Arrasando Por La Vida

Joy as Protest at the SF Pride Parade

I went to the San Francisco Pride Parade on Sunday to celebrate my freedom. In a country where millions live in fear of being whisked off to some faraway megaprison or put in handcuffs for seeking an abortion, I, personally, have never been freer. I’m legally married to another man and share a home with him; I’m on the verge of publishing my fourth gay-themed novel under my own name; and I celebrated LGBTQ+ pride with thousands of other people without fear of being arrested or attacked. I went to the parade to honor the countless people who made that freedom possible for me—and to pledge my support for those people whose freedom is at risk.

My husband and I reached Montgomery BART station in time to watch the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom band march past:

If I’d arrived a minute or two earlier, I would’ve been able to capture a video of the band’s horn-and-drum version of one of my favorite bangers of late, the Lady Gaga hit “Abracadabra.”

Luckily for me, I was able to capture these lovely people dancing to the Lady Gaga song I wish had played on the radio during high school:

If our current regime ends up sending troops to quell peaceful protests on San Francisco’s streets, then I want these people to lead me and all the other protesters to a choreographed “Born This Way” in front of the soldiers. Maybe they’ll put down their guns and dance with us.

The “Born This Way” dancers weren’t the only ones to choose yellow as their color for this year’s Pride:

Pink usually wins at these parades, but if I had to vote for my favorite color on Sunday, I’d give it to yellow for its unrelenting cheer. Then again, when gay rights are on the line, pink will never go out of style:

As with previous years, the spirit of Harvey Milk hovered over Market Street on Sunday. The Pentagon might strip the name of the slain gay rights activist and Korean War veteran Harvey Milk from a Navy vessel to pander to its homophobic base. But Milk’s admirers, among them myself, need not worry that Milk’s name and message of hope will ever be erased:

I’m going to guess that more people pass through Harvey Milk Terminal 1 than ride in that renamed Navy ship. Let’s hope our current regime won’t threaten to withhold grant money to San Francisco International Airport unless they strip Terminal 1 of Harvey Milk’s name. If they do, I’m ready to protest.

Much less welcome was ICE, as evidenced by prominent signs by California State Senator Scott Wiener and those clever punsters of the San Francisco Earthquakes ice hockey club:

But if there was one issue that inspired folks to make signs, it was to show support for our beleaguered trans community. Attacks on trans people, demonizing them, vilifying them, depicting them as something less than human, all in the name of “protecting the children,” is in my opinion a primary reason why the current regime is in power.

My favorite marcher was the angel swathed in the colors of the Trans Pride flag:

The angel danced and marched to one of my favorite songs whenever I’m feeling in need of a pick-me-up: the Thalía hit “Arrasando.” The chorus begins “arrasando por la vida,” which loosely translates to “slaying it,” or living your most authentic life in the face of adversity. Maybe this should be the song that protesters dance to in front of the military—you just know the president and his cheerleaders at Fox News would fulminate to a song in Spanish.

I came home thinking that if Harvey Milk is right and hope will never be silent, then I just enjoyed one hopeful afternoon. I take pride in knowing that I’m freer than the lackeys who support the current regime, trapped as they are in lies and prejudice and conspiracy theories. As low as we’ve sunk as a country—and we may yet sink further—I still have the freedom to speak truth to power.

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