South Main becomes Castro Street tonight during the monthly Art Trolley Tour. LGBT-supportive businesses in the arts district will be proudly displaying rainbow flags, thanks to the Center City Commission. In honor of Gay Pride Month, the commission passed out small flags to gay-friendly businesses. The trolley tour runs from 6 to 9 p.m. along South Main.
In Sofia, today:
The second ever gay pride parade boosts a smashing 300 people marching. The crowd, twice the size of last year's, is guarded by city police and private security guards. People are wearing hard-hats for protection but also as a satirical move to show that all participants are working hard to change attitudes in Bulgaria. They are running, rather than walking, because they are afraid of attacks from neo-nazis. Last year neo-nazis threw a Molotov cocktail at us, at this point there are no reports of actual physical violence today. The event is supported by 10 foreign diplomatic missions, several international human rights organizations and only two local political parties.
***
I am happy that I am heading to Memphis, sad that things are still so different in Bulgaria, but also proud that so many of my friends participated in the Sofia event. Things can and WILL get better.
Posts
4 comments:
I see progress being made on a daily basis, and not just in the realm of civil rights. I've been coming here off and on since 2004 before finally moving here in 2008, and there have been some major changes in the last 5-6 years, most of them in the past 2 since Bulgaria joined the EU. There's still a lot of issues with corruption and people's attitudes, but there are little things every day which make you appreciate the fact that change--albeit slow--is in fact happening, on all fronts.
I agree with you about general progress (esp. economic) but I think that we have a LONG way to go in terms of civil rights and, most importantly, attitudes towards diversity. :/
Progress is progress, and at least there's some being made.
I try not to comment too often on political and civil issues within Bulgaria, unless it's in private circles. It's kind of like in America, where black people can use the N word but if anyone else uses it, it's considered a derogatory term. Only here, if I complain about the same issue my wife complains about (on an open forum) it looks as though I'm being culturally intolerable.
But yes, there are a LOT of civil and other issues that need to be overcome in Bulgaria, on that I can agree. But at least there is some progress being made, rather than nothing at all happening.
I love living here...and I don't really miss the States, but there are a few key issues I think Bulgarians need to focus on, one of them being civil rights and tolerance. Bulgarians are a very proud people, and while that's all very well and good to have pride...there is such a thing as taking it too far.
"Only here, if I complain about the same issue my wife complains about (on an open forum) it looks as though I'm being culturally intolerable."
And it can also backfire, if you don't complain about or at least acknowledge a problem, you can be seen as taking that state of affairs as normal for Bulgaria, which can be seen as offensive.
Post a Comment