an attempt at gaining popularity by jumping on a trending issue...

Sad.

iammrhappy86
I fully support gays and lesbians. (Transgenders not so much... But that's another topic)

However, these parades are disgusting... They promote sexuality on a level that should be beyond acceptable.

That can be very offensive, and I believe it works against the actual acceptance of gays...

They are no different than us. So why parade in underwear and rainbows and all that brouhaha?


A straight pride parade with as much promoted sexuality would be an afront to society and morally wrong.

On a personal level, I agree with a lot of what you say right there. But a few pages back, I presented a YT vid entitled 'Top 10 sex festivals around the world' Only one, just one of those top 10 festivals was a gay thing. So, the straight community does have such sexual festivals and parades. Granted they don't wear 'proud to be straight' t-shirts but beyond that it's just the same. The thing that I don't see however is the massive uproar over say the Sexpo in Sydney or the Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Why should it be different for them!?

I have countless gay friends. My brother whom in love very much is gay. His bf of 7 years was like family to me.

And most of them agree with me on this.

It's not different for us. The big problem is we live in a form of apartheid, when we try and participate in mainstream events, the door is slammed shut in our faces.

I totally agree that there is a need for the gay community to present itself in a manner that goes above and beyond the stereotypical guy in underwear toting the rainbow flag. The St Patricks parade is one such even where this could happen, but they won't let it because of our stereotypical image. It's classic chicken and egg stuff really.

As for guiness stepping out....I agree its an attempt at gaining popularity by jumping on a trending issue...

Sad.

Yeah, it was as much jumping on a band wagon that would give them free promotion as anything else. If you read the article, you'll see that some gay pubs were going to boycott guiness. They turned it around and sided with the gay community to ensure good sales, as we gay lads do drink a fair bit of beer

It's a shame when a drink has to become politicised.

reply to post by doubletap


don't you find it kind of sad that people are most concerned about "Pride Parades"

yes, we have Pride parades to celebrate our Pride.. why? because we have been discriminated against, we have been told we are immoral, we are abominations and Mental Disorders, we have been abused and cast aside as nothing. so we celebrate Pride in ourselves for not afraid of being who we are. Pride is not just for gay people, Pride is for everyone who is not afraid to be themselves, who are not afraid to express themselves.

Yes there are those that wear hot pants and wave a rainbow flag, yes there are those with their mesh shirts and their thongs. but it is a Parade, do you see them every day wearing that? is it something you constantly see? its a Parade where people go over the top on purpose

have you ever been to a pride parade?

people and the media only look at the sensationalized things

Gay people don't bother me. I HATE parades, weird things they are. Guiness and Heineken both suck actually, we have far better craft beers here in the US for about the same price. I would never buy a beer because of their political beliefs. I would buy it because it tastes good, simple as that. Much ado about nothing.

If you're are interested, we are going to touch on this topic on tonight's show.

Reality Remix

Should be a pretty controversial discussion.

markosity1973
reply to post by GrimReaper86

 

Quite simply;

EVERY parade (other than the gay only ones of course) is a straight parade.

HELLO, straight people are the ones running and participating in them....

Oh, then the solution is simple.

Go and have a Gay St. Patrick's Day Parade and a Gay version of any other parade you care to. If the real problem is that the other parades are just run by straights and therefore straight parades, you really need to make your own versions of those things so they are Gay. Would that be enough?

The real problem here is that gays didn't want to abide by the parade rules which did not allow them to walk with the signs and symbols that would allow them to identify themselves as gay, but then those rules are the same for every other group marching. Look them up. Any group marching has to conform to those same rules.

And I have no doubt that there are plenty of gays who will march. They just won't be doing it with rainbow shamrocks or behind a "Gay Irish" sign. So, it can't be said that they are being banned.

ketsuko

The real problem here is that gays didn't want to abide by the parade rules which did not allow them to walk with the signs and symbols that would allow them to identify themselves as gay, but then those rules are the same for every other group marching. Look them up. Any group marching has to conform to those same rules.

Okay, so you say the rules are the same for every group. Then how come this banner is allowed



But say this one from the Charlotte parade wouldn't be?



Both of them say who they are and are non offensive in my opinion and I would not take issue with either. The real truth is that people want to keep the gay hidden away in some apartheid state.

reply to post by ketsuko


But if they were representing the Gay Community they should be allowed to Have a sign that says it correct?

other representations had their Logos, Symbols Banner etc. so what is the difference?

i don't believe anyone wanted to turn it into a Scary Pride Parade, they just wanted to represent the community in symphony with the Parade

Darth_Prime
reply to post by ketsuko

 

But if they were representing the Gay Community they should be allowed to Have a sign that says it correct?

other representations had their Logos, Symbols Banner etc. so what is the difference?

i don't believe anyone wanted to turn it into a Scary Pride Parade, they just wanted to represent the community in symphony with the Parade

"2014 GUIDELINES FOR THE
ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
PARTICIPANTS
1. All units must have two (2) flags. Irish & American flags or no flags at all. NO EXCEPTIONS!! An American
flag on the right and an Irish flag on the left.
2. A minimum of eight (8) abreast. Ten (10) if room is available. A unit with 250+ members MUST march 10
abreast.
3. Two (2) marshals of each marching unit should bring up the rear.
4. The only banners allowed are ones identifying the unit or “England Get Out of Ireland”. Only one identifying
banner for each unit. NO EXCEPTIONS!!
5. Green hats, sneaker, or other “odd ball” dress is not permitted.
6. No animals or mascots
7. No eating, drinking or smoking in the Line of March.
8. No displays of any kind will be permitted. DO NOT ASK!!
9. Units should make sure they are in proper formation before approaching Fifth Avenue.
10. After units get on Fifth Avenue, no stragglers should be allowed to join the unit. Unit marshals should be on the
alert for this at each intersection. Please be viligant.
11. Leaders of organizations shall not delay the Parade by leaving their places for any purpose.
12. Shirts with advertising are NOT an appropriate form of dress. No children's pull or push wagons permitted.
13. Please remember, you are on Fifth Ave. for one hour once a year and you should march with pride in your heritage
and dress accordingly, BUSINESS DRESS CODE IS REQUIRED.
Web Site: NYCStPatricksParade.Org"

These are the guidelines, and permission is ultimately up to the parade organizers. They can allow or deny participating groups.

I know we had an issue here in KC with an atheist group wanting to march in our St. Patrick's Day parade, and they were denied. They also claimed discrimination and swore all they wanted was to march in accordance with the rules. However, because of past behavior at events, the organizers did not trust them. Plus, it was felt that having atheists marching at what is still, at its base, a religious holiday (no matter how secularized it has become) was just a little too irreverent. So, there were no open atheists at our St. Patrick's Day parade that year.

ketsuko

"2014 GUIDELINES FOR THE
ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
PARTICIPANTS

4. The only banners allowed are ones identifying the unit or “England Get Out of Ireland”. Only one identifying
banner for each unit. NO EXCEPTIONS!!

And there is the problem right there. Here is why they were denied permission to be in the parade.

The decision came down to the refusal of the organisers to allow a banner with the LGBT sign on it.

Source

It would seem that the gay community had met all the other criteria. Despite that rule 4 is non specific as to be what can be on the identification banner other than you're allowed to have 'England get out of Ireland' (Weird) they were told NO.

This is discrimination in it's purest form.

As for Atheists marching, why not either? As long as they meet the parade rules I can't see why they shouldn't. It seems like it would be pretty hard to be disruptive or get any other messager other than 'England get out of Ireland' and who you are in the parade.

reply to post by markosity1973


Your post isn't on topic. You initially posted to me, then changed it, and started calling names. The simple fact is that no one as denied attending a parade. People were denied being allowed to turn a parade into something it wasn't supposed to be. Stop whining, and get over it. Everything in the world isn't about sexuality, nor should it be, and that is what people are saying.

reply to post by bastion


Again with the theatrics and name calling? If you had a valid rebuttal, you wouldn't feel the need to do that.

Studies suggesting some genetic link are not the same as studies proving a "gay gene", which hasn't ever happened. Most studies indicate that environmental causes are far more likely. That, however, isn't the issue here.

The issue is that a group was old they weren't allowed to push their agenda in a St. Patrick's Day parade. So what? No one was restricted from attending or being in the parade; only from representing a certain point of view. Since this parade is at least loosely based on a "saint" (I am not Catholic, so I don't really concern myself with that label), and the religion - Catholicism - doesn't agree with homosexuality, this decision makes perfect sense. it's no more out of line than people organizing a gay pride parade not allowing a group that is against gays to march, proclaiming their point of view. This isn't complicated.

Now, knock off the personal attacks. They are juvenile, and also not allowed.

Christian Voice
reply to post by markosity1973

 

You still cannot see the forest for all of the trees. Again if they felt so strong about marching in the parade then why not march as people instead of "gay" people ? Why did they insist on displaying their gay pride at that particular parade ?Because they were not concerned at all with the St. Patricks Day Parade. They had another agenda entirely in mind.
Same situation as with the BSA. The BSA was a Christian organization, you had to take an oath to God, learn Christian principles and all but homosexuals insisted on not being just boy scouts, but gay boy scouts. Why not start their own troop ? One that holds true to their own ideals instead of confiscating someone else's group ? I ran a troop for 12 years and I assure you if they had intended on just being Boy Scouts instead of proclaiming their sexuality (which a dang 11 year old boy has no business proclaiming to begin with) there would have never had been a problem. If the gay people had just left their sexual lifestyle in the bedroom in that particular instance then I believe there would have been no problem at all.

It's pretty clear that the goal is to make everything about them, and to force everyone to either agree and go along, or to risk being called all sorts of names. For a group that claims to push for acceptance, there is an awful lot of condemnation of groups that don't agree with them! All part of the "Tolerate me while I demonize you" game so many want to play, and not just this group or on just this issue.

Isn't it hypocritical for Christians to cry about being attacked by others, yet turn around and do the same.

I say anyone who bases their beliefs on a mythological book should never be taken seriously. Would we take anyone seriously if they based their religion on the Greek god mythology..no of course not.

Homophobes quit blaming gays for your urges..

LadyGreenEyes
reply to post by bastion

 

Studies suggesting some genetic link are not the same as studies proving a "gay gene", which hasn't ever happened.

The issue is that a group was old they weren't allowed to push their agenda in a St. Patrick's Day parade.

1) Bring up proof as a rebuttal or be silent. Nobody gives a crap about your opinion in the face of actual evidence.

2) What agenda? Gay Irish groups wanted to march in a parade celebrating Irish heritage, abiding by all of the rules. Cops get to march in the parade in uniform. Military get to march in the parade in uniform. They probably aren't even all Irish. Further, in actual Ireland, gay Irish groups march with their parades and nobody bats an eye.

reply to post by LadyGreenEyes


You know, my own mother used to carry on with that sort of hatred toward me. It festered and ate away at her. She used to go pray that my relationships would fall, that I would change, that God would somehow save me. She'd go to meetings and be more vocal and anti gay that you are, thinking she was doing some morbid kind of penance for her son's sins.

The thing is though, God never listened. He never lifted a single finger to any of her prayers. One day I got so fed up with her and everyone like her's negativity I took the only option I had left. I got on a plane and flew to a new country and left them all to baste in their sad, bitter and angry juices.

Guess what? It was my family who ended up coming to me and asking for forgiveness. When they realised they had lost someone dear to them it left an emptiness in their heart.

You see, no matter how much you berate me and those like me, no matter how much you despise me I am someone's son. I have a family whom I've always loved even when it was not reciprocated and most of all I'm a decent human being. None of the hate you spew well ever convince me otherwise.