Elf Blood

On Saturday, the Pride 2014 march travelled all around Glasgow city centre, celebrating and raising awareness of LGBT culture and issues everywhere. As you can probably tell, I’m a staunch supporter of LGBT rights, and this was the first time I’ve actually gotten involved in a march or anything. It was pretty awesome! There was a good, positive atmosphere as folk of all kind joined in. Most people were there to celebrate and show their support with friends, others were there protesting against the increasing commercialisation of Pride.

Now, that point is something I kind of agree with. Case in point; As we were preparing our banner in the morning, the Nando’s (popular peri-peri chicken restaurant) LGBT group showed up. Awesome, I thought, it’s great that companies like that are backing their LGBT employees and getting the word out that they support the community.

And then a woman wearing a “Nando’s: Worth Coming Out For” t-shirt jumped out at us.

“ALRIGHT GUYSSSS! D’YE LIKE NANDOSSSSSS?”

Dot. Dot. Dot.

I am ALL in favour of marketing departments promoting their companies on the basis that their hiring policies are inclusive and promote equality. But My God, is it not a wee bit poor in taste to be flogging your wares at an event that originated in some solid, grassroots protesting for an oppressed minority? Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Nando’s, but there’s a time and a place for delicious chicken! There are also other underlying issues with the organisation of the event that I’d like to speak on, but may coordinate with a friend for that…

Anyway, one of the highlights of the day for me was having a chat with a lovely weegie woman. I’d accidentally stood on her toe in the queue at the bar, and instead of shouting at me, she decided to engage me in conversation. She was probably in her late 50s, and she was telling me that when she came out, in her 20s, things were a LOT different. It was a lot more difficult for queer folk back then, and she was so happy that Pride had become a kind of mainstream event, a widely recognised and accepted event that spoke to the egalitarian heart of Glasgow. Even her mum had come along to support her and her social group! It was really awesome to see just how happy, how pleased, how proud people were that the world has changed so much.

There’s still work to be done, of course, but Pride is a reminder to us all that it does get better 🙂

Anyway, enjoy today’s comic, and I’ll see you all on Friday! Toodles!

M.