Culture Vulture 9 / Looking Back

By CS Gilbert

Looking back on the holidays as cultural phenomenon, it strikes me that our little corner of the Western World is truly twisted. And I say that in a nice way.

 

Beginning with the annual Holiday Parade, with its own miraculous birth, I have been—well, bemused, which is not to be confused with amused, although sometimes they occurred together. When I came to town in the mid 1990s, the holiday – specifically Christmas – parade was sponsored by the Lower Keys Ministerial Association and was probably the most visible event, with the best public relations, the group did all year. But there was a problem. For several years running, the local Metropolitan Community Church, a church founded to give gay Christians a home when they were turned away by mainstream denominations, was not allowed to participate.

 

There was at that time a local organization, the Lambda Coalition, designed to be a clearinghouse so that gay and like-minded groups supportive of civil rights for all would not schedule activities that conflicted with each other. I represented the local National Organization for Women (NOW) chapter on the coalition; also represented were MCC, the Pride Alliance (producers of the annual Pride Parade in June, which was coordinated by Frank Garner and always stepped off on time), the Lambda Democrats (founded because the traditional Democrats were not at all interested in gay civil rights issues) and a couple of other funds and organizations sympathetic to the cause of equality. The Gay and Lesbian Community Center and the local chapter of the ACLU had not yet been founded.

 

At a Lambda meeting it was announced that MCC had once again been refused a place in the parade and that there was a plan afoot to bombard the parade with condoms from the second floor of the 801 Club. Happily some of us — if John Gish were not here, his spirit was — fresh from a legislative triumph in New Jersey, knew better strategies. As the parade passed, a candlelight service was held in front of St. Paul’s; the church’s assistant priest preached so movingly she brought half the assembly and herself to tears. Around the corner on Eaton was parked the MCC float, easily far nicer than any in the ministers’ parade.

 

The protest action and its cause of nondiscrimination got a lot of positive attention. Before the next holiday season (and I’m quite sure Jimmy Weekley had a lot to do with this), the city took over parade sponsorship and MCC was welcomed. Almost 20 years later, Key West’s official motto is “One Human Family” (thank you, J.T. Thompson), this year’s parade was reportedly the best yet . . . and who hears anything about the Lower Keys Ministerial Association? (As a post script, MCC is thriving and seems to have as many straight as gay members and leaders.)

 

So much for history. As for 2013, besides the annual candy overkill, only one thing was distressing: there were no less than nine Santas in the parade. Nine! What unnecessary duplication! What happened to the tradition of having Santa (and sometimes Ms. Claus) on the climactic, much-anticipated final float? And while I’m not actively encouraging parents to lie to their children, how can anyone wishing to perpetuate the myth for their little ones explain nine Santas? I found it interesting, too, that religious content, the Christian reason for the season, was scant. There were some nativity scenes, but as for parade-watchers’ edification there was only a small packet of candy marked, “Happy Birthday, Jesus!” and –- more useful still — an invitation to a Christmas concert at Impact Community Church.

 

Then of course there is the consumer frenzy accompanying the celebrations—Hanukkah, Yule and even Kwanzaa probably figure in the mix too, but less said about that the better.

 

But we are a giving culture, as well. From noon Dec. 30 till noon Dec. 31 I received 42 pleas for end-of-year donations, most from organizations that had already received my affordable annual pittance.

Oh well. Happy 2014, everyone!

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