Marriage Equality Protest (Philly Version)

As I've said, I wasn't feeling in tip top shape and I started the day with an extra sense of grumpiness (which is a more masculine word for bitchiness) and the sense of dread were magnified when I see the signs that I'll be force to carry.



It's just too much, a freaking red heart with a Chinese character on it that forces everyone nearby to ask "What does that mean?". It's like my Chinese vampire costume on Halloween that nobody knows what it represents. I normally don't like the attention anyhow, and it kinda defeats the purpose of letting yourself heard in a protest. Although I later learned to appreciate them, just because it is big enough to hide my face and makes it so much easier to find my friends in the large crowd.

It was going to rain and pour all day, but it didn't happen during the protest which some of us took it as a sign. The ones who organized this thing had a broken microphone, so we missed all the speeches, all that is there was a bunch of people chanting. The chants were nothing smart... "What do we want? Equal Rights! When do we want it? Now!" but you can see the spirit rising. About 2,000 people showed up at city hall, we chanted, we marched around, some cars that drove past us honk their horns to show their support. It's a good feeling.

The best part of the day comes when three anti-gay bible thumpers came out and preached that we're going to hell or some bullshit. I've always tempted to surround them on Gay Pride day and yell back at them with loud speakers, shame them back to show that we're nothing to be messed with. Apparently I'm not the only one who thought that way. They were standing on a little stool, holding up their bibles and started preaching, some city officials were there as their bodyguards, but then more and more protester surrounded them. Some of the protesters were saying that it will just give them more attention which they seek and they are not worth the effort. But it is really not for them, we need to make ourselves feel good.



People started chanting stuff like "Hey, hey, ho, ho, homophobia has to go!" or "Love is love!". Some started to sing "For The Bible Told Me So.", or the ever so popular Na, na, na, na, Na, na, na, na, hey, hey-ey, Goodbye!". I watched as the circle surrounding them get smaller and smaller until they were at arms length and was fantasizing maybe I could be the first one to lunge in and make the whole even so much more exciting. But at the end, the securities must have felt threatened and outnumbered, so they escorted those guys out and everybody felt overjoyed by this small victory against hate. Not long afterward the crowd dispersed, and then half an hour later it started pouring hard.

I would have liked it more if the protest can be more of a nationwide movement for gay rights instead of focusing on Prop 8 in California. Since we are now fighting as one people, I'd like to see progress happening all at once. Also, I see people going there with ulterior motives, like cruising, making a name for themselves, media whoring etc. I know someone had to speak up and such but I can't help but be a bit disappointed.

Your Asian news correspondent Trisha Takanawa signing out.







For more pictures, go here. And here's Sister Unity's take on the issue: