The Rainbow Gestapo

The daily newspaper in the Coachella Valley, "The Desert Sun," (click here) published a fabulously paranoid and inflammatory letter to the editor on April 4th from Palm Springs resident Patrick Phelps.



Patrick writes, in part:

"It seems the only things that matter and get approved are gay and lesbian projects. How are they getting away with it? Now they want another gay/lesbian gala called the Diversity Festival. And the taxpayers will foot that bill, too...

Palm Springs used to be a nice place, but sadly with the Rainbow Gestapo trying to dictate protocol and resident procedures, they are chasing the hetero population away. But then, maybe that is their master plan...

I, for one, will not drown in this rising rainbow ocean. I have rights, too. Maybe I'll run for City Council. I couldn't be any worse than the current members."

There have been many outraged letters printed over the course of the week decrying the bigotry of Mr. Phelps and though I should be filled with indignation too, "The Rainbow Gestapo" phrase instead just gives me the giggles. In fact, I want to design the T-shirt.



This local controversy arrives just in time for Easter Weekend which marks the annual return of The Palm Springs White Party, where 20,000 guppies in the rainbow ocean wriggle in from all over the world to strut their gym bodies at a series of huge parties set to terrible disco music for 72 straight hours.



It was started in 1989 by a Los Angeles queen named Jeffrey Sanker (above), who has become the production-meister of gay circuit parties around the world from Provincetown to Rio de Janeiro (click here for his website, complete with frightening music).



The main headquarters for The White Party is a large, corporate Wyndham Hotel complex and the pool is quite a scene. In fact, I may return on Saturday afternoon to capture the full weirdness of The Rainbow Gestapo in action.