Only at Mardi Gras

It wouldn’t be a Mardi Gras without something to have a moan and whinge about and, fortunately, this season seems to have delivered a bumper-load of topics already.

Let’s see -¦ we’ve got the good ol’ standards: New Mardi Gras Is Losing Touch With The Community And Is Sucking Too Much Sponsor Arse (always good for a bar-room bitchfest, or a letter to the editor of the Star), and the other never-say-die topic, The Lesbians Are Taking Over, And Why Do They Get Their Own Space At The Party Anyway?

These are the perennial Mardi Gras issues -“ the scabs we love to lift and scratch, this time every year, without any real reason or resolution.

Then there are the more, how should I say, boutique debates -“ the ones that seem so out-there and bizarre you think someone’s making it up just for the sheer hell of it.

We got a good one a few months ago, when a few posters on the Pinkboard graffiti walls started complaining that There Were No Trance DJs Playing At The Party and this Just Wasn’t Good Enough so they were going to start a Letter Writing Campaign.

And more recently, we’ve had such blistering topics as (I’m paraphrasing): How Dare Mardi Gras Have Their Launch Event On A Saturday, as well as Gaydar Obviously Hates Lesbians So New Mardi Gras Probably Hates Lesbians As Well, and my personal favourite (still paraphrasing, remember), Why Aren’t I Allowed To Sell Gay Porn At Fair Day?

I’m sure, for the people at the pointy ends of these particular debates, it’s all tremendously serious, etc, and their opponents are all a bunch of egregious wankers, etc.

But at a rough guess I’d say for 90 percent of people, these fractious fights are nothing more than background noise: at best, something to talk about in those moments when we’re not focusing on what Mardi Gras is really about, which is Having Fun.

And there’s a funny thing that happens with these community bunfights. Every year, even the most vitriolic debate seems to melt away and count for nothing on the big night itself?

That, I think, is just part of the magic of Mardi Gras.