An interesting juxtaposition; in the same hour as I learn about a university sponsored even for gay alumni to celebrate Pride Week in Toronto, i was informed that there is no place for politics in the celebration.
York University will be hosting a “mixer” at an elegant downtown martini bar for lesbian and gay alumni and I plan to be there. I expect, while everyone is checking-out who are the others in attendance, we will get the usual alumni appeal for gifts to the York@50 campaign and, even, for donations to scholarships and bursaries for students in gender studies programs. I’ll probably even pull out my credit card if York professor and filmmaker John Greyson, a featured guest at the party, grabs my emotions as he has with so much of his work. I’m not in favour of segregating gay and lesbian alumni, but I doubt that is the intention. I hope the objective is a good party and using that as a hook to pull in a few dollars for a good cause is A-OK with me. Perhaps it should be passé, but this being an official university event, rather something organised by a small, underground group, is still a sign of how things have changed for the better, in eastern Canada at least (the stuff going on in Alberta reminds us the fight for respect is not won). We have events like Pride Week to thank for some of the progress.
So it was rather surprising to read, in the National Post, Pride Toronto’s executive director,Tracy Sandilands, stating that “we do not support or endorse any political cause”. Apparently, Pride is concerned about Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA). Last year, according to the Post, corporate sponsors and advertisers squirmed when QuAIA unfurled a banner in the parade, against Pride rules. The anxiety has increased this year as a result of a Muslim lawyer being named a grand marshal of the parade. He spoke at a QuAIA event last week and now Pride had determined it must beef-up security to prevent an occurrence of last year’s action. Maybe Ms Sandilands, being a recent immigrant from South Africa, is a little antsy about the “A” word, but really, to say there is a ban on politics is absurd. Pride, despite the commercialization, remains a political event. The Liberals, NDP and, yes even, the Conservatives will be out in force in the parade with a political message, the trade unions will be there with another political message, on Saturday there will be a segregated women’s parade which is nothing but a political event. The reason for Pride is the determined fight for equality, the reason is politics. There can be no legitimate excuse for Pride to ban a group whose intent is to draw attention to a country’s hypocritical claim to be a gay tolerant democracy while it systematically oppresses a disfavoured racial group. Or to ban any other group or it’s right to free speech. Is the illegitimate excuse the cash corporate sponsors pour into Pride? Is it fear of violence (in which case the huge police presence at Pride should be able to handle it). Or it is so-meting more insidious?
Complicating matters, the aforementioned John Greyson is a key figure in QuAIA AND is to be honoured with an award by the Pride organization for his contribution to gay arts and culture. Given the ongoing battle of the bull-horns between Israeli and Palestinian sympathizers on the York campus, can we expect the alumni party to be invaded to protest honouring Greyson and his role with QuAIA? Will the tranquil martini bar become another Vary Hall shout-in? Oh my, how it could be interesting.
No surprise was the follow-up announcement from Pride Toronto; that the Post got it wrong and that Pride has no intention of banning political messages. This year, we have seen a litany of denials, retractions and accusations of misquotes from and about Pride spokespersons. Consistently though, Pride maintains that everyone must play by its rules or go home. Not playing by the rules is what non-violent protest politics is about. Tell Gandhi, tell Martin Luther King, tell the Stonewall drag queens they shouldn’t break rules.
Assuming Greyson was quoted accurately in the Post, I’ll leave the final word to him, “To take activism out of Pride takes us back to a place of shame.”
