It’s been a long road for equality and even though it’s not over, there has been some progress. It’s not illegal to be queer. Now, people can be out in the open with their love and identities. (At least in major cities and hip areas.) There was a time in San Francisco when a gay person or cross-dresser could be thrown in jail. There are still places that do this but at least in the haven of San Fran., you can be you. In the old days of San Francisco, where the gay movement really got its footing, gay men created a secret society. This enabled them to create a social order, where they made pods of ten people who would hang out together. Only one person from that group knew of another pod of ten. They created a network but no one knew all the members. In this way, they could communicate with one another and spread news and messages but if someone got busted they couldn’t name everyone in the gay community.

This was the beginning of political power. When Aids hit the USA and gay people started dying at a high rate, it forced the gay community to come out.

To reflect on the Aids epidemic in this time of covid, brings up the same feelings of fear and loss. So many people died of Aids that volunteers made a quilt with all the names of lost loved ones, and it stretched the whole way to the capitol building on the south lawn. The Aids epidemic was devastating, but it pulled the LBGTQ population out of hiding. Famous movie stars like Rock Hudson, who played the ultimate lover, came out once he was diagnosed.

Now we wave our rainbow flags and wear our rainbow outfits and feel the breeze in our rainbow hair. Isn’t it lovely. But every freedom is built on the blood, sweat, and tears of the past. In this month of pride, it’s good to look back and pay homage to our ancestors.