Pride

We saw Pride tonight. If you blinked, you would have missed that the hero of the film was from Northern Ireland. You would not know, because it wasn't in the film, that he was a communist. That fact was removed so as not to offend American audiences, according to a Guardian article.

The movie reminded me of two important parts of my life in the 80s: The fantastic soundtrack for my dance clubbing days, and the loss of so many courageous people I knew who were fighting for gay rights, AIDs research, and an all-round better world. It is terribly sad to think what a difference they would have made if they survived--these were tireless, charismatic organizers who made activism fun. Would Bush have ever even gotten close to a photo finish? Florida is a state with a wealthy gay community--how many of their leaders survived to rally the troops?

The movie gave David an opportunity to foam at the mouth about Thatcher. She is widely despised here, partly for destroying the British coal industry. Man Booker Prize Winner Hilary Mantel has written a short story based on her fantasy of killing Thatcher.

10/2