Spokane Pride Parade 2015.

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My wife, daughter, and I had attended the Pride parade in downtown Spokane, yesterday. As like last year, it had attracted a huge crowd of local citizens there to show support for a segment of our community that has in the past been ostracized and marginalized. Except for a few a$$holes who were protesting behind a fenced off position (one of them was holding a sign that read, "Gays deserve death"), and a few others on the street, the rest of us were cheering and applauding for our brothers and sisters in the LGBT community. Then, the moment came at the end of the parade when we onlookers were invited to join in on the march, which many of us did. I have never been so proud of my fellow Spokanites.
So much for Spokane's and the surrounding area's rep for being too conservative and provincial.

I marched in the Portland Pride Parade on June 14th and like many other Pride Parades nationwide, this one did attract a huge crowd of watchers who were there to show support for Portland's LGBT community. Like Spokane, this one also a had a group of a-holes who were shouting homophobic slurs at everyone, including straight people. However, a person in my group had a diabetic emergency, which led to me having a medical emergency of my own. After I recovered, I was told by a-hole paramedics that another person in my group had an asthma attack. I have never felt a stronger connection with fellow Portlanders {even though I am straight} than taking part in the Pride Parade.

Sing it to the choir, brother, sing it!

Good for your fellow Spokanites!! !

Not sure about provincial, but I would have guessed the conservatism was because Spokane is right next to Idaho.

Very likely. If the truth be known, a lot of the image of Spokane and the surrounding area comes from ourselves. There is a definite sense of inferiority here when it comes to comparing ourselves to Seattle, and so we tend to describe our community as too conservative and provincial. And to be sure, there is a conservative element here that is alive and well. But the fact remains, there are enough liberals here for Spokane, and the little municipalities gathered around it, for there to be a pride parade and Rainbow Festival to be held here, and for interracial couples, often with mixed race children, to be a common sight. I always thought my community should cash in on the image of being "Seattle's weird little brother," rather than obsessively comparing ourselves to Seattle. After all, David Lynch had grown up in Spokane; we should embrace our weird, off-the-wall image. Doesn't hurt that there seems to be an abundance of both nerd culture, and Aspies here, either.