[frannybrd]

I was looking at some pictures of the huge Christmas tree in Times Square in NYC, after it was up but before it was lit. There were the airborne gold angels on the resident statue, and lots of white lights on the in-ground trees, and lots of fuss and big crowds.

I tried to think of why it seemed so unusual to me. And then I remembered - the west Coast, my old hangout, is almost bereft of anything like the Times Square celebration of Christmas. Not only is there no equivalent to it in S.F., I tried to think of any time that there was an unopposed large celebration of anything at all in S.F..
St. Patrick's Day? Too religious and too closed-minded. Obviously papist.
Columbus Day? Bad politics because we all know what those mean bloodthirsty settlers did to all those thoroughly peaceful unarmed Indians. Excuse me. Native Americans.
Christmas? Smacks of religion and repression. Even though, at one time, the ranks of the Roman Catholic clergy were swamped with gay men.
Fourth of July? Nah. Too small-town and patriotic. Smacks of agreement with "the government".

And so, looking around at the S.F. calendar, pretty much the one and only big time celebration that sweeps up the whole city and gets no opposition whatsoever is Gay Pride Day and its parade. Lots and lots of men dressed up in leather straps and S&M gizmos, men dressed like women, and women dressed like men. Is there a point to the occasion other than to applaud the very people who are behind it? No. No reference to a higher power, no link to the history of life in America, no saints of immigrants past, no patriotism, no nothing. Just a tight focus on celebrating the existence of the people in the parade itself and their sex lives and their supporters. That's it. Pretty uplifting, eh? A major U.S. city hosts a big to-do that honors only a tiny slice of the population and no one and nothing else. Something to see while you make memories with kids. Something that honors nothing more than an obsession with gender and sexual expression. Something with a focus so narrow and so self-serving that it defies the imagination.

S.F. is closed off in other ways as well. There is a large area of the financial district that was designed as a promenade with lots of fountains. But when was the last time that those fountains had anything but rainwater in them? Many years ago. The pipes are rusted now, and the rust stains the concrete. No one goes near them. It looks awful. But in a city that hosts many eco worshippers, there shall be no excess fresh water, and no beauty. Of course, the fact that the city itself is the prime beneficiary of a once-gorgeous Yosemite valley that was damned and flooded to give S.F. its water doesn't stop the eco crew. Flooding Yosemite was fine with them. It's the de-sal plants that are unspeakably evil.

And, if you've ever walked the streets near the steep hills, or tried to drive through the downtown area, you know that the bicycle nazis rule at the feet of the Eco Pols and the Gay Wizards. Only in S.F. can you find cyclists racing at high speeds through stoplights and stop signs and intersections with no thought for anyone else. If you're in their way, and they hit you and you die, well, too bad for you. Bicycles and their riders are supreme.

The whole city is filled with small groups of people whose entire political lives are given to promoting themselves over others. It's like a crowded box and its inhabitants are like rats trying to steal enough power to stand up on top of the rest. Sort of like many of the cities in the U.S. nowadays. So it was and is a real treat to see that NYC has not yet caved in to the forces of secularism and self-worship and self-promotion. Nice to see a lit tree and fountains and angels and the word "Christmas".