For those of you following along, I'm wondering if the powers that be are realizing that appearing to be hostile to parades, especially queer ones at this time of year, is a bad thing. According to onNYTurf, The Audre Lorde Project is getting their permit to parade in the streets on Friday after having been denied several times. They received their permit as they were about to take the NYPD to court.
It will be interesting to see how "un-permitted" and historic protest marches such as the Dyke March and the Drag March are treated.
I just finished the Trans March, and I am a bit too footsore to do the Drag March. But I am thrilled to say that the Trans March was very VERY big. I would guess around 500 people. Lots of trans folks with a strong mix of gender non-conforming and queer support. It was excellent!
We got to march in the street most of the way, which was smart, because the march was so big. But we were preceded almost the entire way by a paddy wagon, with smiling cops holding their bundles of plastic handcuffs. I suppose they could make some screwy stupid statement about protecting the march from bashers, but who would buy that? They were their with the paddy wagon first because they wanted to send a message to that uppity Audre Lorde Project for taking them to court.
Well screw the cops! The march was huge, and all the police accomplished was to look puffy, pasty and pointless in the company of so many awesome, sexy, spirited gender-self-defining folks, both young and old, of many colors!!!
Thank you for the report, Donald! It sounds wonderful, except for the stupid cops leading the way.