This week’s photograph, taken in Dupont Circle, is the first I have had published in not one, but two of Washington’s metropolitan blogs (aka, the new face of journalism), here and here.
The story accompanying one of the publication instances describes the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community’s pride festival in Washington, DC, and a quote from one of the original organizers:
“I don’t know if you ever know that you’re making history when you’re doing [something]…[organizing Pride] seemed to be the right thing to do at the right time. So we just went ahead and did it.”
The quote caught my eye because it describes so many endeavors that courageous people undertake, with hope and humility, that truly create a better society.
In 1975, the press was afforded limited opportunity to capture the reactions of festival participants, due to fear of retribution from their employers and other parts of society.
In 2010, as the photograph shows, a new generation is indifferent to this type of fear, and those same employers and organizations are making it clear through their actions and use of resources that being their customer/employee is equivalent to supporting equality for all.
Equality is now a free gift that comes with our DC Tax dollars, and with every purchase from Apple computer, every search from Google, Inc., every amazing education from UC Berkeley, to name a few places. Not to mention every drive of a Zipcar, the 21st century version of car ownership (or lack thereof):
As usual, I see lots of analogies to health care, and to work that the many people I know/meet that are working hard on, because it’s the right thing. Just like the organizers of the DC festival who said,
Yes, I did believe we’d get to this point. The only difference was I didn’t believe it would happen in my lifetime. It’s a wonderful thing.
I think they’ll see the benefit of their work in their lifetimes, too. It is wonderful, isn’t it?