GAYS ON PARADE — Oh, so you heard there was a march on D.C. or something? Whether it was 20,000 or 200,000 people there, we’re pretty sure every stage, age, race, and hairstyle was represented at the National Equality March. Our photographer Mike Cho pointed his camera, and just kept snapping. If you weren’t there, let us help you pretend like you were.
Cam
If you’re still taking photos we have a bunch!
Jon
If you think I’m going to refresh a page 73 times so you can record page clicks/stats, you’re out of your minds.
AlwaysGay
Bravo! I was expecting the march to be less impressive with only 10,000 people instead more than 250,000 showed up. That is much larger than the teabag protest a couple months ago which had a lot more publicity and organization.
Keep pressing Obama and the Congress. Email, call and fax them to urge them to pass ENDA, repeal DOMA and DADT quickly.
Don’t forget about marriage equality in Maine, domestic partnerships in Washington and anti-discrimination in Kalamazoo, Michigan are all on the ballot this November. Gay people in those areas need your help.
Carl Sagan
@AlwaysGay, your lawn party drew 10,000 to 20,000 people, not 250,000.
Scott E.
Haha I love the Betty Bowers video reference on the 4th pic on the 6th page
Wayne
@Carl Sagan. There was no official estimate of crowd size by the DC authorities but I was there and there were more than 20,000. (There were more than that at the rally and many of the marches left the rally once the main lawn with the stage was filled. But when I left there were still large groups of protesters/marchers throughtout all the streets surrounding the area). It wasn’t the biggest march ever, but it was a very sizable turnout. I would say anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000
Carl Sagan
@Wayne, at least we’re seeing you people starting to approach telling the truth about how many people were there. At least you’re not trying to claim 250,000. By the way, the main lawn was never filled. The problem with your bogus claims is that C-Span was there, and took film. I saw it yesterday. There was plenty of room on the lawn, and the widely dispersed crowd barely made it to the reflecting pool near 3rd St.
I don’t understand the need for people to lie about how many people attended the lawn party, especially when there is abundant photographic evidence showing how small the crowd was.
terrwill
We need to defer to the experts: Faux News pegged the total at 47 marchers…………….
Mike
Queerty, pleae do give us some real numbers, you can never go by the organizers number, remember the 9/12 march and they were throwing around HUGE numbers. Later to be set straight (no pun intended) a few days later.
Was this march 20,000 or 200,000? Big difference
Wayne
@Carl Sagan. You saw different camera angles. I was there and saw it with my own eyes. Big difference. And the march was much bigger than the rally, as many began to leave once they reached the march ended. And I don’t “feel a need to lie” I’m telling the truth as I saw it. But you weren’t there were you. So you can’t say the same. I would ask whys its so important for you to denigrate the amount of people who showed up?
Wayne
sorry meant to say “as many begain to leave once they reached the end of the march at the rally.”
Carl Sagan
@Wayne, oh, it’s the camera angles. No, I don’t think so. The people who want to inflate the numbers are the ones putting out the telephoto shots that visually inflate crowd sizes. The standard camera shots tell the story.
Oh, and people marched but didn’t rally, huh? Well that ought to tell you something about their commitment level, shouldn’t it? The Equality event wasn’t the least bit serious. It was a way for a few people to strike a pose. They couldn’t even be bothered to march to the end of the street and attend a rally? Great.
Jon B
@Carl Sagan: dude, wtf is up with you? Get off this gay blog already. You’re obviously a tea bagger who wants his march to be bigger than ours. It’s really pretty pathetic. Please go eat some pretzels and choke already. It would be a blessing for us all.
Jeremy
I along with many others really wanted to be there. Whether it was 2,000 or 200,000 THANK YOU for all those that marched when I couldn’t!
Lulu
Full spectrum of the community? I looked through that entire album and didn’t see one drag queen. I think it’s safe to say that there were more American Apparel “Legalize Gay” t-shirts there than trans people. Were none invited? Or were they asked not to come so CNN wouldn’t be able to show any queens on TV; only gay families, couples, and other mainstream appearing gays allowed. If we’re going to continue to throw the trans members of our community under the bus for a little progress, then that’s a movement I don’t want any part in.
Carl Sagan
@Jon B, when it comes to teabaggers I’d suggest looking in the mirror. I’m not attacking President Obama like your crowd is. Stop lying about the numbers, and better yet, cut it out with the posing and circuit party dressed up as a gay march, and go out and actually DO something.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
Well said Jeremy.
Is Carl still at it??
Oh Carl you’re a meany. I like Jeremy’s post. Lie or not to lie? Lets hug and fight the hate!
DarrylK
Hats off to Jeff Campagna. I just heard that it was he that arranged the entire march and all those celebs that he got to attend. What a HUGE success for the National Equality group. Jeff deserves a round of applause. He has pics with all the celebs on his Facebook. He is a rockstar: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=744652213&ref=ts
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@ Lulu, it’s one person’s photobook…ask Cam, he was there..
And look @ what Carl S said after what you posted..
“cut it out with the posing and circuit party dressed up as a gay march, and go out and actually DO something.”
Lol, so which is it Lulu?
How can Carl look at these photos and see circuit party people and are doing NOTHING but you saw “only gay families, couples, and other mainstream appearing gays allowed.”
I’m confused. Either you and Carl have your own twisted agenda’s-you after only seeing these bunch of photo’s decides to completely write out an ENTIRE gay community. And with Carl, he’s like NO ONE turned up to this lawn party and that these people (kids, teens) are actually doing NOTHING but partying as if they’re at a circuit party.
Huh??
Cinci Chris
Full spectrum of the community? I looked through that entire album and didn’t see one drag queen. I think it’s safe to say that there were more American Apparel “Legalize Gay” t-shirts there than trans people.
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Yeah, because one album with a couple pictures surely represents the entire march of thousands. I love how none of you were even there, yet feel so confident in making these ridiculous and bitchy claims. I definitely saw numerous trans people at the march and there were lots of chants that focused specifically on trans rights. The number I heard was about 150,000 people, and I would believe it. Streets for miles were completely packed from side to side with people protesting. Thirty minutes after we had already made it to the rally in front of the Capitol, they announced people were still marching 7 blocks back. The reason not as many people attended the rally is because when you’re half a mile away, it kind of loses its effect when you can’t hear or see anything. I’m so proud of everyone who came and can’t wait to turn this energy into action in my home town!
Jon B
@Carl: Seriously, die already. The world would be a better place without you. I don’t care how you get it done, just get it done. This wasn’t a circuit party, it was a march for rights. You weren’t even there apparently, so why the fuck do you insist on belittling it? You seriously cannot be a happy person. I know I’m not when I read the crap you write, so seriously, just get on with the inevitable already and spare us all anymore of your bile.
@Lulu: Has it ever crossed your mind that perhaps a lot of us LGBT folks are just normal people? I was there and I saw plenty of trans folk. Just so you know, transgendered people and drag queens are not the same thing. As for legalize gay shirts, umm… yeah, there were a lot of them, including the one I was wearing. It is a rather convenient shirt to wear when you are trying to… legalize gay. Perhaps the march was disproportionately male (I didn’t notice that at all btw), perhaps it was disproportionately white (I did notice that a little), and perhaps there weren’t equal numbers of trans people there as the other three letters in our community (there simply aren’t as many in general), but that isn’t anyone’s fault. Everyone was welcomed. Hell, I saw a woman advocating for unicorn rights.
Wayne
@Carl Sagan Oh, so marching for hours in the sun isn’t enough to show our committment? Marchers have to attend the rally even if it’s way in the back, and they are’nt allowed to socialize around the event if they want? Whatever! You were not there. So you cannot be a witness. I was, and I would stand by my assessment of an estimate of around 30,000 to 50,000. The more important fact is not that so many people attended but also what they were able to learn while there about becoming more active in the community and contacting our leaders regularly and demanding action on equality issues, not to mention the major news coverage the mainstream media has given the march and the issues surrounding it (our issues have received more coverage in the last week than we usually get all year from the mainstream)
The march was a success on MANY levels. And I was glad to be a part of it.
Carl Sagan
The average gay pride event in a big city draws 10 times as many people as your circuit party did. And those events don’t claim to be anything what they are: parties. And no one inflates the crowd counts to make themselves feel more important than they really are.
But anyway, Wayne, I’m glad to see that your crowd count is only double what it really was. That’s progress relative to the 10-fold exaggerations peddled by the organizers and others.
GayGOP
I must admit, I too was marching yesterday, and I find Jon B to be correct. It may have been disproportionately white, and even perhaps a bit disproportionately male (there seem to be more gay men than lesbians in existence), but anyone was welcome, so long as they generally agreed with the tenor of the march. I saw plenty of drag queens and transpeople at the march. It wasn’t just gay white men.
Lulu
@ Jon B…
First and foremost, don’t lecture a drag queen on the difference between drag queens and trans people. I think I know the difference, and I also know that trans people are often undetected, and (just guessing) I’ve had a touch more exposure, one one one time, and good friends that are trans than you have. Both FTM and MTF.
Second, Unicorn Rights? Really? You sure she was on your side of the fence?
@ John from England….
The Gay Rights Movement as a whole has a history of marginalizing the trans community when putting on face for the hetero world, and this is something that can not be denied. The direction the gay rights movement is going in now is one of mainstreaming ourselves and toning it down so we don’t scare the heterosexuals, using the “we’re just like you, except for this one thing” line. That’s only a half truth, the life experience of a gay person will never be like that of a straight person, or bi person, or trans person for that matter. What I want to clarify is that it’s this specific direction of assimilate to achieve rights that I don’t agree with. It flies in the face of celebrating everything that’s unique and special about our GLBT lives. We have the opportunity to CREATE something that wasn’t already there before and by pushing for the hetero standard we’re throwing that away.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@ lulu
I agree with what your saying and it’s a similar issue with the race issue. People only have THEIR interests at heart, even if THEY should know how it feels to be discriminated.
But it works both ways on accepting people. You go to some bear club or some drag queen night and if you look like a nice mainstream white or black boy-you get taken the mickey out of BUT I know it’s only in jest. Which is a lot nicer then if it was the other way round…
Your point now I get but I still don’t think Queerty has shown ALL the people who attended.
@ Wayne
I hate saying this but ignore CL. He’s an angry person and isn’t making sense. It’s funny, if one has a point to prove-why show it’s SO personal that everything you say will be discredited?
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
FYI
The kind of people who go to a Pride event WOULDN’T go to this. Again CS you’re being illogical.
I know many blacks who will go to urban festivals or parties that have a whole we’re all black etc and wearing colours of their ethnic backgrounds-Notting Hill Carnival in London..
BUT they WOULD NOT actually come to a rally that was anti-racist.Because they will say ‘I’m not political’. Fair enough.
BobinLA
I trust C-SPAN’s coverage more than people on here who are saying 200,000 – 250,000. if you are in the crowd of people you can’t see how many people that are actually there. you can only judge based on what is right around you. a camera can give a wider and more accurate shot. i live in dc and walked down there and i would say that that 20,000 – 30,000 is a more accurate number.
swan
If you feel like you’re not being represented, then get out there and represent!
The Gay Numbers
Why do the numbers matter so much. I got into this pointless discussion with another troll last night who kept on and on and on because I said the info was contra because of the police report, and he kept saying I was lying because of the contra reports. Why do you care what the numbers are? My feeling is that this is a good thing no matter what. My feeling is that there are some people who are here not to build a movement, but to prevent one. That you have a lot vested in keeping things the way they are- whether it is for the HRC reason or your own. It is the same impact. Take the example of Maine- I was told by one Maine person that people in Maine do not like a lot of outsiders like California does- so what would you have people do?
Lady Ga-Gasp
I was there. It was awesome. The big story: the young-uns. I have never seen so many under 25 yrs. old gay people, all in one place, ever. It was really, really impressive. So here’s my crowd estimate: roughly 75k at the march, and another 25k added at the end. A very impressive number, that roughly 100,000 people. The amazing thing was the range of attendees — parents who brought their gay teens, young people who had no idea who any of the speakers were, but understood the message. It was a really, really wonderful march. Very respectful and positive, and very representative, and most importantly, very much heard. Its no longer acceptable to be homophobic, is what the ultimate message was. And it was received.
Jeffrey
Hey LuLu- Anyone who wanted to attend and support the march was more than welocome to be there. There was nothing in the world preventing any trans or drag or any other person from attending. The publicity was out there and none of us got an engraved invitation. If any group was underrepresented it is because they did not bother to show up. period.
Carl Sagan
Why do the numbers matter so much.
You are the one who has been spouting inflated bullshit, not me. So tell me, “Numbers,” why do the numbers matter so much to you that you would invent transparent bullshit out of thin air? Come on: Why? If the number don’t matter to you, then what is your big problem with telling the truth, which is that your glorified circuit party drew 10,000 or 20,000 stragglers on a warm holiday weekend?
rudy
Do these kids – and most of them are – look like they’re doing drugs to you? Are they suggestively dressed? Half naked? Sniffing poppers? Groping each other in public?
Now that you’ve said it twice – exactly what on earth can it be that reminds you of a “circuit party?”
Wayne
The truth is that the march was a huge success both in attendance and in the amount of media coverage of our issues that the march garnered. That is just a fact. And you can bitch all you want Carl Sagan (and it seems you do anyway), but it won’t change the fact that the march and rally were hugely successful. And you are the one not being truthful, it was not the organizers who put out the 200,000 number (in fact organizers kepts saying they were not going to give an estimate, nor did the authorities give an official estimate (though I was there, and two cops I talked to put it within the 30,000 to 50,000 that I have mentioned) But you are not interested in the truth. You have made that clear. But your rants can’t erase all the coverage that that the march brought to our issues and it can’t erase the enthusiasm from the thousands upon thousands of new young gay people who came and left vowing to become more engaged in citizen advocacy.
Tuff Titty for you. Mr. Sour grapes.
Wayne
and speaking of media coverage, check out the Advocate report about it:
http://www.advocate.com/News/Analysis/Covering_the_March’s_Coverage/
Not a bad days work, by any standard.
Cam
You guys, on the other post link on here Carl Sagen linked to a website that he said was proof that the march only had a few thousand. It was the website “Culture Warriar” it is an anti-gay site, the photos that they showed on the site had one small problem. The group that they were CLAIMING was the gay march, had no rainbow flags waving. ANY of the pictures you have seen of the march, or if you were there you know, show many many very large rainbow flags as well as thousands of tiny ones that were sold or handed out along the entire way. He is here with an agenda. I tried to leave a comment on that site pointing out that they were not pictures of the March and letting them know that, yet my posts were deleated.
Gregoire
Carl Sagan, I thought you were dead. Can you return there please?
alan brickman
Thank God there was no one dancing half naked on floats…that just makes the homophobes feel more superior about gays being labeled as “freaks”….Maybe Queerty should do an article about how exhibitisn like that hinders the gay movement…
Cinci Chris
Do you even go to this school?
Carl Sagan: No, I just have a lot of feelings.
Enough said.
Cam
No. 39 · Cinci Chris said….
Do you even go to this school?
Carl Sagan: No, I just have a lot of feelings.
Enough said.
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I would like to cast my vote for best movie reference of the month! LOL!
RainaWeather
Even if it was only 20,000, why should that matter. Think about all the people who wanted to be there but couldn’t. I know I wanted to be there.
Post NEM
It was about 20,000 people.
I wish Organizers didn’t lie about the attendance. They could have used the low turnout to shame us, again.
LGBT are just not in the game. They’ve assimilated. Game over.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
PostNem and C Sagan
Hugz!!
🙂
Daniel
Everyone looks marvelous.
mugwah
cark, did someone sh*t in your cornflakes this morning or what? what is the problem with numbers? we know those for are going to inflate the number and those against are going ti dfecrese the nuymber for their own reasons. any event, any where if 10 or 1000,000 showed up it was a success if it was 1 mpre than the event befpre it. if you want to call it a “party” fine, relax and have a beer then. you are putting of a real troll like smell here, just to let you know. ok, you were there, great but so what? take a pill man!