With love, Mom

Wow. Well, folks, we have a long way to go, always. It's amazing how many people feel like a picture of a topless transsexual actually ruins American families. My mom sent this to me prior to the Chicago Pride Parade "With love," but it seems much more like fear. Fear of this kind of celebration of diversity, fear of her daughter's surroundings and lifestyle, and with hope that I would fall prey to that fear and end up not going to the parade. As if!


FW: Chicago Gay Pride Parade 2008Thursday, June 26, 2008 4:23 PM
From: "Linda M Mitchell"
To: "Aviva Jaye Mitchell"
Dear Aviva,

How are you? I hope and pray that you are not participating in this event on Sunday. If you are, I don’t want to know.

With love,
Mom

------ Forwarded Message
From: IFI E-Alert
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:57:57 -0500
To: Linda Mitchell
Conversation: Chicago Gay Pride Parade 2008
Subject: Chicago Gay Pride Parade 2008


Call To Action




Chicago Gay Pride Parade 2008
by Arlene Sawicki -Illinois Family Institute


Photo courtesy of:
Americans for Truth About Homosexuality


Both the above pictures are of transgendered men.
The City of Chicago Events schedule lists hundreds of parades, festivals, conventions, visual arts shows, concerts, and performances open to the public throughout the year.

Chicago parades include the famous St. Patrick's Day Parade in March, where the Chicago River is tinted green in honor of the Irish. The Polish American Constitution Day Parade, held May 1st, celebrates the first European democratic Constitution established in Poland in 1791. The Columbus Day Parade, held in Autumn, is another ethnic celebration featuring the contributions of Italian Americans. The Von Steuben Day Parade, held in September, is the German American event of the year. Thousands of Chicagoans participate in these parades and support the causes they represent.

However, never within the celebration of these events would you find the flagrant and offensive violations of the Public Morals Laws of conduct as you do in what has become known as the annual Chicago Gay Pride Parade , held this year on Sunday, June 29th, 12:00 p.m.

Chapter 8-8 of the Chicago Public Morals Laws is quite clear in defining "Indecent acts and words" 8-8-070, "Indecent exposure or dress" 8-8-080, "Street solicitation for prostitution" 8-8-060. Year after year these laws are conveniently overlooked by the Chicago Police Department, who are present in great numbers and hired to keep order during the parade.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to ask Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine to enforce decency laws during Chicago's Gay Pride Parade this Sunday.

Curiously, the parade organizers offer "Tips for Spectators" on their website, but they never offer tips for the participants who, in past years, have publicly exhibited themselves in the nude or semi-nude, performed lewd, simulated sex acts, made obscene gestures, uttered lewd or filthy words, and made street solicitations for prostitution - all violations of the existing "Public Morals" law.

The Grand Marshall of the parade is Eric Alva, openly gay ex-Marine and activist, who is best known for coming out in 2007 and joining Congressman Martin Meehan in introducing the "Military Readiness Enhancement Act," a bill designed to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Among the featured cars , floats, and walkers this year will be: the Mayor's Advisory Council, Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine, Obama for America Campaign, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, Illinois State Senator Sara Feigenholtz, U.S. Congresswoman Jan Shakowsky, Illinois State Representative Julie Hamos, Illinois State Senator John Cullerton, Illinois State Representative John Fritchey, Illinois State Representative Jeff Schoenberg, Lesbian/Gay Police, Lambda Legal, ACLU, Illinois Department of Human Rights, American Veterans, etc. -- all of whom should be acquainted with the Chicago Public Morals law, but who obviously will not move to see that it is strictly enforced for these special citizens.

I believe those in public office, who have sworn to uphold all of the laws of our cities, state, and nation should be held accountable for their dereliction in duty to hold participants in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade to the same standard of public decency as participants in the various other public events in the city of Chicago.



Arlene Sawicki is a long-time pro-life and pro-family advocate, defending and promoting traditional values. She served on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women as Chairperson for Family Concerns, Morality in Media and Legislation.


This is a tame, mild indirect but disrespectful form of fear and intolerance, and these little (and big) actions happen all over every day, even from mother to daughter. Organizations such as Illinois Family Institute and Americans for Truth work around the clock collecting any kind of information that fuels this fear and nurses the ideas, notions and hopes of people like my mom, not realizing with each encouraged fear or point of discrimination, families are being broken down and torn apart, not upheld and preserved. These "family" organizations have a set of views and standards in their best interest, not American families, and any family that does not fit into that mold is, in their eyes, not fit to be a family, and is in fact deemed a threat to the American family. In addition to single-parent families, families of divorce, teen mothers, even immigrant families, the LGBT community is on the forefront of their attack, and has been for years. It's quite...ironic how much they like to know about the LGBT community and the events and news and updates, spending hours everyday acquiring information, reading about it, only to despise it and treat it like leprosy. But that's a whole other matter. At the end of the day this statement, this email - How are you? I hope and pray that you are not participating in this event on Sunday. If you are, I don’t want to know. With love, Mom - shows that families and parents are scared to know their sons and daughters and still wishing and pushing for them to be something else. As long as we refuse to communicate with one another, we still have a long, long way to go.


"...They would have me silenced now, so I'll sing it loud and strong. I did not do this to them; they did not do this to me. It is the way it should be."