Walter Kirn on Obscene Pride Parades and Their Impact on the LGBTQ Community

Concerns Over Pride Parade Displays

• ⚠️ Pride parades, particularly in New York City, are criticized for increasingly graphic and inappropriate displays, with the theme "rise up, pride in protest" noted.
• 📉 A significant drop in corporate sponsorship, approximately $750,000, is observed, suggesting a public shift away from supporting such events.
• 🚫 Examples of offensive behavior include a trans person twerking on a police officer while holding a cross, and a float simulating anal sex with a person in a grizzly bear costume.

Impact on the LGBTQ Community

• 🗣️ The speaker questions whether these "antics" are actually helping or hurting the LGB community, suggesting that many within the community are disgusted by the behavior.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Concerns are raised about the exposure of such content to children, with specific examples of explicit songs and public nudity at parades.
• ❓ It's argued that the current displays do not represent the LGBTQ people the speaker knows and may be counterproductive, potentially being used by bigots to unfairly smear the community.

Shifting Societal Sensibilities

• ⚖️ The speaker posits that many of the legal and cultural battles for LGBTQ rights have been won, questioning if it's time to move on to less divisive and more civilized expressions.
• 🚶‍♂️ The idea of a "straight pride parade" is dismissed as undesirable, suggesting that the celebration of sexuality in the streets is not universally appealing.
• 🎭 The "circus element" of parades is acknowledged, but the focus shifts to whether the point has been made and if society can now embrace more aesthetically pleasing and less confusing public displays.

Corporate Sponsorship and Advertising

• 💰 A discussion on corporate sponsorship highlights a decline, with NBC experiencing a significant dip.
• 📈 An advertisement for Birch Gold Group is presented, emphasizing gold's value increase and encouraging listeners to diversify their savings.