Giberti: This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Allan Giberti
Host of RI Red Radio Mon & Tue 7p
 
Many, if not all, 2020 summer celebrations have been cancelled in response to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. As if to set the tone of what to expect this summer in Rhode Island, this Memorial Day Weekend all but two of our beaches are closed.

The Ocean State has closed the Ocean.

You can also forget any large celebrations; those are out of the question and parade lovers will be out of luck seeing how we’ve cancelled those as well. Both the Gaspee Days and the Bristol Fourth of July Parade have been nixed.

One group of individuals (and I use that term very loosely) has also lost their summer celebration of parades and parties. Traditional Gay Pride celebrations have been cancelled across the U.S. leaving local LGBT communities to come up with new ways to celebrate.

Rhode Island Gay Pride celebrations have been cancelled as well as Boston Gay Pride. Boston, like many other communities have turned to holding virtual online Pride events to bring their communities together to showcase our pride and inclusiveness and proceeds raised will be used to help other LGBT organizations.. Even the U.K. had turned to the virtual world for their Pride celebrations.

That is of course what we’re known for, right? Being individuals and inclusive. We’re so inclusive we’re going to have to start repeating letters for all the individuals we’re representing.

It’s no secret I have issues with what has become the mainstream LGBTQ community or as I affectionately call it, the Alphabet Soup Group.

Some of us claim to be inclusive of any individual and the rest of us know they’re lying. Every year we hear of some group of individuals who are not allowed to participate in Gay Pride because their very presence offends someone.

Yet many of those offended are the same people who become outraged when the St. Patrick’s Day Parade rolls around.

Pride has changed over the years and much of it is not in a good way which is why many of us choose not to participate. But in the aftermath of COVID-19, some of us wondered what would happen to Pride when the focus wasn’t on the parties, shoving our sexuality in your face and the ever-tiresome cries for social justice. In order to virtually celebrate Gay Pride would we actually be able to pull together as a community and finally leave the pettiness behind?

Not a chance.

Virtual LGBT pride parades in the U.K. have now been cancelled after the Labour Party’s diversity adviser, Linda Riley, discovered that the organizer of the virtual event, Charlie Shakespeare, supported Brexit. He also committed the equally egregious crime of liking tweets from the leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, and free speech campaigner Toby Young.

Linda Riley, who also publishes DIVA magazine said, “my brand will not be associated with anybody who RT’s Toby Young and Nigel Farage” and quickly pulled her support

She went on to Tweet, “... For clarity any #LGBTQ event which supports the likes of these, will not have my support.”
Artists and performers began cancelling citing concerns over getting future bookings which eventually lead to the cancelling of the virtual event.

What does it say when we can’t even pull together in the wake of the Chinese coronavirus? Artists and performers lose work and no money is raised to help local communities in need. We’ve become so virtuous that we have cancelled ourselves.

There are no winners here and there is definitely no Gay Pride. This is why we can’t have nice things.
 
Allan Giberti is the host of RI Red Radio on 990WBOB.com. You can listen to Allan live on Mondays and Tuesdays at 7pm Eastern.

---

Read More 990WBOB

• ​Bicycle Sales Gone Viral.  A Love Story In Dark Times.
• ​How Russian Table Tennis Captivated the World
• Giberti: The Continued Pussification of America
• Giberti: Social Media Quarantine​