("Gay rights are human rights" -Hilary Clinton)A visit to DC is always written in my books whenever I can manage it because it's where my best friend from high school days, Christine lives. It's hard to believe that we're already out of college and fighting it in the real world!
This trip was especially exciting because we were going to see Mumford & Sons LIVE! AHHH! I've been following this group for a while now. LOVED their performance at the Grammy's (along with the Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan):
Gotta say that this concert was nothing short of incredible. The musicians were jumping from one instrument to another, their harmonies were tight and they didn't miss a beat! They themselves mentioned that this was the biggest gig they had played (obviously they didn't count the Grammy performance...a nation wide publicly televised performance?). They were pros and did a good job balancing between songs we all have grown to love and new songs they were trying out on us. Their music tends to get a bit repetitive and predictable, but the concert as a whole was well rounded and entertaining.
(Why, hello! Mr. Mumford!)The rest of the weekend was spent trying to stay as cool as possible (the heat wave was reaching 90s-100 * F!). It was gay pride weekend in DC, therefore, the party was hoppin' and the city buzzing with excitement!
(Christine, Sean, Imanta)Now, I hate to get all sappy on you, I try to keep this blog light and joyful, but there are some things that just hit you hard. A few years ago I attended a walk to support gay rights in Latvia. At that time (and still today), the country had very little support or acceptance of LGBT people. A general stand on the topic is that being homosexual is a disease and that this is not something people want to accept in society. The walk was enclosed, on the other side of the fences was the opposition yelling hateful words to us participating. It's so unfortunate that a country can be so close minded to letting people love each other. This is a struggle that the people of Latvia will one day hopefully overcome and move forward with their beliefs to allow all citizens to feel safe and free to express their sexual orientation.
That being said, this was my first gay pride experience in the USA and boy, was it a different from the one in Latvia! A quiet, somber moment to hesitantly show support for this group in Latvia is countered with hooting, hollering, music, joy and pure happiness in D.C! Flags, rainbows, drag queens everywhere you looked. It was a party! There was one moment in particular, where parents and loved ones of LGBT people were marching with signs that showed their support. I was almost brought to tears thinking about how wonderful it is to be able to live in a place where people can feel free to express themselves and this is one right I will always cherish and defend as a US citizen. But, I was so hurt that in Latvia a day like this is still far away in the future.
That being said, this was my first gay pride experience in the USA and boy, was it a different from the one in Latvia! A quiet, somber moment to hesitantly show support for this group in Latvia is countered with hooting, hollering, music, joy and pure happiness in D.C! Flags, rainbows, drag queens everywhere you looked. It was a party! There was one moment in particular, where parents and loved ones of LGBT people were marching with signs that showed their support. I was almost brought to tears thinking about how wonderful it is to be able to live in a place where people can feel free to express themselves and this is one right I will always cherish and defend as a US citizen. But, I was so hurt that in Latvia a day like this is still far away in the future.
So there you have it folks! A few weekend trips summed up in a few posts. Next week I'm off to Latvian summer camp in the Catskills to sing and play with little kiddies and keep the Latvian juices flowing! Can't seem to get away from the kid jobs.. Cheers!
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