No Looking Like a Cop at the Pride Parade

[OMG!WTF!]

Unless you're the Village People.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...orms-1.4222363

I find Nenshi's reasoning kind of odd.

"Blaming current people for historical oppression would be like saying: 'previous mayors of Calgary have refused to proclaim Pride Week, therefore the current mayor of Calgary isn't invited to the parade.' I have a challenge with that."

I don't think police oppression is "historical". I think it's present and future as well. I don't blame pride at all.

[Weitz]

I think things like this hurt the search for equality.

[CroFlames]

I don't really have a horse in this race, but I think that is crap. If the community is all about inclusion, why would you not include cops in uniform.

[Resolute 14]

As many people have noted online in the last day, what Pride is really doing here is forcing cops into the "closet". You can be a cop, but you need to keep it a secret. It's basically the complete opposite attitude of what the organization purports to stand for and is unbelievably hypocritical.

[MRCboicgy]

Idiotic.

[N-E-B]

This is so stupid. The police marching in uniform sends a strong message that they are supportive of that community.

[CaptainCrunch]

Meh, its their event and they can put in any messaging and include anyone they want to include.

I'm assuming that for the police they've made it attendance optional right?

Just by reading the reactions in Toronto to their no cops in uniform and other cities that this sounds like its actually tearing apart the LGBT community internally.

[worth]

The piece that I think a lot of people are missing here is that the uniform is something a lot of people in the community don't feel safe around. While things might be great during the parade, what happens during the other 364 days is what tells the story and that story is not always so great.

It's easy to dismiss this as a stupid decision, but it is really important to try to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has had negative after negative interaction with police.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

The Calgary gay community is routinely persecuted by the CPS, are they? Come on.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by worth

The piece that I think a lot of people are missing here is that the uniform is something a lot of people in the community don't feel safe around. While things might be great during the parade, what happens during the other 364 days is what tells the story and that story is not always so great.

It's easy to dismiss this as a stupid decision, but it is really important to try to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has had negative after negative interaction with police.

Actually, what that sounds like to me is that this is an exceptional opportunity to alter that perception that not only is being missed but is actively making the problem worse.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I would have thought police in uniform would be more helpful in making it clear that cops can be supportive and a positive influence. (Probably don't need the firearms, though). Without uniforms, isn't it just a bunch of folks walking?

[Igottago]

Its not enough to gain respect for our identity, we have to subvert the identity of others now. This is all about power. Pretty typical example of where the left is going to extremes these days.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

The Calgary gay community is routinely persecuted by the CPS, are they? Come on.

That's not what it's about at all. There is absolutely no doubt that minorities have suffered at the hands of the police in Calgary and throughout North America. As a minority group that has suffered in similar but maybe not the exact same ways, I assume the LGBTQ community decided to make it a statement in support of other groups.

I get their reasoning for sure. It takes very little to lose trust in people of authority. It's not really up to the gay community to make amends. And it definitely isn't an excuse for cops to feel persecuted.

[PepsiFree]

This conversation was brought up last year, but I'm fine with it. Pride has more or less turned into a family friendly status event, which is nice, but ultimately self serving for some of the people attending. People keep tabs on which politicians did or didn't march and make value you judgements on them for it. It feels like it's a social media showoff.

The Pride parade is viewed a lot of different ways even within the community. I, personally, think this moves makes it more inclusive to persons of colour (who the community isn't always mindful of). That said, I don't really like the parade. I'd prefer a month where people could be educated on the history of the movement, what happened, and celebrate some of the human rights victories that came from it.

Either way, I cringe at people who equivocate this to what Pride was against. Please be educated in what Pride was fighting against, because saying "don't wear your work uniform," while not inclusive, is not categorically the same as saying "don't be how you were born."

I get people who don't like the move though. The parade is just a messageless mess at this point.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I get their reasoning for sure. It takes very little to lose trust in people of authority. It's not really up to the gay community to make amends. And it definitely isn't an excuse for cops to feel persecuted.

Sure. And CPS has outreach programs, liaisons and was an active supporter of Pride. CPS was trying to build bridges, and Pride Calgary is letting a subgroup sully its name by tearing those bridges down.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

That's not what it's about at all. There is absolutely no doubt that minorities have suffered at the hands of the police in Calgary and throughout North America. As a minority group that has suffered in similar but maybe not the exact same ways, I assume the LGBTQ community decided to make it a statement in support of other groups.

I get their reasoning for sure. It takes very little to lose trust in people of authority. It's not really up to the gay community to make amends. And it definitely isn't an excuse for cops to feel persecuted.

Sorry, what minority suffering has there been in Calgary. Sure there are individual cases, but you could point to the same numbers and rates in any group in Calgary. Don't conflate historical racism in the States and Calgary.

Regardless of the above, why are we letting people continue to widen the divide between law enforcement and minority groups? We should be building bridges not segregating them..... complete opposite effect to their message

[Zarley]

This is an idiotic decision and all of my gay friends are against it. I cannot find one historical incident of the CPS persecuting a LGBT person of colour - this is all about a group of activists importing their outrage from a cultural context that is irrelevant to Calgary.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Its not enough to gain respect for our identity, we have to subvert the identity of others now. This is all about power. Pretty typical example of where the left is going to extremes these days.

Ehh, you're deluding yourself if you think this is a left-only problem. The extremes in both directions are horrible for this.

[Cowboy89]

While I can appreciate that Pride can hold whatever event they want and include or exclude anyone they feel appropriate I think its a shame the police cannot participate in uniform. I always thought a big part of the pride parade was about normalizing a segment of the population that has had a history of persecution and stigmatization by broader society. Having organizations like the Stamps, Flames, Police, Firefighters, etc. participate in full uniform sends a strong message that LGBTQ people should be welcome in all facets of life as anyone else should be.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Sorry, what minority suffering has there been in Calgary. Sure there are individual cases, but you could point to the same numbers and rates in any group in Calgary. Don't conflate historical racism in the States and Calgary.

Regardless of the above, why are we letting people continue to widen the divide between law enforcement and minority groups? We should be building bridges not segregating them..... complete opposite effect to their message

If you have to ask then maybe you're not really getting the clearest picture available. We may be slightly better than the average American police department, definitely better than LA in the early 90's. But it doesn't take much to lose trust. And without question we get to see only the very tip of the iceberg. Can you actually name another "group in Calgary" that is even accused of civil rights abuses? Firefighters will put you out no matter what your race is.

I just think if your bully has reformed himself you're still not obliged to bring him to your party. And to even suggest that this may widen the gap between cops and minorities is so utterly ridiculous. You're the police for christ's sake. You should have to be coddled into respecting people's rights. It's fundamentally not a two way street.