It’s 2013, But Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Still Excludes LGBT Groups

[unhappycamper]

http://bostinno.com/2013/03/15/boston-st-patricks-day-parade-still-excludes-lgbt-groups/

It’s 2013, But Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Still Excludes LGBT Groups
Yesterday at 1:25 pm by Walter Frick Posted in St. Patrick's Day

This Sunday, much of Boston will head to Southie for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. But amid the drinking and the music, there’s a legacy of exclusion that continues to hang over the event.

~snip~

Fast forward to today and nothing has changed. It’s 2013, and yet the St. Patrick’s Day parade, a centerpiece of Boston culture, continues to exclude LGBT groups. Instead, there’s now a second parade organized by Veterans for Peace that starts right after the first parade, following the same route. And the best the City of Boston can do, apparently, is hold off on sweeping the streets until after the second parade finishes, so as not to give the impression that it’s time to go home after the first one.

The irony, of course, is that Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage a full eight years ago. And yet this kind of exclusion is still tolerated.

~snip~

Perhaps the most depressing thing about all of this is that most of the parade-goers this weekend will likely have no idea that the event they’re watching is organized by a discriminatory institution that has gone to great lengths to avoid moderating its stance. The parade is one of Boston’s marquee annual events, but it should also be a source of our collective shame.



unhappycamper comment: The Smedley Butler Chapter of the Veterans For Peace sued the City of Boston to put the street sweepers at the end of the second (ours) parade. We received word yesterday that Meninio said to put the street sweepers after the first parade.

I'm sure Mayor Menino would love to hear your thoughts on this decision.

Mayor Menino's hotline: [phone] (the line has been busy since last night, so perseverance is key)