Alberta GRS Diary and "Community"
by: Mercedes
Fri Jul 10, 2009 at 11:27:52 AM EDT
http://pamshouseblend.com/diary/11972/alberta-grs-diary-and-community(I have to apologize for mostly having to cover everything in a recap, rather than being able to cover everything as it happened. It's possible that as a consequence some of the links may have become invalid as media phases out old news pages or moves them to members-only sections.)
10,000 people turned out for the Edmonton Pride Week parade and festival on the square on June 13th. This doubled last year's attendance and proved so remarkable that almost no media outlets reported on the event. This is how bittersweet in turmoil Alberta is these days: two months of introduction of obvious anti-LGBT policy (delisting of health care coverage of gender reassignment surgery, refusal to include gender identity / expression in human rights legislation, Bill 44's evacuate-children-from-school-if-queer-people-are-discussed provision, making conservative religious leaders the consultants of choice on things like Aboriginal communities or oil sands development) turned people out in droves, and was about as remarkable as any other business as usual. That's the enigma of "community," I suppose, and the way it comes together, vanishes and comes together again, all under the radar.
