While New Orleans residents waited with baited breath for a mandatory evacuation and prepared for Hurricane Gustav to deliver the worst Saturday, the gay revelers of Southern Decadence surveyed the most pressing issue: if evacuated, where would the party go? And, would the “biggest d#%k contest” survive the storm?

E-mails forwarded to us and exchanged among friends shed light on the shallow concerns shared by a number of gay vacationers and business owners in the Big Easy. The Southern Decadence Web site and party promoters vowed the party and parade would forge ahead, despite the fact the still-decimated city faced what had the potential to be the second worst storm in its history, and while many Orleanians, carrying their belongings in their arms, had nowhere to go, and not a dime to get them there.

Organizers of the annual gay Mardi Gras event provided up-to-the-hour updates on which bars had closed, which bars remained opened, and where the pre-hurricane pub crawl was headed.

Yes, three years post-Katrina, amidst reports detailing the declining quality of life among a number of New Orleans residents, plagued by financial hardship, divorce, and death, the primary concern of some of the gay tourists was not the safety or well being of the city’s residents; their quandary was whether and where the celebration would move, if, in fact, the city evacuated.

It’s been said tragedy unites America’s citizens; the iron-willed and resolute New Yorkers, and everyday Americans who rallied to rescue victims and revitalize the city post-Sept. 11 are one example.

And when the government failed New Orleans’ residents in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit, a nationwide, grassroots relief effort launched to provide shelter, food and support to evacuees. Certainly, we’ve seen our nation unite to battle insurmountable grief; which makes the attitudes of some Southern Decadence partygoers all the more despicable.

In crisis, the first concern should not be where the circuit party is headed; it should be how we can help, how we can make an impact, how we can provide relief (and, the $6 spent on a Long Island ice tea at a New Orleans gay bar during Hurricane Gustav is not a boost to the city’s fledgling economy). Perhaps a donation to a homeless shelter or help to a family struggling to find food and water for their children would go a lot further.

The “work hard, play hard” mentality is understandable – after all, we all deserve a break from the grind from time to time. The lack of perspective and priorities, however, illustrated by the concerns of some Southern Decadence attendees is appalling.

Likewise, this week, we’ve received nearly 20 letters to the editor regarding Luke and Noah, a gay couple on the CBS soap opera “As the World Turns.” It seems there is a coordinated effort on the part of fans to call for more on-air time for the couple, and for the show’s writers to finally allow Luke and Noah (dubbed “Nuke” by the fans) to have sex onscreen.

According to the fans, Nuke appeared in only 12 of 60 episodes this summer, and shared a scant 36 minutes together onscreen; also, heterosexual couples have done the deed on the show 23 times – but not Luke and Noah. Can you believe someone, actually hundreds of viewers, gay and straight alike, actually counted these scenes?

It would be easy to laugh at the trivial nature of the fans concerns – after all, they are advocating for the rights of two fictional (read: fake) characters to consummate their relationship.

Yes, it would be laughable – if not for the state of all nonfiction (read: real) gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people nationwide and internationally. In the face of what could be the most important election in the country’s history, with states facing bans on same-sex marriage (California) and gay adoption (Arkansas), and with America on the cusp of great progress, or prolonged failure, one would think (hope, in fact) our grave concerns are not relegated to daytime television … or circuit parties, for that matter. Wouldn’t a letter-writing campaign to one’s senator or congress member on behalf of the rights of the entire GLBT community be more helpful, and more fulfilling?

We’re puzzled by what people must be thinking. There is certainly something wrong when one is more concerned about television characters than political figures; and it’s absolutely backward that someone would be more concerned about who from Southern Decadence will migrate to Austin, Texas for a party, than for the safety of a city’s residents and tourists.

While those who expressed more concern for their vacation than the vitality of New Orleans are in the minority, nonetheless, they represent our community poorly. There’s more to life than circuit parties, big d#%ks and soap opera romance – and if you don’t know it, that’s just sad.