We've gotten a little serious lately on Big Queer (what do you expect with mid-term elections a mere four months away?), but that doesn't mean we haven't had any time for stupid.

As I've mentioned before, I was pretty late coming to the party with Showtime's Queer As Folk - largely because it's first two seasons were dumb as shit. I finally watched Season 5 on DVD while stuck in hotel room in Toronto for a conference (where QaF was shot, funnily enough), and I've got a bone to pick with you other viewers.

Why does everyone hate Hunter so much?

IFC is having a little Gay Pride Celebration! Aren't we grateful? Here's an exceprt from their press release:

"In celebration of Gay Pride, IFC is airing back-to-back gay-themed films every Sunday night at 10 and premiering the new IFC Documentary, 'Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema' by acclaimed filmmakers, Lesli Klainberg and Lisa Ades, on Sunday July 16 at 10pm..."

Yippee! the flicks they'll be airing will include: Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, Boys Don't Cry, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, High Art, and Love and Death on Long Island.

Wow - look at IFC being all indie and taking such great risks! We should all be so happy and thankful that they're going to air movies about our lives...well, lives kind of like ours. And they're doing it iin the middle of the night on Sundays in July at 10 p.m., after Gay Pride month has passed in a time slot far, far away from primetime when everyone will already be in bed resting before facing another manic Monday. And the movies they're showing! I love our most mainstream gay movies, don't you? The ones that attempt to fit into traditional narrative form and feature movie stars. I hate those crappy actual independents with their incomprehensible plots, vulgar humor, and weirdo camera work.

Oh, and IFC, if you've been too busy patting your own "progressive" back -- yes, I am being facetious, disingenuous, sarcastic, and just plain bitchy.

Gay Pride brings out the homos, but why does it also seem to bring out the homophobes? As you may have heard already, Kevin Aviance was attacked Saturday night by four teens after leaving a gay bar. Here are links to articles on the subject from the New York Times and Reuters, respectively.

Fourth Man Is Arrested After Attack on a Dance Recording Artist in the East Village

Four charged in hate crime attack on gay singer

For those of you who have forgotten what Pride is about, here's your reminder. It's not just a place for politicians to curry favor or an excuse to get wasted, it's a chance to show the world that not only do we not fear bigotry and hatred, but that we are also proud of who we are, what we do in the world, and who we fuck (and how we fuck them).

It shot all over the blogosphere, made it's way up to e-mail forwarding, and is now probably being broadcast on Al Jazeera: yup, that Open Letter to Jay Leno from Jeff Whitty. If you managed not to read this thing, check out this post on Queerty. I actually got it sent to me by a buh-jillion different people; no need for me to wonder what my friends think of when they hear the words "angry queer."

Equally as notorious, at this point, is Jackie Beat's response and Mr. Whitty's and Ms. Beat's subsequent peace-making - not that they were at war, but you know how us gay bitches can be.

So what's my beef with Mr. Whitty (because you know I have one, or I wouldn't be posting)? Before I start, let's all cheer on and commend Mr. Whitty for actually speaking up when something upset him. How many itmes have we just gotten upset and sucked it up? Too many. So, hooray!

And now the beef...

First, let's start with: Jay Leno sucks. He's not funny, so how can you tell he's making jokes at the expesnse of gay people? I don't even know when he's making jokes.

Second, Mr. Whitty why are you biting back at Mr. Leno while simultaneously making all queers look like the weakest, most pathetic and most unable-to-defend-themselves-able people on earth? Isn't it ironic, doncha think?