Yesterday, my wife and I went to the Twin Cities Pride

[MineralMan]

parade. Only a couple of presidential primary candidates had a presence there. Mayor Pete's supporters were passing out business card-like campaign literature along the parade route, and Amy Klobuchar had an entry in the parade, although she wasn't there. Amy's husband, Joe, was part of that parade group, with someone holding up a big sign with an arrow on it. The arrow pointed toward Joe, and the sign said:

THIS IS JOE. HE'S AMY'S HUSBAND! That sign got lots of laughter from the spectators, and Joe was shaking hands with spectators on both sides of the street. Oddly enough, there was a guy walking behind the spectators where I was standing. About every 50 feet or so, he'd yell out, "Amy Klobuchar is an asshole!" A parade security guy was walking closely behind him, just in case he tried to act out. Spectators looked at him, but just laughed at the man.

There were other political parade groups, with our other Senator, Tina Smith, marching (and dancing) on the route, along with the mayors of both Minneapolis and St. Paul. My district's House Representative, Betty McCollum, was also in the parade, with a group of her associates. Everyone was smiling and happy to be there.

It was a great event. I've never seen a crowd as friendly and smiling at such an event. Everyone was having a good time and I got into several great conversations with people I didn't know during slow periods in the parade. It was also a wonderful people-watching event, as always.

I got a big hug from a woman with a T-shirt that said, "FREE MOM HUGS!" I congratulated a couple of middle-aged guys with "We just got married!" T-shirts. That was the kind of day it was.

Twin Cities Light Rail trains were jammed full of spectators going to and coming to the parade, as well. For the day, rides were free, so we took the Green Line from Union Station to the closest stop to the parade. We don't use Metro Transit all that much, but it was the perfect transportation for this event.

[mtnsnake]

1. What better way to take your mind off of the negative aspects of politics than something like this

which is as positive as it gets. People-watching events like that are not only serious fun but are good for the soul.

[MineralMan]

2. That's true, too.

Of course, the reason to go is to show support for the LGBTQ community, but the positive energy of the crowd there is infectious. You can't help but feel better from it.

We have friends and relatives in that community, but we'd go even if we didn't. Celebrating diversity and acceptance is always a good idea!

[sacto95834]

3. Glad you had a wonderful time MM.

And thank you and your wife for attending and enjoying yourself.

The LGBT movement has come a long way. I didn't think I would live long enough to see marriage equality for gays and lesbians. I was so happy to be wrong. I knew one day it would get here as the younger generations embraced who they were and it mattered not who their friends were. The world has changed, but one day there could be a backlash. Good to have friends like you to celebrate with us now and hopefully stand with us when times get tough.

[MineralMan]

4. Thanks so much!

There are still forces working to stop the celebration. Everyone has to keep watch and do whatever is necessary to prevent them from doing that. I was, however, very happy to see everyone yesterday in a celebratory mood. Well, except for the asshole who was yelling at Amy Klobuchar's husband. I was glad to see him just get laughed at. But, I was also glad to see that security guy shadowing him.

As an obviously straight spectator, it seemed to me that everyone I interacted with was truly a nice person. I talked to a lot of people and never felt like I was an outsider. That has not always been the case, but it was yesterday.

I hope that feeling continues and grows. I'll do what I can to help that happen. Like you, I am pleasantly a little surprised at the progress that has been made toward general acceptance of people who do not or cannot follow typical societal norms. It was a great crowd in St. Paul yesterday. Warm and full of friendly feelings. Just as it should be.

I'm always on the side of acceptance and celebration of people's differences. I always will be.

[mcar]

5. I'm going to our Pride event on Saturday

Florida so it's inside. Red county, but it had 400 attendees last year.

[MineralMan]

6. Excellent!