Marching Against Hate

One week after anarchy reigned on Toronto streets, almost a million people peacefully marched and watched in support of the city's diversity.

I had never been to a gay pride parade before -- my exposure had been limited to stories and pictures in the newspaper, and the odd news report.  I had certain expectations as to what would take place, as I marched along with the Jewish LGBT community organization, Kulanu, in Toronto's gay pride parade on Sunday, July 4.

I had expected there to be a lot of people along the parade route, and there were -- the numbers were staggering.  We marched for more than an   hour through streets which had people on either side as many as 10 deep, with others looking out from windows on either side, balconies, the tops of roofs -- any vantage point available.

I had expected it to be spectacle - and it was.  Everything from totally nude men, to half clad women, to men and women dressed up in every conceivable fashion.  But it was not so much outlandish as it was simply fun.  It was a celebration of diversity- more than skin color or race or religion.  It was about sexual orientation, way of  life, and even way of thinking.  But in the extreme diversity there was also an accepting of whatever was, at least for that afternoon.

I had expected there to be a lot of police for security purposes.  There were some, but they were not really needed.  Everyone behaved. I noticed a lot of people, at least in our group, thanking the police for their hard work last weekend.

I had expected to see a few politicians and I did.  We were joined at the outset by Bob Rae and Carolyn Bennett.  Rocco Rossi had a group of marchers and a float ahead of us and he was quite comfortable meandering around in our group as well.  I also heard that George Smitherman was in attendance with us, but did not see him.

I had expected about 300 Kulanu marchers - the core several hundred from Kulanu, plus perhaps another 100 supporters from the general community.  But there were as many as 1000, although it was hard to tell because we were quite spread out along the parade route.  I had expected most of us to simply walk along and smile -- but there was much dancing, laughing, singing, plus a very hard working DJ who kept the energy up for much of the parade route.

I had expected to see a lot of Israeli flags -- and I did, along with rainbow flags and many Canadian flags in our group.  I expected some well worded  signs and saw many in our group -- signs which were mostly positive about the Israeli treatment of gays, plus a few which were   negative on Islam’s treatment of gays.  The intent had been to stay totally positive but there were a few who could not resist telling the truth!  I noticed that those with the informative signs were constantly being asked to allow their signs to be photographed.  People were interested and noticed.

I had expected to see many more people than we had in our group marching against Israel with “Israeli Apartheid” signs and banners attempting to extend the reach of the Big Lie.  And yes, these folks did show up and despite their having signed the declaration committed to avoid discrimination etc., they marched with many signs (which had been professionally done ) referencing Israel as an apartheid state for a series of nonsensical reasons.  But while I had expected this group to be enormous, it was less than half our size, and included in it were the typical police-hating rabble who join these groups because they love to hate.  They were joined by a half dozen from a couple of allegedly Jewish organizations like "Not In My Name".  A sad looking group they were.  I felt sorry for them; they looked like no one would have asked them on a date in high school.

But something took place I totally did not expect and this is what was  the most important piece of learning that I took from my first gay pride parade.  This was truly a celebration of diversity.  It was joyful, it was open, it was happy, (it was also hot), it was fun and  it was interesting.

I took care to  look out at the crowd while walking- and I did so because I needed to see the reactions of the spectators -- normal Canadians, some gay, but more often straight. From all walks of life, all races, all religions -- the mosaic that is Canada.  I had expected -- and was worried -- that I was going to see looks of disapproval, anger and hear racial slurs. I was prepared for it.  BUT I can honestly say that, as I looked at the thousands of people we passed by, I saw not ONE look of disapproval.  I heard not ONE racial slur.  I saw NO anti-Israel or anti-Semitic signs.

Our group was happy; dancing, excited and pleased to be there. Some spectators looked blank -- confused I guess. Who is Kulanu anyway? And why are there all these Israeli flags around?   What does Israel have to do with this? And some spectators who had a sense of why we were all there smiled and showed approval.  But many -- too many to count -- were outwardly cheering, clapping for us as we walked by; these were the people who seemed to understand the issue and they let us know through their eyes, their nods, their cheers and their smiles that they were with us.  I saw it over and over again.  And given that I had expected the  opposite, it was more than a surprise- I was pleasantly astonished.

And when I found the anti-Israel group later on, I also watched the faces of the crowd as they walked by with their hateful signs and unhappy-looking faces. And what I saw in the faces of those spectators were simply blank stares.  They were polite -- I heard nothing negative from them -- but there were few smiles, no clapping, little approval.

A week ago anarchy reigned on Toronto streets.  Black clad criminals made a point of denigrating everything they could, and destroying what was available.  A week later, with limited police supervision, almost a million people marched and watched happily and enjoyed the diversity of this city, this country, this world.  And, other than a small group of unhappy looking people who loved to hate, the best of humanity came out of the closet and was on display.

I hope to be out again next year....it was fun, interesting, and positive.  And, as compared with almost any other march, there could not be better PR for Israel.  Next year, we should have 2000 people marching, with clever but positive signs, with lots of music, dancing, and with pictures of the gay parade in Tel Aviv to share with the mostly positive, mostly rational LGBT community of Toronto.  Maybe we'll  hand out invitations to the gay parade in Tel Aviv. Above all, let us share the truth of what Israel is -- for gays, for straights, for all -- as we did this year.