No Pride Flag On The Space Needle This Year

Elmo is also heartbroken about the Pride Flag Scandal at the Space Needle….Photo: Kathy Bugajsky

Really?

Again?

Sigh.

To clarify, the Space Needle has announced they won’t be flying the Pride Flag this year. To refresh your memories, they flew the flag two years ago, for the first time, then announced last year they would NOT fly the flag, only to encounter a shitstorm of cyclonic proportions and ended up flying it after all but made it clear they would not fly the pride flag EVERY year. It seemed likely that this would arise again and I tried to contact the Space Needle a couple of months back, but didn’t receive a response. Today they made it very clear. No pride flag on the Needle for 2012.

Yes, it would be nice if the privately owned Space Needle flew the pride flag over Pride weekend but…that’s their decision to make. It doesn’t even matter if it’s privately owned or publicly owned. No one is bitching because city/county/state owned properties aren’t flying the pride flag. Sure the Needle is Seattle’s tourist trap-centric symbol of our identity and the flag does look beautiful and empowering flying up there on the last Sunday of June but it’s not the end of the world that it’s not up there and the Space Needle isn’t evil for not flying it.

(But, they are a bit dim-witted when it comes to public relations…would it really kill them to just fly the damn thing?)

Once again, the pride flag flapping its little heart out on the top of the Needle is not a right; it’s a privilege. The LGBTQ community is supposed to be about seeking EQUAL rights, not special ones. This year we have more important things to focus on than scraps of foreign made fabric flying at the top of an art deco pepper mill. Ignore the dreary rhetoric being fanned by those looking to stir up shit and concentrate on things that matter…

Check out Mr. Sterling’s terrific piece about last year’s brouhaha over HERE.

NEXT!