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Will you observe Leap Year Day?

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brianr:
On that infamous day in 1978, I attended a Homosexual rights conference during the day but did not go to the march that night. It was nothing like the present day Mardi Gras Parade, just people marching and chanting, now it is all floats and people in costumes with contingents from many areas of society. As I said the police have a float and this year they are going to give the gay firefighters the leading spot after the dreadful summer. A few years later I rented a Spanish flamenco costume and had some of my students come up to me.
Back in 1978 I turned up at the conference the next morning to discover the police had cancelled permission for the parade in the middle of it and arrested over 50. Although all charges were later dropped the main Sydney newspaper published all names. Teaching in a Catholic school, it would have finished my career and I do not know how my mother would have coped. She was always supportive but did not want the world of her friends to know. Fifty years later in 2018 the parliament moved a unanimous apology and the newspaper also apologised but a bit late for some.  My diary of the time shows how upset I was, angry, relieved and ashamed all at once.
A year later I was at a Gay rights meeting listening to a leading judge in support of legalisation of homosexuality (came in 1984) and the TV camera came and panned me up and down. I was on the late night news and the whole school knew the next day but, of course, I was not doing anything illegal. In later years I was quite out at the school and I was told that the Catholic education authorities knew but would not do anything as long as I was not too public. The brothers at the school and other staff were quite supportive and I took my boyfriend to staff socials.

serious crayons:
Wow, Brian, what a story. Somebody has probably already done this, but if not they should: It would make a great book or documentary. The author or filmmaker could track down people who were there, find out what happened to them back then and over the years and how they're doing today.

brianr:
There was a TV documentary in 2018. I can only find the trailer on Youtube. It was called Riot

I think I cried all the way through it. I knew so many of the people involved

brianr:
More about it here
https://www.78ers.org.au/what-happened-at-the-first-mardi-gras

serious crayons:

--- Quote from: brian on February 16, 2020, 04:18:24 pm ---There was a TV documentary in 2018. I can only find the trailer on Youtube. It was called Riot

I think I cried all the way through it. I knew so many of the people involved

--- End quote ---

That looks very powerful. One of the lead actors, Damon Herriman, has been in a few good shows here. He was a regular in Justified, one of my favorite TV shows (no longer on), where he played a hillbilly-ish, not-very bright, small-time criminal. And he has played Charles Manson twice, including in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I imagine he has a different kind of casting history down there.

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