Seriously. I am. I’ve never felt this kind of pride for my country before. I guess you could call it patriotism. Yeah, that’s right, I said it, I am feeling patriotic. It’s a new feeling for me. Last night was incredible. After watching Obama’s victory speech, I headed out into the street with my friends — to get a better sense of the city’s reaction. We followed the sound of people chanting, “yes we can,” and a steady stream of bubbles floating through the sky, to the corner of St. Marks and First Ave. A group of East Village revelers gathered in the middle of the street to hug, chant, throw glitter, block traffic, dance, bang on pots & pans, blow horns and jump on top of moving buses and taxis. It was one of those strangers-becoming-instant-best-friends-because-we’re-all-so-damn-happy nights. The kind of night where you have an almost primal urge to be around as many people as possible, to share in your collective joy. After some respectful coercion from the NYPD to move onto the sidewalk, we walked up to St. Marks and Avenue A, where someone was blasting dance music from their fire escape. St. Marks Pl. turned into a spontaneous dance party. Tompkins Square Park is only one block away and we could have easily gathered there without disturbing traffic or residents, but there’s something kind of fun about a gentle breaking of the law. Even the cops got into it — we spotted one officer taking pictures. At one point, the music stopped and we all started singing The Star Spangled Banner. I don’t even know all the words, but I made up some lyrics and just rolled with it. So proud! So proud!****
How I’m feeling this morning:
The Poppy Family - Happy Island
New Buffalo - Cheer Me Up Thank You
A little cliché but topical:
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin’
Bruce Springsteen - Born In The USA
Video of my Spangled Banner experience:
****PRIDE REDACTED: My pride for this country has been seriously marred by the fact that Proposition 8 passed in the State of California, along with other gay-marriage bans in Florida and Arizona. My friend Kaitlin sent a call to action to her friends today — I’d like to share some of her words with you:
On a day where we gained so much, we lost a critical battle here in California. This loss must be a call to action. This is not a democratic or republican issue. It is not even a gay issue. It is a human rights issue. I know we have a long way to go. So I am asking you, my family and friends, to join me in fighting this last acceptable prejudice. What can we do? For now…BE MORE VISIBLE. SPEAK UP AGAINST PREJUDICE. BE MORE VOCAL ABOUT YOUR SUPPORT FOR EQUALITY.
Public Enemy - Fight The Power
djolliebaba
mimi
jdbrickmaynard
Well said, Mimi! I wish I could have been there to sing and dance in the streets with you. I was too busy eating cake.
And yes, let’s please reverse Prop 8 as SOON as we can!
mimi
this is a beautiful post.
…..let’s make sure we all live up to what we are about to begin.
yes.
we.
can.
[...] with all the die-hards and feel like I was a part of something — slightly reminiscent of the night before, but not nearly as [...]