Tuesday, February 13, 2007

It Is Reallllllly Over....

Remember the day when the South End had a gay bookstore, gay-owned, operated and attended gay restaurants, and well, just a whole lotta gay stuff going on? Well, those days are over. The final nail in the coffin is the possibility that this year's Pride Parade might stray from its usual course and skip the South End altogether. Although the Pride Committee is fighting to keep the parade route status quo, construction on Columbus Ave. and Clarendon Street might thwart that plan, diverting the parade to a beacon hill/back bay route (and just to clarify, I do not suggest in any way that the Pride Committee has anything whatsoever to do with the possible diversion - the committee should be lauded for their efforts this and every year).

They might as well just march in Chestnut Hill.

I don't know which entity is putting up a potential roadblock, and thus where to assign the blame, but apparently someone might draw the conclusion that the South End isn't gay enough anymore to have a pride parade coursing through its well-heeled streets. A parade through Beacon Hill just doesn't quite cut it - the camaraderie along Tremont Street during a pride parade is unmistakable and cannot be duplicated in Beacon Hill, Commonwealth Avenue, South Boston, Saugus or wherever the hell they think they're going to move it. It sure send a message....

Well, we wouldn't want little Madison and Skyler in the dual Maclaren having to see gay people kissing while Megan and the new mommy group jockey for a table at Picco, would we? And poor Bernie and Estelle Fleishman over in Atelier 505, they shouldn't have to see the homos from their balcony. What those people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms is fine, but they don't have to flaunt it in front of our building. Or in front of the Butcher Shop window seats or anywhere in the South End where decent Uggs-wearing, Burberry scarf-toting, polar fleece-ensconced straight people congregate.

Last homo to leave, please pack up the rainbow flag.

9 Comments:

Blogger thesouthender said...

Figures its a REALTOR who wrote this. I'm a South End realtor's worst nightmare. (Although isn't a south end realtor EVERYONE's worst nightmare?).

And who said I'm a recent transplant to the area? I ate at the Red Fez in its ORIGINAL heyday. And I specifically said that the organizers were trying to maintain the South End route and they are not to blame by any means.

Of course if you are a realtor selling million dollar condos to UGGS wearing 21 year old BU students (paid for by their parents) you stand a lot to lose if word gets out that the South End is in fact OVER. You have to say things like change is better, gentrification is wonderful, etc., etc. or there's a chance you'll lose your livelihood.

February 14, 2007 at 8:13:00 AM PST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The route through the SE is a fairly recent change. It didn't go through the SE for the first, like, 20 or 25 years. Maybe more.

If things go as scheduled (I doubt they will, but it is the schedule) you won't be able to use the "usual" Pride route. You also won't be able to drive, walk, bike, stroll, or push a pram through that route either. 131 Clarendon is already started which will block off Clarendon & Stuart, and if Columbus Center gets started (which is scheduled for Spring), it will close Columbus & Clarendon and Columbus & Berkeley.

Plus, the most of the Common will be closed for reconstruction. The Hatch Shell isn't big enough. Ebersol Field is no longer an open space (it's now ball diamonds) and can't support a mingling crowd.

What do you want them to do?

The problem is the out-of-control development, not the Pride Committee.

February 14, 2007 at 11:59:00 AM PST  
Blogger thesouthender said...

Ok, why is nobody paying attention to the fact that I have clarified that it is NOT the Pride Committee's fault.

In fact, there is no fault to be assigned, other than the desire of our society as a whole to develop any land that it can.

Its just an observation of an unfortunate event. That's all.

And y'know what? Dartmouth Street and Arlington Street seem to be untouched. Have the parade go down Dartmouth to Tremont to Arlington Street?

February 14, 2007 at 12:42:00 PM PST  
Blogger joecab said...

It's like they say: realtors know to look for the areas that the gays and artists grab first then ... swoop!

February 14, 2007 at 6:01:00 PM PST  
Blogger thesouthender said...

Funny how the previous comment about the "Queen of Fruits" was left in a post about the Pride Parade....

February 18, 2007 at 3:41:00 PM PST  
Blogger James Henry Bailey said...

Good riddance. The Boston Gay Pride parade was over a long time ago! These days it's nothing but a depressing little display of trash and nonsense.

February 20, 2007 at 1:10:00 PM PST  
Blogger Cleary Squared said...

...and you notice that the Mangosteen shill conveniently remained anonymous!

LOL

February 23, 2007 at 6:20:00 PM PST  
Blogger thesouthender said...

Wouldn't you if you were selling mangosteens?!!

February 23, 2007 at 7:45:00 PM PST  
Blogger thesouthender said...

The Mangosteen's? They live around the corner from the Guavaberg's, don't they?

March 2, 2007 at 9:25:00 AM PST  

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