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Amsterdam Gay parade  [message #51905] Sun, 03 August 2008 17:52 Go to previous message
pipo is currently offline  pipo

Toe is in the water

Registered: July 2008
Messages: 35



Yesterday, the yearly "gay parade" was held in Amsterdam. This manifestation is a sort of carnival parade on floating barges through the canals of Amsterdam. This year it is estimated that about a half million people visited the event.

Some pictures can be found here:
http://www.nufoto.nl/categorie/themas/gay-pride/
(site in Dutch, but just click away, the user interface is straightforward, no pun intended)

What do you think of events like this? Personally - being a modest and somewhat conservative person - I would not want to be seen dead at such an event, but I can understand the need that some gays have to be more "in your face" of society at large. Holland is supposedly very tolerant (although I believe that tolerance is much less now than 20 years ago), but it is often a "don't ask, don't tell" type of tolerance, "as long as you don't bother me with it". On the other hand, the opinion is widespread that events like this hamper rather than further the emancipation of gays, because it exhibits gays as peculiar or abnormal people.

What I specifically did not like about the event: it is getting to be commercial and political. This year, apart from the Mayor of Amsterdam, two government ministers and several secretaries of state floated along - not coincidentally all of them member of the socialist party (PvdA). I do not like that being gay is made a "left-wing" issue. Having a good income and no children, I have clear reasons not to vote for that party ... Of course I would never vote for a so-called "christian" party either. The mainstream "christian" politicians cannot be publicly anti-gay in Holland, but all happened to be on holiday or otherwise unable to come to Amsterdam yesterday Razz

What I did like about it: there also was a boat of the "Pink in Blue" network of gay police officers. What many foreigners do not know is that Amsterdam -mainly due to many Moroccan inhabitants who are not at all gay-friendly- is actually one of the less safe places to be for gay people in Holland. This police network really helps because it makes it easier for victims of bashing to report the crime and get help.

[Updated on: Sun, 03 August 2008 18:54]
 
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