This past week was our annual Labor Day sojourn to New Orleans for Southern Decadence. Nothing out of the ordinary for us. We saw old friends, made new ones, and had some great food. We even bought a new piece of art that we’ll have to figure out where to hang. Overall, it was a good trip, and the weather was decent instead of blistering hot the entire time.
However, on our last day, we were hit with a reminder that the queer community does a great job of eating its own. With the start of Decadence, drink prices in most bars jumped. The bar we frequent raised their prices by six bucks per drink. But imagine our shock when we went into our old hangout—the Bourbon Pub—and our drink order, before tip, was $57.50. What the actual…?
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I guess we’re supposed to think of this as surge pricing. And yes, I know this is a very first-world problem to be talking about. But one has to wonder how bars—and the city—expect people to keep coming back when queer-focused and/or owned businesses continue to take advantage of the fact that an event is happening that weekend. Instead of raising a ruckus, we’ll just pay it and complain about it, neither of which gives the bars any incentive to change.
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What happens when establishments start pricing the community out? After this Christmas, our Key West group will be left with only one gay guest house to book a room in. Unfortunately, the only way we’re getting in after Christmas is if a few of the regulars kick the bucket. No one seems to have realized that charging $500 per night for a room—which might work for some—is likely preventing a younger generation of queers from visiting. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to swing that when I was in my 20s.
We’re so adept at eating our own that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued a travel advisory to Florida in 2023. While they didn’t call it a boycott, the message was clear: don’t vacation in Florida. For many queer-owned businesses, that means lost revenue, with the potential for losing their businesses altogether.
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Plus, with this being an election year, my mind went to the queer community members supporting the Trump-Vance ticket. I understand taking a more conservative stance on government spending or similar issues. However, I have a hard time grasping how someone can be part of a party that reviles them—as if the anti-queer legislation pouring out of Republican state legislatures never happened.
For me, nothing beats watching the Log Cabin Republicans flail every year when conservative conferences roll around, and they are denied participation simply because they’re gay. And yet, each time, the LCR members are shocked—shocked, I tell you—at being denied entry. But they still stick with the party that wants nothing to do with them.
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