There were other tributes dotted throughout, too: the We Are Family float led their signs with a poster for Baird and Davies.
The Qantas float pays tribute to its employee Luke Davies.Credit: Jessica Hromas
When the rain started to fall, it felt almost inevitable. Of course, it would rain on our parade this year. But it was a brief shower, in the end; quicker to dry than our tears for Baird and Davies will, though they eventually must. If there is one thing the LBGTQ community knows, it’s that it does get better.
At Taylor Square, the NSW Police float – with most officers marching in plain clothes, as per agreement with organisers – was greeted with loud and sustained applause, arguably more than previous years. Some watched on stony-faced, yes, but there were no heckles to be heard from here.
Many felt it would have been jarring to see police in uniform clapped and cheered so soon after the horrific events of the past fortnight. In the end, the plain clothes compromise felt like a nice touch: a nod towards a better future after a horror to which there can be no right answer, no definitive response.
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You wouldn’t write the script that this Mardi Gras has been saddled with. You would say “no thanks” and send it back for major edits. You would shred it into a thousand pieces and burn it.
But haunted by tragedy, it glowed with hope and resilience. For that is the meaning of Mardi Gras.
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