Obscanity: You'll know it when you see it

Who’s 2008’s Homo Hero of the Year? / Queerty.

As one of the protesters, I personally saw the changes in the way the LAPD treated the crowds. Following a march in Silver Lake through mostly empty corporate buildings, a group of 300 or so protesters, including your editor, felt that protesting was more about taking your message to everyday people than preaching to the choir and so left the area and marched on Hollywood. The police responded quickly and blocked the advancing path of protesters. For a few minutes, the police stood shoulder-to-shoulder, inches away from a crowd shouting to let them pass.

And then a call came. Everyone could tell something had changed as the police started to relax. An officer on a bullhorn shouted, “We’re going to let you march. We just need to set up the route. We thank you for your cooperation.” There was no doubt who ordered the go-ahead: It was LAPD Chief William Bratton.

In that moment, in the eyes of those marching, the LAPD became an ally of the gay community. When a mobile signboard appeared in front of protesters saying “Please move the right. We’ll be moving shortly,” they laughed at how quickly a tense stand-off had turn to mutual cooperation. When another group marched from downtown LA to Hollywood on the National Day of Impact, the exhausted group of protesters blocking the intersection of Hollywood & Highland thanked the LAPD for escorting them and broke into a sustained applause for LA’s finest.

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