San Francisco's Gay Pride Weekend

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be a part of the numerous gay pride celebrations taking place throughout San Francisco. There were hundreds of thousands of people celebrating in the streets on Saturday and Sunday, making for a festive weekend to be vacationing in the city. According to the news, officials were expecting over 1 million people in attendance at Sunday's main parade. Given that the parade route was less than one block from my hotel, we decided to head to the airport before it started for fear of being trapped in the city and missing my flight out - though that would not have been a problem in the slightest, but that's a story for another time.

Of all the interesting and engaging encounters of the weekend, there were some that I'd like to get off my chest first. I phrase it this way because I met some people who really pissed me off, and to be honest, people I don't fully understand. Some people call them bigots, some call them homophobes, I call them idiots. Why? Because not only did some of the people I encountered hate the gay and lesbian community with a firey passion, they also live in San Francisco and they stuck around for gay pride weekend. Come on, if you hate them so much, leave!

I don't fully understand this hatred to begin with. Sure, you may not agree with someone's lifestyle, but that doesn't mean you have to hate the person for it. Grow up, we're in the 21st century. And honestly, if you can't suck it up for one of the biggest celebration weekends in the country, schedule a vacation and relax. Really...I don't like pumpkins, but if a pumpkin festival came to town you wouldn't see me protesting in the streets, because some people, after all, do like pumpkins. And others have friends who like pumpkins, and they are big pumpkin supporters. So instead of wasting my time and energy on trying to convince people they should hate pumpkins too, I'm going to take a vacation during pumpkin pride weekend - time and money better spent elsewhere!

Editors note: I do, in fact, like pumpkins. I like them a lot. Wouldn't it be great if there was a pumpkin festival in Cleveland, we could decorate, photograph, cook, and celebrate the beauty of pumpkins...I think we need to make that happen! But you get the idea.

I'm not a big hater in general. In my opinion it takes way too much energy to hate something. Focusing on something you enjoy takes way less energy and it's much more enjoyable.

So what about you? Ever encountered these "haters," people who are so obsessed with disliking something so much it frustrates you just looking at them? Let's hear about it. And deep breaths, let's not stoop to their level and add more unnecessary hate to society.

Cheers!

-A