Well, Pride events this year are already . . . quite different. Last night kicked them off in the way they traditionally have since 2013, and which I have been attending every year since 2015. In all five of the previous five years, Gabriel has met up with me there at some point, bringing Tess along; I have usually gotten a great group selfie shot.

Not this year: it was a very solitary affair, sitting at home, looking at my computer screen, even Shobhit gone at work. I stayed online watching speakers and performers for nearly three hours. No photos of fun or clever marchers' signs this year either. Twenty of this year's 25 shots for Trans Pride Seattle are simply screenshots, of either key pages on the "Together with Pride" website, or (in most cases) of the live feed of speakers and performers.

It felt wholly inadequate, to tell you the truth. But, something we all have to understand was necessary—and it sure as shit was better than nothing. I only contributed to the live chat a few times, but one of those times was to express my gratitude for everyone who pulled all of this together.

I'm bummed that for the first time since attending Trans Pride, the event will yield no Social Review points for any of my friends. I'm not sure the rest of the weekend will either, even though there are more online events, from which I will take plenty more screenshots, scheduled both today and tomorrow, which is actual Pride Sunday. I'm still incredibly grateful Shobhit and I made it to Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney this year, so even in 2020 we were able to celebrate Pride as it was intended. It just won't be the same in Seattle this year.

I did just finish captioning all the photos from last night. It may have felt inadequate, but it's still been . . . interesting.

[posted 12:39 pm]

Fri, 5:42: Changes are far too slow going, but they are happening. And guess what? Even what little change is happening is ONLY because of outrage and protests. So anyone insisting said outrage is "the wrong approach" is literally part of the problem. What We Know About the Killing of Elijah McClain
Fri, 8:24: It's especially bittersweet to reread this memory from four years ago, during the first weekend in Seattle Pride's decades-long history that all Pride events have had to move online due to a global pandemic.

The thing is, the points I made then regarding how vital Pride still is remain true today. It is for that reason that I still plan to participate in as many virtual Pride events as I can all weekend, and I encourage you to do the same. It's unfortunately not as simple as I wish it were, but you can find details, including the link for downloading the app being used, here: seattlepride.org/news/together-for-pride-2020.

(And! We must never forget that what launched Pride, the Stonewall Uprising in New York City in 1969, WAS A RIOT, started by trans women of color, just one of many things that underscore how the current movement for racial justice and Pride are inextricably linked! Remember: there are lots of queer people of color, and Pride would not exist without them.)

https://t.co/Ho4g09J4P8

Fri, 12:54: RT @STACEYNIGHTMARE: Please wear a mask. You are ugly.
Fri, 14:17: A broker just emailed me to check the discount calculations on her contract: "I was an Art Major in college."
Fri, 19:15: RT @keithedwards: Fun fact: Gay marriage has now been around longer than the Confederacy.

Virtual Trans Pride Seattle 2020

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