Pride – Page 2 – The Hungover Pundit

Pride 2019 Part 5 – Asymmetry

Earlier this week, I posted that Cedar Hopperton, the Hamilton-area activist who’d had their parole revoked as revenge for a blistering critique of the Hamilton Police Service’s shameful display of spite and incompetence at Hamilton Pride, was released from jail. While the details are still not public knowledge, a CBC story seemed to imply that their release was on a “credited time” technicality and not, as one would hope, because anyone in the judicial system has a commitment to actual justice.

I’m sorry, was that cynical?

I’m feeling cynical this morning, and it’s not just the hangover from one too many Dark and Stormies to beat the heat last night. (This blog’s name isn’t just being cute: I drink and I tend to write best in the early mornings while the house is still asleep; you do the math.) The reason I’m feeling cynical is that yesterday “Helmet Guy” Chris Vanderweide made bail on two charges of assault for his role in the attack on Hamilton Pride.

Pride 2019 Part 4 – The Dumpster Fire

I was really hoping to write about something – anything – else, but the crisis in Hamilton continues and it’s pretty much dominated my life for the last week, so this is what I have to offer as part of the ongoing saga of Pride 2019.

As of time of writing, Friday morning, Cedar Hopperton is still in jail. Their hearing in front of the parole board was yesterday… but there was a bit of a twist ahead of time. Police had revoked Hopperton’s parole because it was alleged they had violated it by participating in the Pride defence action when fascists and religious zealots attacked the Hamilton Pride gathering in Gage Park on June 15th. On Wednesday, July 3rd, Hopperton’s lawyer announced that the hearing was not about this alleged parole violation, but rather because Hopperton had spoken at a public meeting on June 18th during which they called out the police for their inaction.

Let that sink in for a moment: Police now allege Cedar Hopperton violated their parole for speaking at a public meeting.

Pride 2019 Part 2 – Under Attack

Last week I wrote a blog post about titled Pride 2019 about the pressures on LGBTQ Pride celebrations this year and the context in which they occur. Near the end of that post I stated “So here we are, partway though Pride 2019. We’re here, we’re queer, we’re commodified and divided and we’re under attack by religious bigots, the alt-right and literal fucking Nazis… and we’re supposed to rely on the same police who have repeatedly broken the trust of our community to protect us.”

Yeah, I really hate being right. Four days after I wrote that, Hamilton Ontario’s Pride celebration was attacked. On the morning of Saturday June 15th 2019 a group of extreme-right wing religious protesters met up with a group of the neo-fascist Yellow Vests and the neo-Nazi Canadian Nationalist Party members who have been congregating at Hamilton Ontario’s City Hall every Saturday and then marched on the Pride celebration at Gage Park with the clear intent of violently disrupting the proceedings.

Pride 2019

As anyone who’s bothered to read the About The Author section of this blog knows, I’m an LGBTQ person. Specifically, I’m a bisexual man, albeit a married and monogamous one (the frustrating and insulting issue of bi erasure is going to be the subject of a future post) so June is always an interesting time for me — because it’s Pride Month.

Now, way back when I was a baby queer, I remember Pride as being a single long weekend. Lots of music and dancing on Church Street in Toronto, a big long march down Yonge Street, drinking back at the Village and so forth. The parade floats were shabby, most people walked (well, danced), the rainbow banners and whatnot were all homemade or self-funded or put up by businesses, not the city. It was generally regarded as a counter-culture event and there was an intoxicating sense of defiance in the air: Pride wasn’t just about being proud, it was about having the audacity not to be ashamed.