Pride Goeth Before The Fall
With it’s insistence that the gay liaison to the Atlanta police remain as co-grand marshal of the massive gay pride march next week, The Pride Committee is telling the 62 guys who had their civil rights trampled on to drop dead.
Six weeks ago, the Atlanta police threw everybody in a gay bar called The Eagle–including sixty year old men–to the ground, handcuffing them face down on the floor (many were laying on broken glass), confiscating their IDs, and shouting homophobic slurs. After two hours, they finally let everyone go. Without a single arrest of the patrons.
Stonewall anyone?
So it came as quite a shock when the Atlanta Pride Committee named the city’s gay police liaison as co-grand marshal of the quarter million person+ parade (coming up this weekend). On the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, no less.
The Pride Committee had actually selected the officer before the unconstitutional police raid but announced it afterward. Indeed, the gay liaison, Dani Lee Harris, was an admirable choice BEFORE the raid. But after? Especially after Harris was booed when she defended the police raid at a city hall rally?
It’s like asking Chris Brown’s publicist to lead a march against domestic violence. Complete with parade organizers telling us to put a little makeup over the black and blues and man up.
Shut Up, Rihanna. It Wasn’t That Bad. With it’s insistence that Harris remain as co-grand marshal, The Pride Committee is in effect, telling the 62 guys who had their civil rights trampled on to quit bitching. I’m sure Dani Lee Harris, the gay liaison, is a wonderful woman. I’m sure that she’s opened up lines of communication between the police and the gay community (though police brass have and still keep her pointedly in the dark about the raid), BUT SO WHAT?
She still represents the organization that harassed and persecuted us. She still represents a force that shows no signs of contrition or changing their policies to make sure it never happens again.
Whose side are you on, Pride Committee?
The Pride Committee stubbornly insists they’re doing the right thing–that they’re honoring the individual and the work that she’s done within the police department. Never mind that she’s the official representative of an organization that allowed its officers to trample on our constitutional rights, and yell , “I hate fags” and “You people make me sick” while they were doing it.
I’m all for patching up the relationship with the cops but shouldn’t there be a resolution before that happens? Last time I checked, the dictionary didn’t put “Reconciliation” before “Apology.” There is an ongoing internal police investigation, a criminal lawsuit and a civil rights lawsuit over the raid. Shouldn’t Pride have the decency to wait out the results before they put the Atlanta Police on a float to wave at us?
How could they do this to the 62 innocent men in that bar?
Pride To Victims: Drop Dead. The message is clear: The gay liaison to the Atlanta Police is more important than the civil rights of the 62 victimized men. And by extension, the entire gay community. Because what happened to those men could have happened to any of us.
If the committee had any sense of obligation to the people it should be advocating for–us–, it would do the following:
- Replace the gay liaison with somebody more appropriate.
- or at the very least…ask her not to appear wearing her uniform (something the Committee refuses to do)
- Contribute to the legal defense fund of the ongoing civil rights lawsuit against the city and its police force.
But of course, none of that will happen. They’ll say it’s too late–the march is only a few days away. Well, you know what? It’s never too late to do the right thing.
What Really Happened the Night of the Raid.
Don’t be a douche, Mike. You’re better than that. The committee is honoring Harris, not the APD. She struggles for gay acceptance there every day, and has been one of the few voices within the department to advocate for us against what happened at the Eagle. This is the time to support Officer Harris, not throw HER under the bus.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:40 pmSpeaking as one of the 62 victims in the Atlanta Eagle raid, this is an outrage. For many reasons. I still do not understand why ,if officer Harris is the liaison for the gay community, she wasn’t alerted about the raid and there for the raid itself. Part of me thinks they did that on purpose, and part of me wonders if there was even a liaison before the raid. It is a slap in the face. And an even bigger slap in the face has been the way a large part of the Atlanta gay community has been acting. It is about equality, not your own personal agenda. Too much bickering, too much nonsense. We all need to ban together and fight the good fight, no pick each other apart and act like children. I 100% believe that this is a huge slap in the face. The fact that people don’t understand why someone might be pissed about this is crazy. I hail from the California bay area, grew up right outside of San Fransisco. This is ridiculous. I bet that more people would ban together for this cause if it were Blake’s or Burkhart’s that were raided. There is such a huge double standard. That’s one of the reasons why me and my friends frequent the Eagle, we aren’t treated differently because we are not part of the in crowd of aberzombies. I am very disappointed with the Atlanta Gay Community and Atlanta Pride.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:11 amThanks for writing in. as far as i’m concerned you were victimized twice– once by the police and then again by Pride.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:28 amI too thought it strange that the Pride committee is honoring a prominent member of the APD so soon after the raid. It sends the wrong message. We’re not going to see changes by coddling up to the APD, even to their gay liaison. Even if that were possible, we shouldn’t do it out of self-respect.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:59 amIf Dani Lee Harris were to publicly condemn the raid, it would be one thing. But the public response from Ms. Harris is “I wasn’t informed.” That’s just not enough for someone being honored with the Pride title.
And when the APD brought a dozen gay officers to the forum at the Virginia Highlands Church, it very much appeared to be a “some of my best friends are…” situation.
October 27th, 2009 at 12:16 pmMr Mike, There was a time i though you were hot, There was a time I though you were smart, there was a time I though you THOUGH things through. Times change, Clearly your need to get action, clicks and activity on your website has clouded your super intelligent brain. You cant seem to seperate the actions of some rouge cops from the honor due to a member of our community who has shown great courage and self sacrifice, in making the LGBT voice viable in our community.
Where the police wrong in how the conducted the raid, HELL YES, have there been repercusions of that and are things been changing as a result HELL YEAH, Was there SEX in the back room.. DUH….is that and should that be against the law and stopped,, DOUBLE DUH.. and its not harmless just like the prostitutes on Ponce and hustlers on Cresent . Being gay is more than public sex.. atleast we hope it is..
Does the world need you to publish a pic from some ARCHIVE and MAKE BELIEVE ITS A PIC FROM THE EAGLE RAID.. DAMN HELL NO.. this yellow journalism at its best.. REMEMBER THE MAINE, … PLYMOUTH ROCK and the GOLDEN RULE..
But then again this is the same Mike Alvear that thought it was cute, or funny or somehow justified to wear a Pepsi shirt on the PRIDE STAGE when you were invited to speak several years ago …, to do just what you are trying to do now Being RUDE to good people for your own cheap self promotion.. I think the first comments had it right. DONT BE A DOUCHE MIKE
October 27th, 2009 at 12:41 pmI commend Mike for jumping into an issue that has many people fleeing for the hills. What is the history of Pride about if not celebration of the most historical stand against bigotry, harassment, and brutality, during a police raid of a gay bar.
What happened at the Eagle is only a small reminder of how narrow-minded many police officers are, and how ill-handled most minority issues are with those type of officers. To have an APD uniform marching directly in front of the Eagle float is a slap in the face to Eagle staff and patrons, and they’ve expressed it as such- ask them.
Officer Harris has been an enormous positive influence in the Atlanta community through her position as the APD LGBT Liaison. But given the recent actions of the APD in regard to the raid, of which she was erroneously left out, many in the community are asking to celebrate Officer Harris as an individual; an individual in civilian clothing. If Officer Harris marches in APD uniform, she will be representing the APD as a whole, not just herself as a celebrated community member.
And thus far, the Pride Committee has refused to address this issue with the guys from Eagle. Attempts by them to reach Pride have gone unanswered.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:50 pmAs a patron of the eagle and a patron of pride, this is an extreme slap in the face. While I do respect Officer Harris for being an out lesbian and transgendered, her actions since the raid have been misguided and dodgy at best. If we are celebrating her at pride because she as a LGBT person working in a highly homophobic industry than that’s fine, but celebrating her because of her position is ludicrous. I propose that during the parade anyone who is at odds with pride not chosing to change their position, turn their backs when her part of the parade is in front of them, not boo, not catcall, but ignore. I’ve seen this done many times in parades when a particular group had a float or marched and was at odds with the community.
October 27th, 2009 at 5:21 pmAtlanta Eagle Co-Owner Robby Kelley has written a letter to the Atlanta Pride Committee… Here it is:
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To the Atlanta Pride Committee:
As a person who was held on the floor of the Atlanta Eagle, I would like to request that Officer Harris walk in the Pride Parade in her street clothes and not her Atlanta Police uniform. After coming out and saying that APD did nothing wrong, I feel this would be an injustice to our community. As a person taken to jail I find this offensive. Most of you do not know the true horror that we went through that night and that uniform represents all of it.
To see gay men kicked, hit, and searched with no reason is wrong, and to be made to lay face-down in the floor, and have the officers hi-five each other like it’s a party is wrong. To have them say “this was fun we should do this to a fag bar every week” is wrong. And having Officer Harris in her uniform saying that it’s OK is wrong.
If Officer Harris chooses not to be there in her street clothes, so be it, but that will be something she chooses to do. After being released from jail she was one of the first persons we a saw. She apologized for their actions and then got up and told everyone it was OK. Please.
Robby
October 27th, 2009 at 7:05 pmI will say, i agree it’s pretty harsh to ask her to go without uniform, but i ALSO agree that she did not stick up for the gay community as much as other officers in other cities i have lived in. I was shocked that her comments seemed unspirited in tone, and at times seemed to side with the police, whom she herself is trying to police. Someone in her position cannot be afraid to have “frenemies” on the force. without knowing all the facts, or previous efforts — i hope we are celebrating her efforts previous to this one.
October 27th, 2009 at 7:15 pmI find it absurd how the issue keeps becoming clouded for some readers. Let’s focus on the facts. The APD went into a gay bar, mishandle the patrons and use epithets while performing their professional duty to serve and protect.
We are paying taxes to brutes to mistreat us!? When that uniform is placed on, a person’s beliefs should fade to the back ground. This was not the case the night of the raid. Regardless of what was occurring, the situation was mishandled.
Therefore, I whole-heartedly agree that the officer should not wear her uniform. As far as her statement, she has to live with her actions and statements, uphold her professional duty and face our community everday she chooses to reside in Atlanta.
I say, “Shame on APD” and “Pride committee, do not loose sight of the fight because it is not over”!
October 31st, 2009 at 7:15 amI agree with Mike’s point. The PRIDE committee seems to have forgotten the history of the very parade they represent. It would have been more powerful to have the patrons who were harassed as co-grand marshals.
Unfortunately the point of PRIDE seems lost on so many people. Many of my friends sneer and joke about PRIDE, all while being ‘out’ and open about their sexuality. Never realizing that if it weren’t for the protests, they wouldn’t enjoy freedom to be openly gay and accepted.
An opportunity was lost by not at least requiring Dani Lee Harris to wear street clothes. It would have been better to remove her as a co-grand marshall. Instead the PRIDE committee seemed more interested in making nice, keeping sponsors happy, and not continue fighting the battle started by more focused and committed gay people 40 years ago.
November 4th, 2009 at 6:40 pmI think the real travesty here is having the Eagle owners as honorary marshals of the parade? What have they done other than act as though they were victims in this botched raid?
Don’t get me wrong, the APD should be held accountable for the detestable manner in which they treated patrons at the bar. And I cant fathom how the APD felt the alleged activity at the Eagle was a higher priority for the City than the muggings, break-ins, and violent crime in Atlanta.
My only gripe is that the Eagle knew activity on Thursday nights was illegal (open sex with crowds watching or participating). They not only knew about it, they condoned it. Of course the cops are going to catch wind of it eventually and scope it out – which they did over time. Now the Eagle owners are playing the poor pitiful victimized me card. And supposedly acting only in the best interests of their patrons who got roughed up. Well, you know what? They knew the risks of allowing and even encouraging that activity. They put their patrons at risk – knowingly. So for them to act victimized at this point is a total farce. However, it certainly doesn’t hurt to get all this publicity now does it?
My disgust is that the Pride Committee chose the co-owners of the Eagle to be honorary marshals. I thought marshals of parades were people known to have done good in the community and those who provide substantive service for the community. I guess I was wrong.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:25 pm“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
November 17th, 2009 at 1:24 pmThen they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
Hello my name is Patrick, and i just came to ur nice city from San Antonio, Texas to help my best friend move here! I’m sorry 2 read about ur mishap with men in blue and ur club! I leave back 2 Tx on Dec.3rd a short stay but am looking forward 2 visiting this establishment and seeing what this fuss was about?!? I really do HOPE you were all able to make truths with one another! And that ur PRIDE PARADE was great!!! It’s a full life circle out there for all of us wrong or right and we all have been on both sides of the fence. We can’t live without one another and we know that. I do pray that 4 those who were there at the club( customers, gay-friendly customers, employees, and owners) keep your heads held HIGH!! Keep the gay love alive!!! And please DON’T become haters like the men in blue your better than that trust me I HAVE BEEN THERE 2!!! GOOD LUCK 2 YOU ALL!!!!
December 1st, 2009 at 1:08 pm