Gay Life in Canadian Cities

[SignalHillHiker]

I saw that musical ride in Manitoba, they still do it.

I don't remember the first gay couple I met - there are lots of gay people in my family so I just grew up with them around. I do recall, though, that my mother used to use the term "special friend" for my cousins' partners.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I had coffee with a cop once. RCMP actually. I still think about it....

I dated an RCMP officer for the two years I lived in Van. He is a great guy. RCMP have to deal with a lot of shit.

[vid]

I know a guy from Newfoundland who dated a police officer. They broke it off after the cop killed his dog and then turned straight for Jesus.

(That's a big of an exaggeration but it's essentially what happened.)

[ue]

Originally Posted by vid

I know a guy from Newfoundland who dated a police officer. They broke it off after the cop killed his dog and then turned straight for Jesus.

(That's a big of an exaggeration but it's essentially what happened.)

Dafuq

[vid]

I know, I still bug him about it and that was, like, 5 years ago. He got a whole collection of really creepy stalkers off of Plenty Offish. He's since moved to Ottawa, it's probably a bit more normal there. POF is like a one-stop shop for really messed up people.

Thunder Bay has its share is really strange combinations of things in LGBT people. Last night I saw a transgender woman who was telling everyone on the bus that she knew how to kill and prepare a goose with her bare hands. (It was part of a First Nation's cultural exchange programme but still, very interesting combination I think.)

[SignalHillHiker]

I love this city . Screenshots courtesy of jeddy1989. Comments on the RNC video shared on CBC's FB page.

[SignalHillHiker]

Yikes. At least it's going to court.

Christian sex-ed in public schools infringes on human rights, Edmonton mother and daughter say in complaint

Last July, Emily Dawson, then 17, was enrolled in a summer course of Career and Life Management at McNally High School. No Alberta high school student can graduate without taking CALM, a mandatory course.

Under Section 11 of Alberta’s Human Rights Act, parents have a right to be notified in advance if their children are going to be taught about sex, sexual orientation, or religion and to exempt their children from such classes.

The parental rights clause was introduced by the Stelmach government to placate social conservatives upset by the addition of sexual orientation to Alberta’s human rights code.

***

She was shocked when Emily texted her to say the “sex ed” class was being taught by an anti-abortion activist, from the American-based Pregnancy Care Centre.

The group provides free abstinence education to about 60 Edmonton-area junior highs and high schools each year, most in the Edmonton Public district.

“She did a lot of slut-shaming to the women, and pointed out the guys as horn-dogs,” Emily says. “She really ridiculed single-parent families, she made it sound like they all give birth to juvenile delinquents.”

One classmate, Emily claims, asked about same-sex relationships.

“All those questions were shut down right way. She just said, ‘We’re not here to discuss that.’”

***

The Dawsons’ complaints allege the presenter taught students that 60 per cent of boys carry the HPV sexually transmitted infection under their fingernails, that gonorrhea can kill you in three days, that girls should dress modestly to avoid inflaming boys. The allegations have not been proven.

“It’s values-based sex ed and all the values are evangelical values,” Kathy says. “It’s not even mainstream Christianity. I’m not against abstinence. But I think the message is diminished when it’s surrounded by misinformation and fear.” (What a beautiful quote!)

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07...-in-complaint/

[ue]

Originally Posted by vid

I know, I still bug him about it and that was, like, 5 years ago. He got a whole collection of really creepy stalkers off of Plenty Offish. He's since moved to Ottawa, it's probably a bit more normal there. POF is like a one-stop shop for really messed up people.

Thunder Bay has its share is really strange combinations of things in LGBT people. Last night I saw a transgender woman who was telling everyone on the bus that she knew how to kill and prepare a goose with her bare hands. (It was part of a First Nation's cultural exchange programme but still, very interesting combination I think.)

WTF?

Did the guy at least get charged with animal cruelty?

[Gerrard]

My answer to that straight pride bs thing is always: because it would be boring as hell and no one would attend unless there was a football game and turkey legs for all.

[SignalHillHiker]

I haven't encountered it in person.

The only things I've ever had in person were:

"Gay? Oh Jesus, you're not involved with all that old foolishness are you?"

And:

"Oh for fuck's sake... b'ys, we get it! You're gay. No one fucking cares. Just, enough already!"

[SignalHillHiker]

CBC did a story about the RNC video.

RNC embraces LGBT-friendly recruiting policy

Newfoundland police force aims to remove 'barriers that prevent LGBT people from serving,' video says

RNC Chief Bill Janes said the ad is part of the force's new approach to being more diverse.

"Sometimes, you don't know you're welcome and wanted until someone says you're welcome and wanted," he said.

Const. Alexandra Mackey has been on the force for almost six years.

"I feel quite welcome," she said. "When you become a police officer, it goes down to being a police officer first, and everything else is secondary."

Mackey said qualified people, no matter what their sexual orientation, should feel welcome at the RNC.

"It doesn't matter at all. I think anybody in the LGBT community could apply for any type of job, and I think policing is a profession that they might want to get into," she said.

Mackey said the community is changing, and the RNC has to change with it.

"St. John's is becoming more diverse. Every year, there's different groups coming up in St. John's, and we want to be able to connect, communicate, and interact with our community as best we can," she said.

​Janes said the force is working toward being a reflection of the community.

"Newfoundland and Labrador has an LGBT community, so I think it's important that the RNC has an LGBT community within us in order to be successful," he said.

The video is part of the chief's new corporate plan to reach out, not only to the LGBT community, but also to other underrepresented groups, to build a more inclusive, diverse police force that reflects the community it serves.

But this approach doesn't just extend to new recruits.

"It's about ensuring that we're approachable for potential victims of crime in the members of the LGBT community," Janes said.

Residents pleased with ad campaign

"It's really great to see," said St. John's Pride committee member Jamie Harnum, who especially liked seeing all sorts of officers in the video.

"The people that you could see around, they are in the video," Harnum said.

"So if someone was in trouble, even if they weren't interested in getting involved in the RNC, if they saw one of these police force members they would know, 'OK, this is someone who has promoted LGBT equality, they're probably a safe person to talk to.'"

[SignalHillHiker]

Our own jeddy1989:

http://ntv.ca/rnc-video-tells-lbgt-c...you-can-serve/

[vid]

Originally Posted by ue

WTF?

Did the guy at least get charged with animal cruelty?

It was accidental. It was in the back of a moving truck and fell out.

Dogs aren't cargo, if you love them you'll let them ride inside the truck. Every time I see someone with a dog in the back of their pickup, I remember what happened to him.

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I haven't encountered it in person.

The only things I've ever had in person were:

"Gay? Oh Jesus, you're not involved with all that old foolishness are you?"

And:

"Oh for fuck's sake... b'ys, we get it! You're gay. No one fucking cares. Just, enough already!"

The usual reaction I get is, "...oh."

[vid]

Asking for straight pride is like asking for able bodied parking spaces. Because there are about seventy able bodied parking spaces to one disabled parking space, and able bodied people still insist on using the ones that aren't theirs.

[SignalHillHiker]

Hey now... some of us don't mind an able-bodied person having a go. ;-)

[SignalHillHiker]

Jesus, could I love this city any more?

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary actually responded to the "What about straight pride?" sweetheart, who turned out to be darling.

[ue]

Originally Posted by vid

It was accidental. It was in the back of a moving truck and fell out.

Dogs aren't cargo, if you love them you'll let them ride inside the truck. Every time I see someone with a dog in the back of their pickup, I remember what happened to him.



The usual reaction I get is, "...oh."

I always worry about the dogs not grasping that they're on this dangerous, moving vehicle, and jumping out when the vehicle is moving. Or even if the vehicle is stopped at a light and all of a sudden the dog decides to jump and is then in the middle of traffic.

That really is sad, though. I agree, animals shouldn't be left in the back of a pickup. We don't deem it safe for people to be back there, and people can grasp the full extent of the situation they're in and, y'know, not jump.

[Doug_Cgy]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Jesus, could I love this city any more?

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary actually responded to the "What about straight pride?" sweetheart, who turned out to be darling.

I absolutely love their response. Not surprised though, you Newfoundlanders are wonderful people!

[SignalHillHiker]

Aww, thanks.

*****

It's officially here - Pride Week in St. John's.

This morning is the rainbow flag raising at the Confederation Building. Not sure when the one at City Hall is.

I haven't decided yet which events I'm going to, except - of course - Pride Bonfire on Tuesday, Frisk Fetish Night on Saturday, the Parade and Pride at the Lake on Sunday.

But there's so much going on this year. I want to check out the ArtPride show at Eastern Edge Gallery.

And MUN provides one of the entire world's most respected Folklore degrees, so it's no surprise they're doing an Oral History project. That'd be great to attend, especially if the older folks go.

Folklorist Daze Jefferies and Courtland Dearing (iBBA) invite you to take part in a morning of inter-generational queer and trans storytelling. We ask that you join us in establishing an informal exchange of narratives between queer and trans elders and youth in The Landing (University Centre, Room 3018) on Thursday, July 17, 2014 from 10 AM to 12 PM. Tell us about what it was like growing up, your first love, hardships you've had to endure, a struggle you're dealing with right now, your first experience with Pride, etc. These narratives will be recorded digitally and deposited in Memorial University of Newfoundland's Folklore and Language Archive for further academic research. If it be your will that your story is not to be made public, that's completely fine: you will receive a recording and it will not go to MUNFLA.

AND...

I just posted the other day that Brianna Gosse finally got a record deal and has her debut album (launched this past weekend). She's going to be one of the performers at Pride on the Lake. So excited!

Whiskey Fire and DJ Worker will be there too.

And YUK YUK's is having a Pride comedy night that should be good. Gaahhh, not enough time.

[miketoronto]

A question about pride parades.

Do some of you guys think pride parades should get back more their roots as activist parades demanding human rights and making think about how lucky we are to live now, and not 30 years ago, when people took their safety into question even marching in a parade?

I can't help but think of what is going on in Uganda right now, or even here in Cleveland, where gay men are being targeted and beat up leaving gay clubs, etc. We have come a long way, but outside of Canada gays face significant discrimination in most parts of the world.
And yet you go to these parades, and it is nothing but singing and dancing, and I wonder if we need to start floats about what is going on in Uganda, and other places, and really ask how we can help people in other places.