BTW: The parade travels up only one lane of Oxford Street. The others are filled with onlookers, backed up to the shopfront doors on the footpath. In many places it is 50-60 deep, even moreso at the cross streets. In Taylor square, it probably reaches well over 100 deep. Hyde Park is chockers, as is every apartment/ flat, hotel room, office, shop, pub along Oxford and Flinders Streets and a large number of the side streets. Even in the final stages of the parade, you notice that even Moore Park is overflowing with people.
If you've only ever watched snippets of it on TV, then you truly have no idea on how many people attend and what it is all about.
It's about love, compassion, equality, justice, the empowerment of oppressed and marginalised people, plus challenging bigotry and conformity.... Then again, if you're a christian, you probably have no idea what those words mean.

Pericles suggested that it upsets me to see people have fun.

AJD accused me of starting this discussion because of my hatred of gays.

How on earth do you guys come to such outlandish conclusions.

Since when is telling the truth Homophobic?

You may find this hard to belive but did you know that it is possible to disagree with someone and not hate them?

Here are the facts.

Attendance figures have always been issued by the organisers. The NSW police do not agree with those estimates and stopped endorsing them in 2002.

Adam Carr, a homosexual journalist/activist, contends that the mardi gras figures are false. In an article in the Melbourne Star, a homosexual newspaper, entitled “Mardi Gras crowd
puzzle” (March 7, p. 6) he writes:

Adam states
“the mardi gras route is 2.5km long making 5km of available viewing space. Allowing three people per metre (a tight fit) 15,000 people can line both sides of the parade route. A crowd of 150,000 would therefore line the entire route 10 deep. A crowd of 600,000 would line the route 40 deep.”

“The crowd was thickest in Oxford St but cannot have been more than about ten deep there because of shop fronts. At Taylor Square the crowd was about 20 deep for a short distance but it thinned out dramatically along Flinders St. Once the parade entered Moore Park there was almost no crowd at all. The average crowd depth was therefore probably four or five [rows], making a total of 60,000 to 75,000.”

I have attended events where organisers have estimated a crowd of 50,000 and police have said it's more like 35,000. It seems common for organisers of events right across the board to over estimate by about 50% and when you are a part of an event and it is something you support it really quite embarrassing (as Adam Carr seems to be indicating). However, in this particular instance we are talking about an exaggeration of 1000%.

"It's about love, compassion, equality, justice, the empowerment of oppressed and marginalised people, plus challenging bigotry and conformity...."

By all means disagree with me, BUT.....

"Then again, if you're a christian, you probably have no idea what those words mean."

Is This true?

NO

This is gross presumption.

You do not know me.

On what basis are you making such nasty personal attacks on me?

If you look at my profile and all the Posts I have ever made you will see that:
I allways state my opinion, belief, idea etc.

I may disagree with your opinion, belief, idea etc.

But

I will never make a personal attack on an individual.

'It's about love, compassion, equality, justice, the empowerment of oppressed and marginalised people, plus challenging bigotry and conformity'

Its about lies, hate(see pictures of Fred Nile), perversion, injustice (promoting filth), the shamelessness of the shameful and demonstrates bondage for many. The parade is full of bigots who hate what is good and love what is evil.

I think that the Mardi Gras is degrading

"ALL christians are scum sucking maggots.
I find their CHOSEN LIFESTYLE totally repugnant and disgusting.
I do not differentiate between any individual... the only good christian is a dead one.
If you're not a christian, then you do not need to take offence, if you are then yes it was my intention to offend you."

Whether I am a Christian or not is irrelevent. However I do find it disturbing that feel the need to use this forum to spew forth such hatred.

Why?