Here are links to articles about Andy Quach and The Vietnamese Interfaith Council of America opposing us.
http://www.nguoi-viet.com/
http://www.ocregister.com/
We made the Advocate Page:
http://www.advocate.com/Ne
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Pre-Parade Thoughts and Experiences
Please respond to this post to share your experiences of the days before the march.
Here are links to articles about Andy Quach and The Vietnamese Interfaith Council of America opposing us.
http://www.nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=108146&z=R1
http://www.ocregister.com/news/vietnamese-233820-groups-parade.html
We made the Advocate Page:
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/02/12/The_Battle_Over_Little_Saigon/
Here are links to articles about Andy Quach and The Vietnamese Interfaith Council of America opposing us.
http://www.nguoi-viet.com/
http://www.ocregister.com/
We made the Advocate Page:
http://www.advocate.com/Ne
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I got fired up when I heard the press release from Andy Quach and the press conference from the Vietnamese Interfaith Council of America. I found it strange when reporters calling me asking if we would still march. Why would we not? They also wanted my reaction about the exclusive and demeaning statements made by Andy and the council. I'm not sure what they wanted to hear, because all I could say was that it was choice to boycott and that it was too bad that they have prejudice and wrong perception about the lgbtiq community. This stems from ignorance and their boycott does not help to create dialogue for better understanding. I also mentioned why we march. Given that 30% of the youth who attempted suicide or have committed suicide are lgbtiq kids, we need to be there to let them know that they are normal and okay despite what hateful things they may hear. So, none of that got into the reports. Times like this, I wish my Vietnamese was better. I started speaking mostly English to explain things. argh.
ReplyDeleteI also heard that a few of our members were backing out of the parade fearing for their safety. It was understandable but made me even more determined to be there. If any of us got hurt, the opposition would look stupid and intolerant.
I was so glad our friends and allies were coming out in full force despite this last minute call to action. A heartfelt thank you to those who dare to come out to support us. Even those who are not out, stepped up in rallying people and do other background assistance to support us. I hope this event will build more courage for future marches :-)
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ReplyDeleteHere was my news update from Facebook for Thursday 2/11/2010.
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RELIGIOUS ALLIES, Please write in to the local orange county newspapers (including the Vietnamese ones; they have translators) to counter the attacks by the Vietnamese Interfaith Council. Please confirm that God is about love and not prejudice and exclusion.
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Thanh Do, our PR person, wrote to us today:
"Please let everyone know that it is safe to march in the Tet Parade. I spoke with Greg Johnson, Director of Tet Parade project of city of Westminster, and he wanted me to tell all the marchers that the City of Westminster welcomes and invites us to the Tet Parade and most importantly, that the Chief of Police wanted to assure the marchers that they will pay close attention to our groups and that we will be SAFE AND PROTECTED! Get ready to make history, everyone!!!!"
AMEN to that! Thanh and I will be in Orange County tomorrow to make signs. If you want to help out, please give me a call. I will leave for OC in the afternoon.
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KABC(Channel 7) interviewed Ginger Hanh, Exec Dir. of the Center OC and our shy Hai stepped up to be interviewed on a very last hour notice (literally last hour). Although Hai is not out and requested her identity be sealed, we got a Vietnamese voice to represent us. Ginger said Hai did wonderfully.
It will probably air tomorrow at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 or 11:00. Or on the weekend. The plan was to air it at 6:00 tonight, but they had software problems and did not get the editing done in time.
Originally, they wanted a Vietnamese couple in Orange County. In any case, there will be more requests, so if you are out and proud and Vietnamese, please let us know to add you to our growing list of Vietnamese for possible future interviews.
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My notes in Facebook on Friday 2/12/2010:
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Chi Vuong, our fearless leader of Song That Radio, will be debating some religious people tomorrow on the radio. Call 714-379-8000 to listen in. Station and time will be announced as soon as I know.
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CHANGE IN PLAN FOR ALLIES
Allies for the Tet Parade: We registered and said that only 25-30 people would be in the parade, so we can't have extra guests. Sorry, my bad. If our allies could just come and be on the sideline, that would be wonderful. Please stand near the hatemongers to take pictures if they try to do anything violent. We doubt that there would be anything like that because the police will monitor to make sure there are no incidents. I think there are barricades to separate the crowd/audience from the marchers.
We are still look for spiritual leaders to march with us. Let us know if you can join us.
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Two reverends will march with us! YEAH!
Reverend Wilfredo BenÃtez & Rev. Minh-Hanh Nguyen
Please read about them at website below:
http://www.saintanselmgg.org/parish/clergy.htm
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Hi everyone,
Just 8 hours away from my computers and got tons of messages of support from our allies including 2 reverends to march with us and perhaps PFLAG. We will have many to come out to support us, so let's celebrate our courage and existence as Vietnamese lgbts tomorrow.
We are meeting at 8 am if not before at parking lot 3 to check in and know who's doing what and exchanging numbers. We will then shuttle people into the starting point of the route. Will need help with carrying signs, banners, etc. Please print out the attached map so that we can tell each other where to meet and how our allies can strategically place themselves along Bolsa and Bushard. Our allies will be meeting with us around 9 am at the line. We are probably going to be set closer to the end of the line. There, we will do last minute check in. Exchange numbers, know who are our security people at different places along the route and in the march.
Rules to keep in mind: Take the moral high ground and not react negatively to ignorant insults. We will sing and be merry and walk and smile and not let their prejudice ruin our fun. They are looking for reasons to kick us out and to keep us out in the future so don't give them that opportunity. We were also requested not to kiss on the parade by the city people. We can hold hands though. The opposition cites fear of their children seeing us in our "abnormal behavior." Let's not give them amunition. These people may still be in so much shock and denial that they can't even accept lgbtiqs in their midst and rather boycott to not face reality.
Remember we will have our allies (5000+ people have been notified to come out to support us) along Bolsa to cheer us on.
Let's make this year of the tiger a memorable event that we can tell our grandchildren of our presence in this historic moment :-)