We just got back from watching the pride march from the front steps of a Lutheran church on Christopher Street which now has a gay pastor. We were taken aback to see floats and contingents of marchers not just from the usual suspects like Chase and Bank of America, but also from Marriott and Walmart. I had seen how the march had become more commercial every year since I move to NYC in 1980. Back then it started in the Village and ended up in Central Park with a political rally. Now it starts uptown and ends in the Village with a big party and the most raucous floats are sponsored by bars and travel agencies. But the fact that more and more Republicans and big businesses are giving lip service to queer rights doesn't feel like a victory. It feels like co-optation of a movement.
↧