The moment you say, "We are proud. I'm proud to be this, and I'm proud to be that," what you're saying is we're almost as good as the others. "Almost" always means not quite.
Harry HayI've always felt I carried a golden secret, a wonderful secret. Every time I thought about it, it made me feel warm inside and good.
Harry HayOut of the mists of our long oppression, / We bring love for ourselves and each other, / And love for the gifts we bear, /So heavy and so painful the fashioning of them, /So long the road given us to travel them. A separate people, /We bring a gift to celebrate each other, /โTis a gift to be gay! / Feel the pride of it!
Harry Hay