TORONTO – On a beautifully cloudless day in downtown Toronto, millions of gays, LGBTQ supporters, and people of all walks gathered to remember a time when homosexuals couldn’t get gouged for a bottle of water while simultaneously risking severe heatstroke.
“It really drives home how far we’ve come,” said LGBTQ activist Greg Finney, 56. “Back when I was a young man, I would never have dreamt of a day when I could express my true self while standing in line for 35 minutes just to purchase a slice of stale, plain cheese Pizza Pizza.”
Finney, like millions of other World Pride attendees, came ready to dance and celebrate, though most were packed too deep in the massive crowds to manage more than a weak arrhythmic shuffle. Still, all in attendance remained determined to celebrate, in remembrance of a time when gays weren’t deemed worthy of massive price fixing and forced discomfort.
Rev. Brent Hawkes, Senior Pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto and World Pride Parade Grand Marshall, remained enthusiastic and sweaty through the day.
“Seeing this many people come together, despite their different backgrounds, truly warms my heart. Also, do you have any sunscreen I can borrow? No? Are you sure you don’t have any sunscreen I can borrow,” said Hawkes, before doing his best to be shot by passerby’s water guns.
At press time, Hawkes was leading the crowd in an exuberant yet defiant chant of, “We’re here! We’re queer! Do I have to buy something to use the bathroom?”
