Jared the Paramedic III Chapter 47
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Jared the Paramedic III ~ Redemption
Copyright © 2018-2019 Snowblind. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 47: Pride
THIS STORY IS COPYRIGHT © 2018-2019 BY SNOWBLIND. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISTRIBUTION FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, POSTING ON SITES OR NEWSGROUPS, DISTRIBUTION AS PARTS OR IN BOOK FORM (EITHER AS A WHOLE OR PART OF A COMPILATION) WITH OR WITHOUT A FEE, OR DISTRIBUTION ON CD, DVD, OR ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA WITH OR WITHOUT A FEE, IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S WRITTEN CONSENT. YOU MAY DOWNLOAD ONE (1) COPY OF THIS STORY FOR PERSONAL USE; ANY AND ALL COMMERCIAL USE EXCEPTING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS REQUIRES THE AUTHOR'S WRITTEN CONSENT. THE AUTHOR MAY BE CONTACTED AT: snowblind94@yahoo.ca
The baseball games started on schedule and would be running all day with the final game at 7:00 pm. Groups had worked late into Friday evening to everything set up. The police had brought a car, truck, accident reconstructionist, boat, and mobile incident headquarters for display. The fire department brought a pumper, rescue, ladder truck along with a tanker and their mobile incident command truck. The ambulance service had brought their multiple casualty bus, advanced life support vehicle, basic life support and the helicopter.
The activities for everyone started at 10:00 am with face painting, bingo, and numerous games for people to try winning. The booths for the various agencies were all manned by 11:00. The open centre area had numerous picnic tables in front of the stage which had a magician for the kids doing a performance. The first speaker was due at noon, speaking on the crisis for LGBTQ2 youth.
By noon, the sports grounds were full of people. There were LGBTQ2, straight, families, elderly and young people all mixing together. When the indigenous drumming started at 12:30, the line up to learn was longer than the drummers had ever imagined of those wanting to try it out. The dancing at 1:30 pm with the drums was a success as well.
The Pride Parade was well attended but there were no marching bands like last year as uniforms had been prohibited from being worn. Easily fixed, a few vehicles in the parade had music playing from them in between the floats which had people dancing to club music. The Mayor had walked in the parade as did two of the three provincial political parties along with a few reeves, council members and municipality members from the area. It appeared the vast majority of the LGBTQ2 community didn't care or miss the uniformed members of the community or the religious leaders. At the very least, no one was voicing an opinion on the subject. The business and political supporters had their own agenda with the celebration, refusing to comment on the banning.
There was, however, a group waiting for the right opportunity to make their move. They were gathered on both sides of the street at what would be considered the one-third mark of the route, anticipating the word to move. The lead part of the parade had passed already so they allowed the first 20 minutes of the parade to proceed. There was a sign from God given to them as a sign to start their protest. The sign from God was a break in between groups due to engine troubles on one of the floats. It only took a moment before the group had formed a line across the road, quickly donning their choir robes and raising signs of protest. Additional people joined them from parked cars on side streets adjacent to the parade route. The parade came to a complete stop.
"This is 911, state the nature of your emergency."
"My name is Phil Danube and I'm the chairman of the Pride Parade Society. There is a group of people blocking the parade from moving forward."
"Has anyone been hurt or threatened?" asked the dispatcher.
"No, not yet."
The dispatcher took the details down from Phil and they dispatched the complaint to a police car in the general area. Staff Sergeant Samuel, or "Sammy" as he is known to the members of his department, is a big man at 6'8". His nickname is 'Hightower' from the Police Academy Movies due to his size and demeanour, and that he looked exactly like Bubba Smith didn't hurt. He had played football in high school and university but turned down pro ball to become a policeman. Twenty years ago, he was the first black policeman on the force to receive a medal for risking his life by going into a burning building to save two children. As he pulled up to the parade, he could see what appeared to be a double line of church choir members sitting on the street, blocking it. Other church members were standing defiantly in the middle with their arms crossed. Sammy could also see a few people who were probably from the parade trying to talk with the protesters. The protesters also had a banner being held above everyone's head, "Live the best life God gave you".
Sammy walked over to the group, "What's happening here, people?"
"I'm Phil, the Chairman of the parade. Arrest these people for obstructing the parade."
One of the robed people said, "I'm Brian, and we have some demands for Pride before we move."
Phil was upset, "You can't stop a parade and give demands to it. We are a lawful group; we even have a permit. Arrest them all."
"It seems to be the thing everyone is doing everywhere else, stopping the pride parade," added Brian.
"Have you looked at the demands?" asked Sammy.
"I will not be held to extortion for demands," replied Phil with indignity.
Sammy extended his hand and asked the gentleman, "May I read them?"
"Of course you may Staff Sergeant," the man replied as he handed it to him.
Demands:
- Plan the parade route away from residential areas as much as reasonably possible to not disturb them.
- No jock straps, assless clothing, underwear, speedos, etc allowed in the parade. At least board shorts style must be worn.
- Gay people of all faiths be allowed to participate in the parade, well-funded spaces specifically designed for people of faith be included in the festival.
- The society must restructure its board and staff hiring practices to have more representation from LGBTQ2 people of all faiths and ancestries.
- The Pride committee will spend significantly more time completing presentations, lectures, speeches and classes on the origin of Gay Rights and what must be done in the future to ensure acceptance and equality are achieved.
- Immediately lift the banning of uniforms and gay community members who are police, military, corrections officers, peace officers, paramedics, firefighters. These are the people who will build the bridges between the LGBTQ2 community and those agencies.
- Publicly apologize for the exclusion of LGBTQ2 people of faith, police, military, paramedics, firefighters, etc.
- Establish a committee to investigate the actual concerns of the LGBTQ2 with the enforcement agencies, military, etc and consult with all the groups to formulate possible solutions to improve relations while reducing perceptions.
- Make the celebration wheelchair and mobility challenged friendly.
Sammy finished reading the demands, thought for a moment before asking, "May I keep this copy?"
The gentleman smiled and replied, "Of course you may, Sir."
"Will there be any violence?"
"No sir, of course not," the man assured Sammy.
"When will you leave?"
"When the demands are met. Until then, we are going to sit on the street like we are. Actually, Staff Sergeant, there are more coming to join us."
"Will they be well-behaved?"
"Absolutely."
Phil was getting upset with the discussion. "I demand these people be removed from this parade route immediately. They are blocking our right to celebrate."
Sammy thought for a moment, "I'll have to contact my supervisor but I don't think it's going to happen. There have already been Pride parades across Canada blocked by groups making demands. Not one of them has been forcibly removed or criminal charges laid. The Pride Committee has accepted each group's demands without hesitation."
"But we have a right to celebrate Pride today, and on these streets."
"Yes, you do," Sammy agreed before turning and walking towards his police car. After explaining the problem to his supervisor, a series of calls were made going up further into the chain of command to get an answer. While Sammy sat and waited he watched the people on the road. More protesters had come to the blockade. They had also brought bottles of cold water which they passed out to anyone needing one, even the parade participants. He watched Phil yelling and screaming into his phone, pacing back and forth, not happy with the developments. Approximately 30 minutes later Sammy got a phone call telling him what he had done was absolutely correct. He was instructed to review the situation with both sides, ask them for cooperation and then tell them that this is not a police matter. Sammy smiled as he hung up the phone. He walked over to the group, waiting a couple of moments for a red-faced Phil to get off the phone. He diplomatically reviewed the situation, reaffirmed the group's commitment to being peaceful, and that it wasn't a police matter.
"When are you going to arrest them?" demanded Phil.
"Senior leadership of the Police Department has instructed me in regards to this matter. You should consider discussing the matter with the protesters, working towards a resolution which works for both of your groups," Sammy explained carefully. "This is what was done at all the Pride parades where groups have been blocking the legal parade. All of the other Pride parades have also accepted all the demands that were made of the community by the protesters."
Phil exploded, "What the fuck are you talking about? Those were justified protests. This is bullshit. Arrest them all... do your fucking job."
The former football player looked down at Phil, "Sir, if you continue to swear like that in front of women and children you will go to jail for causing a disturbance under the Criminal Code of Canada. Clean up that potty mouth immediately."
"It's my right to swear..."
Sammy took his handcuffs out. "Sir, under the Constitution of Canada, it is your right to be obnoxious, distasteful, ignorant, wrong, and even act like a male phallus; but there are limits and causing a disturbance by swearing is one of them. Your choice, here and now, is to stop swearing or I'll arrest you."
Before Phil could say anything, Ted pulled him away to the side. Another person stepped in to continue the discussion. Sammy spoke to the new person, "As I told Phil, to stop a legal parade is a criminal matter, but protesting is a lawful process as well. I'm just a front line officer who has been told that just like at all the other protests which have stopped the parades, we will not be getting involved unless there is a more serious offence such as assault. This is a matter for the Pride Committee to discuss with the protesters to reach some sort of agreement. This is the precedent which has been set at every other parade in Canada; no police involvement in a peaceful process."
The Pride Parade representative was not happy when Sammy began to walk away from them. Sammy turned and said, "By the way, as we gay members of the police force were banned from this event to show our pride in being gay, I have to leave now or face possible charges." Sammy got into his police car, looked over at the blockade and hoped everything went well for both sides. The church group was sitting on the ground while people from the parade were walking around in circles and arguing with each other. Sammy returned to the office and downloaded his body cam for the on-duty Inspector. They both reviewed it before sending a copy of the interaction up the chain of command.
The parade had continued shortly after Phil and Ted had been pushed to the side by others from the committee. They signed an agreement accepting demands 1,3,4,5,8 and 9. Demands 2,6,7, would be discussed formally starting in one month in public meetings. Unlike protesters at other Pride parades across Canada, none of these protesters were professional protesters or agitators. This group was a diverse group of faiths, ancestries, genders and they were all actual members of the LGBTQ2 community. As the parade started up again, the protesters still wearing their robes, stood on each side of the road in silence. Rev Barb and Rev Lois smiled at each other while the parade passed by.
Jared was wandering around the sports ground in his paramedic uniform. On his hip was the medic radio as well as the radio being used by the event staff. The event was moving forward smoothly. The volunteers were wearing 'Gay and Proud' t-shirts or 'Supporter and Proud' t-shirts. All the men in uniform were wearing buttons with the same message printed on them.
Jared was standing along, his arms crossed, daydreaming as he watched the baseball game being played in the distance. He thought about going closer to watch it. Jared wondered if the brothers could form a team for slow pitch tournaments during the summer months... just as another family activity to share. He smirked briefly thinking they'd probably be the soberest team playing the circuit.
Jared's thoughts were interrupted by Caleb, his boyfriend Johnny, and Gayle. "Jared, it's been a long time since I've seen you!" Caleb exclaimed as he extended his hand in friendship.
Jared grasped it firmly, pulling him in for a hug. "Caleb, its been years. I've seen your name on the TV a lot as a cameraman on the news."
"How do you do it? You haven't changed since high school. You haven't aged at all."
"I try to live the best that I can, Caleb. But, you've changed buddy. Filled out nicely with the muscles, eh?"
"Love working out and I can listen to the books I used to read all the time while doing it."
"The best of both worlds then. Is the media circus what you expected?"
"Yeah, it's a pretty good job. I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriend Johnny, and this is the reporter I work with on a fairly regular basis, Gayle."
"That was a great piece you did last night interviewing Zane. Although it might be a suggestion to focus in on his face more, and not his shirtless chest," Jared replied with a smirk. He laughed as Gayle pointed to Caleb, who was pointing to Gayle as the person responsible.
Johnny sort of waved his hand towards Jared, "I sort of enjoyed the shot the way it was aimed." He then used his hand in an exaggerated movement to cool himself off. That got the other three laughing.
Finally, Gayle asked, "So how is this celebration going?"
"As well as can be expected."
"So you're happy with the turnout and attendance?"
"Is this on or off the record?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure yet."
"Thank you for being honest. The committee did a great job organizing the event at short notice."
"What about next year?"
Jared thought for a moment, "I just don't know. Everyone has a path in life to walk, and the path for the LGBTQ2 community has come to a crossroad. It's no different than any other crossroad people come upon as they move through life. But, it's a crossroad which will affect the community potentially for many years to come. I'm a man of faith, a healer, and I was a member of the gay community. The community has begun their journey down the path they chose, with us left behind. I pray they stop and think about the possibilities before they get to the point where they can't return without substantial damage being done."
"Was a community member?"
"What would you call being banned from a community event which is publicly funded with tax money?"
"I understand now. Jared, they stated you could walk in the parade without your uniforms, t-shirts, equipment floats, or cars. Nothing indicating police, military or religion, but you were welcome to walk as another person in a crowd."
"Yet the major banks have floats advertising who they are, businesses and organizations all doing the same to promote the image they are LGBTQ2 friendly and supportive, hopefully attracting new business as well. The vast majority of them are not LGBTQ2 owned businesses, just people seeing this as a potential cheap business promotion for them. They can wear whatever they want, put whatever they want on their floats, they just have to show up and make a donation. The politicians marching use it for potential voters, nothing more. Meanwhile, the LGBTQ2 community members themselves are banned by occupation."
"So you wouldn't give up your uniform to participate in the pride parade?"
"Gayle, perhaps the most fitting thing they could've done was to let us march in the parade with big pink stars on. It's done been before."
"Pink stars?"
"That's a piece of history Gayle," Caleb replied. "The Nazi's had several different coloured stars they applied to people who weren't Aryan or German. Homosexuals had pink stars, and were shipped or marched to the concentration camps."
Gayle was horrified, "I had no clue."
"The first step was to identify them for social isolation, ridicule, and even violence by applying the pink star," Caleb continued. "The pink colour itself was ridicule."
"Perhaps my reference was unsuitable," Jared added. "But, they have chosen anyone with a uniform to be labelled as a hater, oppressor, and a traitor to the community. The community is isolating us, accusatory towards us, and hate us. When I've saved peoples lives or put myself at risk to do my job, I've never been asked if I was gay or straight. Professionals do their jobs, and if there is a problem, either deal with it or get rid of them."
"Would you sit down with me sometime for an interview," Gayle asked.
"I'm not a community representative, those are the people you need to speak with. I'm just a paramedic."
"I disagree," Caleb challenged. "I know differently. You are a man of integrity, honour, and dignity who is very well known throughout the community and the area as a leader."
Jared looked at his feet for a moment, then at Caleb with his eyes watering slightly.
"Thank you, my old school friend, but what was yesterday may not be today or tomorrow. Things have changed, and I'm just a paramedic here today enjoying himself, but on call for emergencies."
"What's changed that drastically, Jared?"
"The community turned its back on my brothers and I. That's changed everything. But, when one person steps down there is always others to step in. We'll see what happens."
"Are you saying you've withdrawn your support from the LGBTQ2 community?" asked Gayle.
"I don't know how to answer that Gayle, because for the first time in my life, I'm on a path in life that I did not choose. I do have to make a choice in the near future, but I'm waiting for the moment to see where this path goes. Now, may we discuss other things? Caleb, where did you find this wonderful man to be your boyfriend? Did you pay him?"
The three people discussed other matters for a few more minutes before separating to go to different activities in progress.
Jared finally had the chance to sit at a picnic table with a cold bottle of water, buffalo stew with bannock, and a buffalo burger. He was in deep thought about the ambulance, being a paramedic, a healer, gay, and his future. Jared was tired, worn down, and frustrated that he didn't know how to move forward. Jared came back to reality when he felt hands on his shoulders. Without looking up, he sensed who it was and said, "Adam." He turned to see a big smile on his little brother's face. It was then Jared noticed about eight others. He stood quickly to embrace Adam.
"Little brother, it's good to see you down here," Jared said.
"Wouldn't miss it for anything."
"Who are all these guys with you? Troop-mates? They look familiar."
"Yes, they are, you may have met some of them at my graduation ceremony," Adam replied. The young man turned to his friends and said, "Allow me to introduce Jared Bear, also called Most Sacred Eagle Eyed Bear by many tribes of the people. This is one of the men I am proud to call my brother." Adam's friends all stepped forward to introduce themselves one at a time. The young men saw the food Jared had, quickly taking off to get some. After getting some for himself, Adam sat down across from Jared at the table.
"This is good," Adam commented between mouth fulls of bannock. "Been a while since I've had buffalo stew."
Jared replied to his comment, "The gravy is so good; you can stand a fork up in it. Did you know our band on the reserve has been raising buffalo now for a few years? Big market overseas for the meat."
"I'd heard they had started raising them, sounds like it's going well."
"It is. They make great stew and burgers," Jared replied with a smirk.
"We went to the parade before coming here, Jared."
"How was it this year?"
"There were lots of groups in it, lots of people watching the parade too. It really does give an economic boost to the communities."
Jared smiled, "Some of the parades in the big cities do that quite well."
"To me, the crowd wasn't as big as last year. This morning, there was a column published in Toronto which is getting some attention about the way the Pride parades are going."
"That's interesting," Jared replied with a raised eyebrow.
"The name escapes me, but he's a member of the gay community there, and he was commenting that the Premier-Designate who was just elected understandingly might not be attending the parade. He's just been elected, but in spite of the valid reason, he's afraid the community will slap the homophobic label onto him."
Jared looked concerned as he replied, "That's a problem not just with the gay community. It seems anyone not getting their way screams 'something-phobe'."
"The columnist makes a couple of good points. The first point explained how if the Premier-Designate didn't walk the parade route while getting soaked by leather-clad men wearing ass-less chaps with squirt guns, the critics will claim it to be proof he hates gays."
Jared's eyes squinted as he thought, "I have a problem with a government who invades the bedrooms of its citizens, but I also have a problem with the bedroom being brought out into the public for everyone to see. I've avoided getting into the argument when I was on the Pride Board as I felt it was more of a community leader topic to be discussed, not for a bunch of volunteers on a board to resolve on their own."
"I don't know what to think about that either. The final point the columnist made was that the drink sales during and after the parade have fallen drastically over the past 2 years. That's an indication of lower attendance ratings from people no longer attending for whatever reason. The big contention from this gay columnist is it's due to the Pride Parade now being allies with extremist groups from the left who are anti-government, extremely anti-police, and actually, has nothing to do with gay rights. The Toronto chapter of one group now associated with Pride has been described as openly racist against anyone that is not of their ancestry, and very anti-police in every way. So basically, the columnist is saying the problem is now that Pride is allied, in partnership with, and associated with these extremist groups, people can't attend Pride because they would be supporting those groups they personally disagree with.
"That would also add pressure to the Premier-Designate not to march as a strong right-wing member. If he attended, he could be seen as aligning himself with those allies of Pride which are so anti-police, anti-government, and pro-homogeneous to the point of openly being racist."
Jared was not looking pleased. "I've said it a few times that I'm tired of all this, and everything we've fought for looks like it's becoming a commercial venture or a podium to be used by others using us for their own gain. I could be wrong, but I'm so tired of this and a few other things I'm involved in."
"I hear you, Jared."
"I'm beginning to hear more and more people commenting the LGBTQ2 movement is now part of the professional apologists, wanting the police and everyone to say they're sorry for the way they were treated 30 or 40 years ago. That's another reason why the uniforms aren't wanted in the parade. No one has apologized and offered a big restitution payment from the police to show how sorry they are."
Adam looked at his mentor for a long couple of moments before digging into his stew. Jared began eating again as well.
Adam smirked as two cowboys walked by wearing Gay Cowboy shirts, "Some nice eye candy around..." Jared reached over and ruffled his hair. "When do the chuckwagon races start today? These guys have never seen anything like them before."
"Have they been around horses at all?" asked Jared.
"100% city boys," Adam laughed.
"How long has it been since you were riding?" asked Jared.
"It's been a year or so. I miss it a lot. What about you?"
"The same, about a year. After everyone is done eating, let's take them over to meet some cowboys," said Jared as he stood up.
Most of the police cadet graduates had never been close to a horse before and were amazed by how gentle they were. Jared had a couple of cousins racing and they were more than happy to let him along with Adam taking some of the horses for exercise. Adam's friends were all watching as Jared gently placed his hands on the noses of the animals, and spoke with them. Jared explained to the animals these were Adam's friends who were all novices and needed help to make sure they weren't hurt. When the horses both moved their heads up and down as if saying 'yes', the police cadets didn't realize Jared really had been speaking with them. They all took pictures of each other while riding around in the centre of the track.
While they were riding, something spooked a horse at the other end of the track. Its reins had been tied off on the trailer but it pulled free. The horse immediately bolted through the campground, heading towards the open area behind the parking lot. Jared and Adam had both took off on their horses, immediately giving chase. It only took a few minutes for them to catch up to the horse on the run. Using the same process as outriders at a rodeo, they came up each side of the horse to grab it by the bridle. The horse slowed right down with some control, and they walked it back to the sports grounds. Adam's troop mates thought the actions of Jared and Adam were heroic, refusing to believe it was not an unusual event with horses or that everyone there has done it before.
The youth group had a dunk tank set up to raise some money. At 1:00 pm, many of the activities started, the dunk tank being one of them. The first person who got onto the seat to await their fate was Zane. It had been discussed among the volunteers, they would be wearing a pair of cargo shorts and shirt the first time they got dunked. But, they would strip off to a speedo suit for the rest of their shift in the dunk tank, if they wanted. The money would go to the youth group, drop-in centre and food bank. The youth group members were all wearing their LGBTQ2 coloured sash wrapped around their waists from the canoe trip with big smiles, great memories and pride.
In between the native drumming session and the first local band to play at the main stage, the first presentation started. It was two members of the LGBT Adult group. The two men were both retired Royal Canadian Air Force and talked about discrimination in the armed forces against being openly gay. People were investigated, lost their ability to hold a security rating or were charged as criminals in Canada. They explained that in July 2018, a federal judge had approved a landmark deal to compensate members of the military and other agencies who were investigated and sometimes fired because of their sexual orientation. Gay military veterans were routinely interrogated, harassed, and spied on because of their sexuality. Careers and lives were destroyed if anyone was found out, so most kept their sexuality a deep secret. The two of them stood in front of the microphone and clearly stated "We've had the Prime Minister of Canada apologize to all LGBTQ2 people and the treatment they received. We've now had the courts rule the Military and other agencies such as the RCMP were wrong to attack, harass, and fire employees or members for being gay. There is a settlement for us to apply for. However, we can't show our pride in that victory with our own community by marching in the Pride Parade. We've been banned."
They both took a deep breath before the one with more medals on his chest spoke, "My husband Terry and I put our lives on the line on behalf of all of the people of Canada, the United Nations, and people everywhere who believed in democracy. We fought for the democratic rights of this country, and for the ability to be gay without fear of persecution which is common elsewhere in the world. Right now, we wear our uniforms with all the ribbons we won. Earlier this month, while the Pride Parade was being planned, we were banned from participating due to our being military. To us, it really makes us question our lifetime of fighting for rights, and where our gay community is heading into the future."
Terry had tears in his eyes as he said, "Thank you for letting two old guys rant and rave here today. Thank you for letting us wear our uniforms here, with pride, for being gay in the military." The crowd gave them strong applause, with many standing as well.
At 1:00 pm, the chuckwagon races started and were exciting for everyone. Before the race, the announcer explained about the training the riders received, and the equipment as well as the safety equipment they wore. There were three teams each were held in place by a cowboy near a barrel. Another barrel was strategically placed a distance away for each team. When the horn sounded, the cowboy would release the bridle, followed by getting out of the way. The horses took off to complete the path of a figure-8 around the two barrels in the starting area. Once completed, they headed straight onto the track for a circuit. The crowd watching it was on their feet, screaming encouragement and cheering. It was amazing to watch from the stands as the horses gave everything they could to run, the animals loved the feeling of racing as much as the cowboy did.
At 1:30 pm, Liam went into the dunk tank. The balls were set at 3 for $5, and Melanie bought $100.00 worth. Before she had the pleasure of throwing the first one, Grandfather Mathew stepped forward. He bought 1 ball for $200, so the youth group let him throw first. The comments being made in the crowd were rather sarcastic, some outright rude. Most were along the line of 'can he see that far', 'let the old guy throw closer', 'he'll never hit it hard enough to trip the dunking mechanism'. Mathew stood, moved the throwing position line farther back another 20', smiled at Liam, and let loose with a curve ball any major league pitcher would be envious of. He hit the target dead on, dropping Liam into the water. The crowd was dead silent for a moment but went wild after Mathew said loudly, "Don't ever count your chickens before they hatch children" as he walked away. Liam raised an incredible amount of money, Jesse matched Melanie by purchasing $100.00 worth of baseballs too, but he gave them to the youth group to throw. Kat and Shawn were there, and following the lead of Jesse, gave the balls they purchased to the youth group after dunking him a couple of times each.
At 2:00 pm, Assistant Commissioner John Belanger took his turn in the dunk tank. Gus bought $100.00 of balls, knocked his husband into the water on the first throw, and didn't worry about the 59 balls to be thrown. "Consider it a donation," he said as he headed off to check out the helicopter. Tyler and Troy bought a few balls each as well. Even Frank bought some and had a huge smile on his face as he dunked John into the water. Superintendent Skillet dunked him too. The dunk tank was manned for the next two hours by volunteers such as Melanie, Rev. Barb, as well as a few other well-known people from the community.
The next presentation on the centre stage was by two lawyers who had worked with human rights issues for many years. Both were in their 50's, and both were wearing 'Gay and Proud' t-shirts.
The first lawyer, Richard, started out the presentation. "In law school, the case of Everett George Klippert is the case to study for the treatment of gay people in Canada previous to the rights we have today. Nothing that Everett Klippert ever did warranted becoming the only person in Canadian history to be labelled a dangerous sexual offender simply for being gay, effectively a life sentence."
The second lawyer, Jerry took over, "This was a case where a mechanic was sent to jail for gross indecency for having sex with males. Not only that, he was assessed by a psychiatrist as an incurable homosexual, and was later sentenced as a dangerous sexual offender which meant he would remain in jail for the rest of his life under preventative detention."
"This all started in a small town in Saskatchewan when George, as he was known in public or Everett by family, was born in 1926." Richard continued, "His family moved to Calgary where he grew up, started working at a dairy, eventually becoming a bus driver for Calgary Transit. During that time, he was constantly given praise in the execution of his job by many loyal riders. In 1960, at 34 years of age, the father of a man who he had been having sexual relations with found out and reported him to the police. Everett was charged, and convicted of 18 charges of gross indecency for having sex with another male, receiving 4 years of time in a federal institution. Basically, the police found a black address book and charged Everett for every name within it. Back then, you did your 4 years without prereleases for good behaviour. Keep in mind that back then the prison system allowed the use of flogging, the prison strap or caning on misbehaving convicts. This type of punishment continued until 1972, but Everett was well-behaved, causing no problems while in jail."
Jerry picked up the story, "Upon his release in 1964, he moved to the Northwest Territory to work as a mechanic. Calgary police contacted the RCMP in the NWT and told them all about Everett. The RCMP followed Everett and even warned him several times they knew who he was. In 1965, Everett was picked up for questioning in an arson case.
"The RCMP Corporal is on record for stating he figured very simply that arsonists were deviants, and homosexuals were deviants. He thought by that logic, Everett could be the arsonist. He was found not to have any involvement in the arson but had admitted to having recent sexual relations with 4 different men. This occurred after the police had threatened him that if he didn't confess to gross indecency, he would be charged with arson. He was arrested and charged with four counts of gross indecency. He was again found guilty, except this time the court ordered psychiatric tests and assessments. Other than using the names which Everett provided, the men named in the charges were never interviewed as a witness or suspect or even charged for the same offence."
As if he was addressing a jury, Richard began to pace in front of the crowd as he told his part of the story. "The psychiatrist found him to be a pleasant man, very honest and forthright with his answers. In discussions with Everett, the psychiatrist was satisfied that his only interest was having sex with men of similar desires of acceptance to himself. In other words, they had to be gay, fully consensual, and in agreement with what they were going to do. The doctor believed the same as many did, and still do, that homosexuals and pedophiles are the same. Everett became quite upset when asked about having a desire for younger men or children, convincing the doctor he never had any interest in that type of behaviour. The doctor was sure that Everett would have the same sex drive going into the future as he did in the past since being 15 years of age, seeking homosexual sex as the outlet. In regards to violence, the doctor's opinion was that Everett did not fit the pattern of someone who would ever hurt, injure or be violent to another person."
Jerry took over, "Everett was found guilty of the offences and sentenced to three years for each count, time to be served concurrently. This time, the Crown also applied for the designation of a dangerous sexual offender. The Crown had to prove he was a 'dangerous sexual offender, meaning a person who, (i) by his conduct in any sexual matter, has shown a failure to control his sexual impulses, and (ii) who (a) is likely to cause injury, pain or other evil to any person, through failure in the future to control his sexual impulses or (b) is likely to commit a further sexual offence.' Everett wasn't controlling his impulses to have sex with men, and as the result of the failure to control those impulses, it was seen as an evil act to have sex between men. But two psychiatrists who examined him in regards to the dangerous offender status found no evidence that he could be violent or that he was any kind of pedophile. They described him as 'courteous, intelligent, unusually co-operative, sensitive, even docile.' He didn't belong in prison, both psychiatrists said.
Richard stood forward to the podium while Jerry stepped backward, "After all the evidence was presented, the hearing concluded with the judge making his ruling by allowing the application. That meant Everett would spend the rest of his life in jail as a dangerous offender for begin gay, and having sex with another man. Everett's daughter, a legal secretary in Calgary, spearheaded through all of the appeals for his sentence possible, including all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. They dismissed every appeal."
"But, a bright light for the future came from an unexpected source," Jerry exclaimed. "It was Tommy Douglas, the leader of the New Democratic Party as well as the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition who brought Everett's conviction up in the House of Commons, stating that being gay should not be a criminal issue. Tommy Douglas was a Baptist Minister turned social-democratic politician. Before going to Ottawa a second time as a member of parliament, Tommy had been the Premier of Saskatchewan for 17 years where he created the first government-centred single-payer universal health care system on the continent. The government listened to his words."
"'There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation' was the position of the Federal Justice Minister," Richard stated. "Homosexuality between consenting adults was decriminalized in 1969 by then Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau. Pierre would later become Prime Minister of Canada. Everett remained in custody until 1971, when at the age of 45, he was released. After living his life with a criminal record for having gay sex, Everett passed from kidney failure in 1996."
Jerry rearranged his notes on the podium. "The current government promised to have Everett's criminal record posthumously pardoned. The Prime Minister promising the pardon is Justin Trudeau, the son of the Justice Minister (and later Prime Minister) who decriminalized homosexuality, Pierre Trudeau."
With pride, Richard waived a copy of a newspaper he had brought with him. "On November 28, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a formal apology in Parliament to members of the LGBT community". He stopped and read it word for word from the paper. "It is with shame and sorrow and deep regret for the things we have done that I stand here today and say: We were wrong. We apologize. I am sorry. We are sorry... To members of the LGBTQ2 communities, young and old, here in Canada and around the world: You are loved. And we support you. To the trailblazers who have lived and struggled, and to those who have fought so hard to get us to this place: thank you for your courage, and thank you for lending your voices. I hope you look back on all you have done with pride. It is because of your courage that we're here today, together, and reminding ourselves that we can, and must, do better. For the oppression of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit communities, we apologize. On behalf of the government, Parliament, and the people of Canada: We were wrong. We are sorry. And we will never let this happen again." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 28 November 2017. All political parties except the Conservative Party of Canada stood in standing ovation to the apology."
In a loud voice, Jerry announced, "On June 21, 2018, the Governor General granted royal assent to Bill C-66, which allows men who were convicted of homosexual acts prior to their legalization in 1969 to have their convictions erased from their criminal records. Everett is no longer is a criminal for being gay."
Richard spoke very emotionally as he summarized with, "Keep in mind, although things are improving in Canada, 72 countries around the world still consider homosexuality to be a criminal act. Many of those countries still execute members of the LGBTQ2 community merely for being gay. We must stand together to make sure the groups who are trying to reduce the rights of the gay community within Canada do not succeed in their mission."
Jerry was emotional as well, "We must stand against those people who try and split our community. Infighting causes weakness, wastes time, and wastes resources which could be used to maintain or improve our rights to being equal of the rest of the country."
Both of the men said together, "Thank you for listening to our presentation." The crowd consisted of approximately 150 people on lawn chairs, blankets or standing along the edges; many stood while clapping for the two presenters.
At 3:00 pm, the Cowboys started the chariot race. This is a race where teams of two horses pull a cowboy standing in a small metal chariot around the track. The start is the same as the chuckwagon races where a cowboy holds the bridle of the team until the car horn is sounded. They do a figure eight around a barrel, then out onto the track for a loop. Animal safety is the highest priority for the Cowboys, and just like the chuckwagon races no more than three teams race per round.
Around 4:00 pm, the water fight between the firefighters and the police drew huge crowds. The fight was going to take place in the centre area of the track which had been used to race the horses. The water being sprayed everywhere also brought some temporary relief to the crowds. The police lost the water fight, and the second round would be the conservation officers vs EMS. Much to the paramedic's embarrassment, they really underestimated the abilities of the CO's. What they had forgotten was that the conservation officers were also cross-trained in fighting forest fires with high pressure water pumps.
Before the last water fight, whoever wanted to play water soccer was allowed to try. This was accomplished by setting up three 1.5" hoses on each side with a huge inflated beach ball. In teams of three people on each hose, they used the water to move the ball towards the other teams goal area. This game lasted 30 minutes, with everyone being coated in mud by the end.
The final water fight was between the firefighters and the conservation officers. The CO's had been acting pretty sneaky before the fight started, but no one saw anything unusual actually occurring so no one worried. The water fight had just gotten started when a helicopter slinging a water bucket beneath appeared over the horizon. The helicopter flew over the fire fighters, letting loose with the contents of the bucket. It wasn't just water this time either. The bucket had been filled with liquid fire retardant; nice, slimy, and red staining. The helicopter moved off after dropping its load, allowing a second one to come in behind it to do the same thing. The firefighters were now red from head to toe. They surrendered to the conservation officers when they heard something big in the distance and saw the CL-415 water bomber approaching. The bomber came in low, turned and climbed rapidly for a second fly by. This time it came in faster, and higher. He dropped his load of water onto everyone. But, the experience of the pilot showed. After he dropped both tanks one after the other at a higher altitude and a little faster, the water came down as brief nice warm rain.
At the award ceremony, the firefighters had objected to the use of the air frames. But, the conservation officers just smirked at their red coloured buddies and challenged them to point out where it said "no water bombing" in the rules. After some grumbling and comments about next year, they all shook hands.
The beer tent was hopping with lots of people taking a break from the heat for a drink or two, or three, or four, or... Bingo was well attended as well. The youth group were all wearing their Pride coloured sashes around their waists, which was drawing a lot of attention. Many people asked questions about the sash, so lots of young people dropped into the youth group tent to visit. There was quite a mixture of LGBTQ2 and straight youth visiting while playing foosball, or one of the other games scattered throughout the tent. If just half of the people who had shown interest in joining the youth group started to show up, there was a potential for three times the current membership.
Two local youth bands played on the stage for thirty minutes each. The one band was quite good doing covers of many current songs from the radio. The young people in the crowd seemed to really enjoy them as well. The second band was an indigenous rap group, and they positively shocked the audience with their covers of a few songs as well as their own tunes. A local reporter approached the group for an on air interview after congratulating the young band for a wonderful performance. A group of Metis fiddle players came up last, and got everyone up onto their feet to jig. They played for just over thirty minutes with the crowd wanting more. The band accommodated them with another set.
The final speaker of the day was Grandfather Mathew along with his granddaughter and all of his grandsons who were on the stage behind him. Mathew moved to the podium and tapping the microphone he began. "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mathew Alphonse Bear. The men standing behind me all speak different languages, have different cultural backgrounds, a variety of ancestries, have varying education levels from the basic to the advanced university level, and they are all gay. They are members of the First Nations, Metis, European, Slavic, or Caucasian races. A couple of other things about these men must be said. First, they can each tell you a story of tragedy in their lives, and how they learned from it to make their lives better. Secondly, they are all brothers and my grandchildren." That comment caused many in the crowd to gasp in shock. "My grandchildren are hard working people, with most of them in emergency services, devoted to the protection of the people in this community."
Mathew took a sip of his water at the podium. "We all know the history of gay rights in Canada has been a painful road for many people. For some, it is still painful in many different ways. What was done in the past to the LGBTQ2 community was wrong."
Stepping forward in their police uniforms, Tyler and Adam took their position behind the podium. Tyler started with, "The rise of gay rights in the United States is largely attributed to the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York. Unfortunately, some things progressed faster in Canada while others slower. In the 60's and 70's, Montreal police raided that city's Sauna Aquarius Bathhouse. The charges varied, but were usually keeping a common bawdy house, found in a common bawdy house, etc. A Bawdy House is an old legal reference in Canada to a house of prostitution. In the 70's, Younge Street was known as the Sin Strip as it primarily consisted of dozens of strip clubs and body rub parlours. The entire area was a legal grey zone to which politicians and police often turned a blind eye to."
"In 1977," started Adam, "a 12-year-old shoeshine boy by the name of Emmanuel Jaques was offered $35 to help move photographic equipment. Three men tied him up, sexually assaulted him over 12 hours and then drowned him in a sink in the apartment over the Charlie's Angels Massage Parlour. His body was found under a pile of lumber on August 1 on the roof. That parlour was one of nearly forty massage parlors on Younge Street. The police had been tipped off when one of the murderers contacted a well known LGBTQ activist who made arrangements for the murderer to turn himself to the police."
Grandfather stepped forward, "There was a tremendous outcry over this crime, and there should've been. The killing of anyone is wrong, but killing a 12-year-old boy after raping him for hours makes this unconscionable, shocking, and deplorable. The politicians quickly grasped the opportunity to clean up Younge Street and regulate the sex trade. Four men were arrested, and later charged with murder, rape, and pedophilia among other offenses. The stories of the four murderers are extensive documented, but after that, many people in the general public equated being gay to pedophilia. It is something which many groups and people still believe to this very day. Both the province and city ordered a major crackdown on that area. Neither the sex trade workers nor the gay men arrested in the numerous raids had anything to do with the murders, but they began to pay the price for just being present in the area which now was a political hotbed. The police raided a gay publisher as well, seizing customer lists, lists of advertisers, and names of any supporters. And that is really where the story of the 1981 bathhouse riots starts."
Tyler took over, "On February 5, 1981, 200 plainclothes police officers raided four Toronto bathhouses leading to the largest mass arrest since the October Crisis ten years earlier. Twenty men were charged with 'keeping a common bawdy house', 289 were charged with being 'found in a bawdy house' and two were charged with 'buggery'. Most charges were dismissed in court eventually."
"The disturbing part of the raids included descriptions of severe misconduct on the part of the police," Adam said with a shaky voice. "Some reported being photographed naked, others said police took down their employers' names and phone numbers and several men stated that police had referred to them as "queers, faggots and fairies". One man famously heard one police officer tell another that it was a shame the shower heads at the tubs weren't hooked up to gas. Many men reported that officers used sledgehammers and crowbars to smash windows and doors in building areas not even directly associated with the raid. In current values, the raids caused over $100,000 in damages. The police reported to the media that the officers behaved in a professional manner. For at least the next six years, police in various cities across the country steadily increased their harassment of the gay press and gay men in predominately gay areas."
"The Canadian LGBTQ2 community fought back hard," Tyler said proudly. "Many of the community members forced changes, like the decriminalization of homosexuality and its declassification as a mental illness, as well as sparking countless Pride parades across the country while giving a voice and a platform to members of the community. But, in Calgary during 2002, the police raided Goliath's bathhouse, an establishment that was used by gay men in the community as a meeting place for sex. At that time, Alberta was one of two provinces in Canada who did not include being gay under the Human Rights Code. Even today, Alberta is known as the Bible belt through the mid and southern sections. These areas have begun to speak out again against LGBTQ2 rights. Alberta is still a very strong conservative, evangelistic and Christian province today."
Grandfather continued, "The actual people who ordered the bathhouse raids in the 70's still to this day hide in the shadows and behind lies refusing to accept responsibility. They are cowards and people who lack any perception of dignity towards other humans. The men arrested were dragged through the public eyes and into court while the people in control refused to accept responsibility for their orders."
Tyler was flushed, and visibly upset as he said, "I don't know who they were, and I don't know who the police officers were that were involved in the raids. Every one of them should've gone to jail, but that didn't happen 40 years ago. Some are still alive today. Hopefully, some of them regret what they did but I won't hold my breath for that happening."
Grandfather put his hand on Tyler's shoulder for reassurance and took over for him. "But, the one thing I do know is that none of my grandchildren standing behind me were involved in the raids, the violation of human dignity or the crimes committed against the gay men in those raids. None of them were even a glimmer in their parent's eyes let alone born back then. Every one of my grandchildren has suffered throughout their lives for being gay, just like everyone else who happens to be gay. But, they are not welcome in a Pride Parade for things done before their life even started, or happened in other areas of the country that they had no involvement in. I must ask, how does holding my grandchildren or other good people today accountable for crimes committed years before their birth make a difference? How does demanding someone not involved in crimes in other parts of the country give an apology make things better for the community when it's just words being said? How does prohibiting members of the gay community from participating in celebrations of 'Gay is good, Gay and Proud' because of their occupations serve any purpose other than dividing the community at the very time it needs to stand together? Perhaps they could've allowed my grandchildren to walk in the parade with pink stars on their uniforms to indicate their disgrace for being emergency services or military personnel. It has been done before."
Grandfather walked from behind the podium to the front of the stage, "If I may, would everyone remain seated and pray with me." He raised his hands towards the crowd, "The Great Spirit, Creator of all made the human race. You taught us through the gift of knowledge that all people born to this planet are your children and all your children are born the way you intended them to be including their sexuality, gender, and colour of skin. Creator, you also gave us the gift to make choices in our lives. I know it was your desire for us to make good choices, but many make bad choices. Let us pray that the LGBTQ2 community grows together, finds its way, and realizes that the isolation of any of their members is not the best choice which could be made. May everyone find that forgiveness lightens the heart while demanding forgiveness makes it bitter and of stone. We ask for your guidance and love to help the community make the best decisions for the people, and in the manner you intended. I pray for the protection of all people, and for the Creator to give guidance to those who need it so they may find peace, health, hope, happiness, love, and belonging in their lives. As it was in the beginning, as it is today." Grandfather dropped his hands to his sides.
Mathews grandchildren all moved to the front of the stage to embrace their patriarch. After a moment, Jared took a position behind the podium. "Thank you, everyone, for coming today. Many of the booths and activities are going to remain open for a while yet, but most of the emergency equipment needs to be put back into service. Please remember we have a country band playing for the dance tonight, and fireworks as well. Have a great time everyone."
Jared turned to Liam, "Let's get the pilots and get the helicopter back to base. Would you like a quiet evening at home now, or to come back for the dance?"
Liam didn't hesitate, "I would love a quiet evening with my husband, maybe a glass of wine, a soak in the hot tub at the village, followed by a Netflix and Chill."
"You've sold me." Jared turned to his grandfather and knelt on one knee. The brothers and Melanie all assumed the same position, "Grandfather. We all thank you for your love, support and help to organize this activity. We are indebted to you."
Mathew smiled and motioned for everyone to stand. "All of you, your love is enough of a payment. Please, go and have a great time tonight whatever you will be doing. I need to find Bertha and head home."
Jared began to sputter at the mention of Bertha, not even managing to get words out of his mouth. Mathew held his hand out to Melanie and wiggled his fingers.
"Damn it, I should know better than to make a bet with you," she replied as she dug a twenty out of her pocket. She handed it to Grandfather who took it, sniffed it, and then stuck it into his pocket.
Jared looked at them, "What?"
"He bet me that he could make you speechless."
"So I mentioned Bertha, knowing that would do it."
Jared turned red, especially at the laughter from his brothers.
"By the way Jared, Bertha is at home. I used the new jeep today." Jared looked at his grandfather, smiled, and embraced him.
Liam had a strange look on his face for a moment. "Jared, may I ask something for you to consider?"
"Anything you ask of me I will consider, my husband."
"Could we go on a date tonight to watch the fireworks and go dancing together."
"Why the change of your mind?"
"I just had a glimpse of one path, and I didn't like it. This conflict will go on for a while yet with the community digging deep trenches so they can't be moved easily."
Jared sighed at the news. "I truly hope you're wrong."
"I do too. I just thought that it may be a while before we have an opportunity to do this again with our friends, colleagues and supporters. After all, at one time it would've never been allowed to have us as husbands, holding hands in public to watch fireworks and to dance together in a public place. Tonight, this is our community to do it in."
"Will you wear those jeans I bought you when we met? You look astounding in those jeans."
"If you'll wear the ones I bought you before the wedding. You're just damn hot in them."
"We've got checkered shirts, and I've got my cowboy boots. Can you wear the extra pair?"
"Absolutely."
"I'll wear my big buckle too from winning the chuckwagon races a few years ago."
"Jared, the way you're turning me on right now, we're going to need a pit stop before getting back here for the dance."
"I was just thinking the same thing. Let's get to the chopper and back to base. We've yet to do it on my desk."
"Or Melanie's..."
"Not even I have enough balls to do that."
End of Chapter Forty-Seven
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Canada:
·Canada Suicide Prevention Service (CSPS), French or English: toll-free 1-833-456-4566 Available 24/7
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