Taken out-of-context video fuels ugly lie about drag queens 'grooming' children

The anti-LGBTQ industry used this footage to claim that LGBTQ people are 'grooming kids.' Like so many other times, they got the story wrong.

Pride Week in Chattanooga, Tennessee ended up as a lesson on how the anti-LGBTQ industry are ruthless when it comes to spreading lies about LGBTQ people harming children. Take a look at this tweet below courtesy low-budget clout chaser Andy Ngo and failed Congressional candidate Robby Starbuck, particularly the first 12 second:

Tennessee: Video recorded at the Chattanooga Pride youth event at @WanderLinger Brewing Company on Saturday shows a child stroking a performer’s groin area & children watching provocative drag dance routines. Video published by @robbystarbuck: pic.twitter.com/9DoGCXQygx

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 25, 2022

This happened during the Chattanooga Pride Youth Day last weekend. As you can see, Starbuck and Ngo said that the woman dressed as the Little Mermaid was actually a drag queen (i.e a man in costume) and encouraged the child to rub his crotch. 

And they weren't the only ones. As those of us who monitor this stuff can guess, the video was filtered through the far-right blogsphere repeatedly as many conservative pundits, groups and provocateurs added their two cents about how children are being 'sexually groomed' by LGBTQ people and our allies.

If you doubt what I say, feel free to read the response thread of the above tweet. But trust me when I say it is ugly. The tweet of course has gone viral with over one million hits and counting. And it has caused a huge controversy in the city about drag shows.

But as they generally always do, Ngo, Starbuck, and the rest got the entire story wrong. 

According to Chattanooga Times Free Press:

Republican Robby Starbuck, who was removed from the GOP primary ballot for a Nashville area congressional seat earlier this year under Republican rules about bona fide candidates, posted a video taken Saturday at Chattanooga Pride's Youth Pride Event at WanderLinger Brewing Co. 

 The moment that appears to have attracted the most attention on social media shows a girl running her hand along the front of a performer's sequined costume. The performer was dressed as Ariel from "The Little Mermaid." "It's NOT hard to redirect a kid away from that area if they grab near your crotch," Starbuck wrote. "We have to stop this madness!" 

Some commenters assumed the performer was a man.

"The individual portraying Ariel is not a drag performer but a biological female that does princess parties all over Chattanooga," Chattanooga Pride said in a statement issued Monday. "Her tail was made out of a reversible sequin fabric, which is why the younger child was touching it. What the video did not show was the performer redirecting the child by shifting to the side

. "In addition, some of the clips circulating about one of the performers (she is also a biological female) was from a completely different event, that was not affiliated with Chattanooga Pride. This event was also marketed as 18 and up. Due to this, no minors were present.

Unfortunately, the controversy has caused a lot of problems. The organizers of Chattanooga Pride and the owner of where the event was held, WanderLinger Brewing Co, said that they have been receiving death threats.

In an interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, WanderLinger Brewing Co co-owner Chris Dial called out those who spread the video:

"One of the worst parts is, it feels like it's targeted hate in my opinion," he said. "The pictures that they took and the videos that they're using, they're claiming things that aren't even accurate."

 In addition to the actress portraying Ariel, he said, commenters singled out Von Tonic, who is also a biological woman, for a leg kick she performed during a dance set to Dolly Parton's "9 to 5." "The families that were in attendance had no issue with what occurred," Dial said. "They've supported us on social media, defending their choice, their children and Chattanooga Pride."

Naturally the video has caused a lot of controversy in the city and I doubt it will end any time soon.

This is not new scenario for many LGBTQ bloggers and journalists like myself:

1. Anti-LGBTQ industry takes a situation out of context (often times deliberately) and spreads their version of it.

2. Outrage ensues, anti-LGBTQ industry feeds off of it 

3. The so-called normies demand action either from their Congressional or local leaders.

4. The truth comes out but by then folks are either too angry or too exhausted to realize that they have been manipulated.

5. Meanwhile those who instigated the nonsense slink away without any punishment to repeat the cycle again.

What bothers me mostly is that if this had happened at an event other than Pride, we wouldn't be having this ruckus. That little girl would have been able to feel the actress's costume up, down, and sideways and folks watching the video would think it was cute.

But since the event was LGBTQ-oriented, it was easy to fool people and get them alarmed. That  proves a sad but necessary-to-know fact. No matter how easy going and open-minded some people claim to be about us, the truth is they don't look at us like regular human beings. They don't see us as normal. 

They are like that character in the movie The Color Purple - Miss Millie, the mayor's wife. She pretended to like and be concerned about black people, but secretly she feared them because she thought they were going to hurt her the moment she put her guard down.

We have a lot of Miss Millies in the country today. They say they are 'tolerant' (I hate that word) of LGBTQ people and they claim they have no problem with us. Secretly though, they think everything we do and say surrounds having sex. They think our lives are x-rated and unsuitable for children from time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed.

And that makes it easy for the anti-LGBTQ industry to manipulate them. 

People like Andy Ngo, Starbuck, and sites like Libs of TikTok (because you just know it was knee deep in sharing that mess) created deceptions like this before and they will do it again. That is until people pay more attention to just who is exploiting their fears and anger instead of the latest outrage they're peddling.

Related posts: 

Drag Performer Sues Right-Wing Blogger Over Indecent Exposure Claims 

Anti-LGBTQ site Libs of TikTok deletes tweet after attempt to smear teachers as 'groomers' backfire 

Libs of TikTok still threatening to lie about children's hospitals even after Twitter suspension 

Babylon Bee editor Seth Dillon caught spreading false story about a child tipping a half naked drag queen

BUSTED! Far right caught spreading false story that a drag queen exposed self to children

'A week in escalating anti-LGBTQ violence' & other Thur midday news briefs

Doxxed Doctors, Library Bomb Threats, and Attacks on Pride Centers: A Week in Escalating Anti-LGBTQ Violence​ - No joke. I have never seen anything like this. 

The LGBTQ-owned bookstore that rallied a community - But as you can see, we are fighting back in our own way. 

GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker says trans kids won’t go to heaven - Georgia, please don't send this guy to Washington.

Watch Pete Buttigieg's Devastating Takedown of Fla.'s Ron DeSantis - Ouch.

LGBTQ-friendly church OK with getting Southern Baptist boot - You're better off without them.

'A Drag Queen In Ever Classroom' - the funniest political ad of the 2022 midterms

Mid-term elections are zanier than presidential elections. This year is no different and in fact probably the strangest you will ever see. The GOP looks like they may gain control of the House, but not the Senate and not the majority of state governorships.

You see, they have a problem. In a midterm in which they are supposed to totally wreck the Democratic party, their base have picked bizarre candidates, some who can't campaign their way out of a paper bag. Case in point, Tudor Dixon, former actress who appeared in some very awful horror movies including one in which depicted women being urinated on by male zombies, is trying to portray herself as the upstanding opposite of current Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.

It's presently not.working because she is way behind the polls. I wonder why . . . 

New ad from MAGA MI Gov candidate Tudor Dixon says Gretchen Whitmer wants “a Drag Queen in every classroom.” pic.twitter.com/7tyqrT5RXg

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) September 28, 2022

Maybe it's just me, but a drag queen in every classroom doesn't sound bad at all.

'Drag performer sues right-wing blogger over indecent exposure claims' & other Wed midday news briefs

Drag Performer Sues Right-Wing Blogger Over Indecent Exposure Claims​- It's about time someone stepped up. I hope he wins. It will send a message to those folks lying about drag performers. 

LGBTQ people are protesting in Harlem as Columbia University tries to buy their neighborhood - Good story. 

LGBTQ Italians on alert as right-wing alliance triumphs in election - Meanwhile, fascism is popular again in Italy. And it doesn't bode well for LGBTQ Italians. 

One in three Republicans say they don't want more LGBTQ people in Congress: poll - They will get over it.

Thousands of VA high school students walk out of school in protest of Gov Youngkin's anti-LGBTQ policy

On Tuesday, Virginia high school students sent a message to Governor Glenn Youngkin. They are not in favor of his policy which rolls back the rights of LGBTQ students. 

From The Daily Beast:

Thousands of Virginia students walked out of school Tuesday to protest anti-LGBTQ policies introduced by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, with more than 90 schools participating. The new school policies, unveiled in early September, require parents to sign off on names, pronouns or gender identities not aligned with students’ official records, and otherwise requires them to be referred to by their biological sex, potentially preventing them from using facilities or programs of their preferred gender.

 The policies are a walk back from the previous administration’s guidelines, which allowed students to identify without “any substantiating evidence.” “While students exercise their free speech today, we’d note that these policies state that students should be treated with compassion and schools should be free from bullying and harassment,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in a statement.

In addition to the walk-out, students were very vocal about the damage Youngkin's policy would cause:

 “We decided to hold these walkouts as kind of a way to ... disrupt schools and essentially have students be aware of what’s going on,” said Natasha Sanghvi, a high school senior and member of the Pride Liberation Project, which helped organize the resistance effort. 

 Sanghvi said the existing, more permissive state policies, which were adopted under former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's administration, had been powerful in helping students feel affirmed in their identities at school. The new ones made public earlier this month, she said, have the potential to harm “every single queer student in the state of Virginia.”

'Trolls trying to review bomb upcoming gay romantic comedy' & other Tues midday news briefs

Trolls are trying to review bomb his gay rom-com & Billy Eichner has a solution - Those folks don't want us to have anything.

Right-wing media fearmonger against new clinical recommendations for gender-affirming medical care - You can always set your watch to it. 

Hatred for Queer Community on Display at Rally in Dearborn​ - THIS is sad. Keep fighting, y'all. 

Parents Confused, Outraged About Ohio School's Letter Regarding LGBTQ+ Policies - THIS, on the other hand, is good.

Cuba legalizes same-sex marriage in historic referendum - WOW! Good for Cuba!

Twitter accounts - some run by gays - chase profit by smearing entire LGBTQ community

These twitter sites, supposedly from LGBTQ people, have sprung up on Twitter. All sharing lies about the LGBTQ community (especially the transgender community) and other far right narratives.

The above sites are a part of a huge coalition taking aim at the LGBTQ community. Specifically, there are now Twitter accounts which spread lies and fear about the LGBTQ community for the sake of profit. And some of these accounts are allegedly run by LGBTQ people.

We know about Libs of TikTok and Gays Against Grooming and what they do to profit from scaring gullible people about the LGBTQ community. , 

The three above sites were recently created and mimic the narrative of the original Gays Against Groomers site. They claim that they are run by members of the LGBTQ community who think that we have supposedly gone too far and are now a danger to America, particularly children.

What they are doing is spreading LGBTQ lies for the sake of clout and profit. It's the social media version of Anita Bryant and the vast majority of it is simply vile:

But what makes these folks more dangerous is that they claim to be members of the LGBTQ community. That gives them more credibility than someone like Franklin Graham or Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. Their narrative is "what we are saying is not homophobic because we are members of the community and we see that the religious right is correct about the gay community."

What makes them even more dangerous are the connections they have. Tucker Carlson  and other Fox News pundits, as well as other far right networks,  have more than once amplified their message.

Lastly, there are real world repercussions to what these accounts spew. People have been targeted and threatened after being falsely accused of being pedophiles. Several children's hospitals had to contend with bomb threats because these sites and other right-wing pundits falsely claimed that they were giving transgender kids hysterectomies. Two weeks ago, a woman was arrested for threatening to blow up  the Boston Children's Hospital.

It's some sad bullshit but also par for the course. Exploiting fear is a vice which no group in the world escapes. Every group has at least a few people in it willing to lie and stab their own in the back, front or wherever if the result is lots of media attention and profit.

Yes, I said profit.

The original Gays Against Groomers tweet address directs you to a webpage (which I am not sharing) where you can buy overpriced swag, i.e. clothing with the Gays Against Groomers logo. OR you can give donations. 

And of course you can join the mailing groups or the Twitter accounts where you can be shown all sorts of lascivious, immoral, and absolutely dirty things LGBTQ people and our allies are allegedly doing to children  It doesn't even matters if these charges are the results of comments taken out of context or given false context. It doesn't matter if these charges are extreme misrepresentation of events or even photos deliberately doctored.

All that matters is keeping the clout and the money coming.  And for that, these accounts are willing shock, sicken, anger, or whatever else is needed to pick the pockets.

Update - G.A.G.newyork -  @G_A_G_NY  sent me the following tweet. It was after he or she tried to convince me that the Twitter account is comprised of gay folks. If you're going to pretend to be gay, at least use current catchphrases. I mean who says "slay" anymore?

'School board candidate offends LGBTQ and Jewish community by using Pride flag as Nazi symbol' & other Mon midday news briefs

Simply tacky.

School board candidate uses Pride flag as a hated Nazi symbol - Geez, what a jackass. 

Trump’s Embrace of QAnon Realizes the Dream of the Religious Right - Classic case of be careful what you wish for, my friends. 

Evelyn Rios Stafford made trans history in Arkansas. She’s not finished yet. - Another SHERO. 

How beauty standards for LGBTQ people impact body image, mental health - Something else the community needs to converse about.

Allegations of child sex abuse by its founder rocks anti-LGBTQ Christian college

Don Ogden

While certain people are attacking drag queens and LGBTQ people in general for supposedly 'sexualizing' kids, they are distracting from the actual criminal behavior.

From LGBTQNation:

This week, the daughters of a founder at Grace College in Indiana came forward with a shocking revelation: their father had sexually abused an estimated one to two hundred male students over his 40-year career at the school. Don Ogden, who died in 2015, was the founder of the school’s music program. His daughters, Diane and Kathleen, disclosed the abuse in a six-page statement shared with The Christian Post .

.  . . Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana officially bans LGBTQ students from attending. The school’s catalog bans “homosexual behavior” and compares it to other sins like adultery, greed, and drunkenness.

The Christian Post, which known to be a highly conservative publication, went into more detail about the allegations.  And they are stunning. According to his two daughters, Ogden (who died in 2015) may have been taking advantage of male students even he was 80. They also accuse Grace College and the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church of covering it up:

The man who had declared that he "loved being a servant of the Lord" was also a serial sexual predator who had an attraction for sex with young boys, which he once allegedly likened to a “dentist that eats candy.” Ogden’s addiction was so deep that even at the age of 80, eight years before his death, he was still allegedly actively engaged in his predation.

 A six-page statement with supporting evidence recently shared with The Christian Post by Ogden’s adult daughters, Diane and Kathleen, said they discovered in February 2021 that, along with his legacy in music, their father left behind an estimated 100 to 200 male victims of his predation. They also accuse officials at Grace College and the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church of mishandling his abuse out of fear they would disrupt the funding of their operations if a scandal about Ogden’s predation was made public.

Both articles point to 1993 arrest in which Ogden was accused of kidnapping and sexually assault a 16-year-old. The young man later recanted the story, claiming that the sex was consensual With the age of consent in Kansas being 16, the case was closed.

But apparently, there were other kids. The Christian Post said that a whistleblower contacted his daughter in 2021 with more allegations that their father may have been molesting kids in a span of 40 years.

The revelation led the sisters to confront leaders at both Grace College and Winona Lake Grace Brethren church and urged them to get help from the Boz Tchividjian-founded Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment organization, popularly known as GRACE. GRACE, which is based in Lynchburg, Virginia, helps Christian groups confront abuse and has a track record in finding and helping victims.

The investigation by GRACE confirmed the worst:

Grace College said because Ogden’s primary contact was with students in the music program, 900 letters were sent to both members of the music program and alumni of the program with queries about their experience with Ogden. 

 Only 11 individuals responded to say “they experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct by Mr. Ogden, with most of the incidents occurring during choir or music group tours,” the brief stated. The brief further noted that some former members of the school staff were made aware of his misconduct but failed to respond appropriately. 

“The investigation substantiated claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault perpetrated by Mr. Ogden within the course and scope of his employment at Grace College. The reported incidents occurred between 1960 and 1990, with most incidents occurring in the 1980s. The investigation also revealed that some former employees had knowledge of the misconduct and failed to appropriately respond to the information at the time,” the brief said, noting Ogden’s 1993 arrest as well. A total of 140 people responded by email or phone to the investigator’s letter or direct outreach, including 19 former students and 18 current and former employees.

What happens next is anyone's guess, but let's put things in perspective.

There have been child sex abuse scandals in the Mormon, Catholic, and Southern Baptist churches. Meanwhile, drag queens and the LGBTQ community in general are constantly facing allegations that we are "grooming" and "sexualizing" kids even though no one has ever been arrested at any drag venue for anything remotely resembling the 'sexual grooming' of a child.

Certain people are protesting at the wrong venues and it seems to me that kids are safer at drag shows than in church.

'Critics say new school policies in Florida ostracize LGBTQ students' & other Thur midday news briefs

Critics say new school policies in Florida ostracize LGBTQ students - That was its intent.

Google Bans Anti-Trans Hate Group Gays Against Groomers​ - A step in the right direction. But I want more. 

Republicans attack Kansas Gov Laura Kelly for supporting trans people. She responded in 8 words - Not bad. 

Security appears to mistake drag queen for Lady Gaga at singer's Miami concert - Happens to me all of the time . . .

Family Research Council spins three distorted stories to claim that schools are 'making' kids transgender behind backs of parents

When it comes to issues involving the trans community, it is important that those of us who support them demand parity.  One thing that the religious right has done  well is to hone in on incidents involving trans people and create a narrative which is beneficial to them. Often times, the narrative is altogether wrong or slightly distorted. And by the time the truth comes out, no one listens or cares because the religious right narrative has dominated the conversation.

Take, for example, this article one the Family Research Council's webpage entitled ‘My Blood Still Boils’: Father Recalls School’s Secret Attempt to Transition Daughter. In it, the father of a trans child says that the school is responsible for making his child trans and for the child's suicide attempts:

At the beginning of this year, Wendell Perez got a call that no father ever wants to receive — his elementary-aged daughter had attempted to hang herself in the school bathroom. Perez and his wife rushed to the school, where their daughter was whisked away by a police car to stay in a mental institution for a week. Searching for answers, the couple found out from school administrators that their “son” had been struggling with “his” gender identity. 

On top of that, the school had remained quiet about the issue as the student was concerned that “he” would not be accepted at home because of the family’s faith. It was only until the child’s second suicide attempt in a matter of two days that Perez and his wife were informed of the situation. The school was secretly transitioning the young girl into a male identity, without the parents’ knowledge or consent.

The above paragraph demonstrates how the lack of parity benefits the religious right's narrative. An article by News4Jax provided details omitted from FRC's rendition of the story:

The parents claim that the administration of the Clay County elementary school their child attends overstepped its authority in discussing and supporting their child’s request to be referred to by a different name and gender and, in doing so, that the district violated the parents’ rights to direct the education of their child. After the child told the school counselor about two separate suicide attempts in early January, the parents were notified and later filed the lawsuit that month. The parents told News4JAX that the concept of changing one’s gender identity is inconsistent with the family’s catholic Christian beliefs and referred to the scenario as “a mental health problem.”

The parents are blaming the school for something they themselves are responsible for, i.e. the child being afraid to come out to them. They are attempting to make the school look like culprits instead of asking themselves why was their child scared to be honest with them.  Also don't let FRC's article confuse you with its phraseology. Claiming that the school was  "transitioning" the child  is a sly way to allude to people's stereotypes about the transgender community - the belief that surgery is always involved. The actions the school took were minor ones in order make the child feel at ease.

That's not the only incident FRC omitted facts about in its article. The group lists two more examples of schools supposedly working behind the backs of parents to "transition" their children:

Many parents across the country have found themselves as plaintiffs fighting school administrations that have helped their children begin quietly transitioning, such as a mother in California and a couple in Tallahassee, Florida, with similar situations. Other instances across the country have included the emergence of “gender transition closets” in communities and schools. 

The two examples listed prove just how FRC is exaggerating the issue. Both examples are linked to articles from  The Washington Examiner, a right-wing publication. But when taken away from that biased source, details are become more complex.

1. Take the case of the California mother suing the school. She is only suing because an article written by an anti-transgender author, Abigail Shrier, made her think that the school and teachers manipulated her daughter into being trans.

From LGBTQNation:

A mother is suing the small Spreckels Union School District in California for allegedly convincing her 11-year-old child to change their gender identity. In the lawsuit, the mother, Jessica Konen, accuses two teachers, Lori Caldeira and Kelly Baraki, of engaging in “extreme and outrageous conduct with malice and the intention of causing, or reckless disregard for the probability of causing, emotional distress.

”It claims Caldeira and Baraki, who ran the school’s LGBTQ equality club, “would coach” students on how to embody certain identities and as such “planted the seed” in Konen’s child’s mind that they are bisexual and transgender. The complaint says the teachers subsequently concealed the student’s changed gender identity from Konen and “attempted to deceive” her by using the child’s birth name and she/her pronouns when speaking with her. 

It also claims the teachers instructed the student to keep their identity a secret from their mother. According to the complaint, the meetings of the LGBTQ group, known as the UBU (You Be You) club, led Konen’s child to explore their gender identity and begin using a new name and pronouns – though the mother claims that the child is back to using their birth name and she/her pronouns. Eventually, the teachers had a meeting with Konen and her child to discuss their gender identity, and in response, Konen said she did her best to support her child. 

Konen didn't have a problem with her child being bisexual. But her child possibly being transgender is another matter. Her behavior when receiving the news may have scared her child.

According to ABC News: 

“I literally was caught off guard. I was blindsided,” Konen said. “I didn’t even know what to feel like because I didn’t even know where it came from.” Konen said she began to cry. She said her daughter was also caught by surprise. 

The article goes on to say:

When schools went to remote learning during the pandemic in March 2020, Konen said her daughter began returning to her “old self” and now uses her given name. But it wasn’t until this fall that Konen began to question how her daughter got on the path to a different identity after the article by Abigail Shrier circulated around town. 

 

 The tone of Shrier's article was that teachers were 'recruiting' kids to become transgender. Shrier, who wrote a discredited attack on the trans community entitled Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughter, has made a career out of spinning nonsense against the transgender community. Her article consisted of a leaked recording of the teachers talking about how they created a group for LGBTQ students.

In a leaked recording from a California Teachers Association conference, Caldeira and Kelly Baraki were quoted discussing how they kept meetings private and “stalked” students online for recruits. “When we were doing our virtual learning — we totally stalked what they were doing on Google, when they weren’t doing school work,” Baraki said.

 “One of them was googling ‘Trans Day of Visibility.’ And we’re like, ‘Check.’ We’re going to invite that kid when we get back on campus.” Neither Caldeira nor Baraki could be reached by The Associated Press for comment. Caldeira told the San Francisco Chronicle the quotes were accurate but taken out of context or misrepresented. The stalking comment was a joke, she said.

LGBTQNation said: 

Caldeira and Baraki, said that their school principal – who is a named defendant in Konen’s lawsuit – knew about the UBU club and its purpose and even attended some of the meetings. California law doesn’t prevent teachers from approaching students about joining LGBTQ clubs, and state law bars teachers from discussing students’ LGBTQ identities with parents without the child’s permission. Though monitoring students’ search terms is controversial, it’s a technical feature widely available to teachers, especially as virtual and online learning increased during the pandemic. Nevertheless, all of this information inspired Konen to take legal action against the school.

Just like in the first case FRC alluded to, blaming the school and teachers is highly problematic.  Konen's actions were spurred on by reading an article about the teachers from someone who doesn't exactly have the best reputation when it comes to truth or credibility when it comes to trans issues.

2. Then there is the example of the Florida couple, January and Jeff Littlejohn,  who claimed that the school was secretly "transitioning" their child. 

It's not as complicated as the other two examples. The couple was not telling the truth. The school wasn't secretly doing anything. As a matter of fact, the couple knew because they were the ones who informed the school about their child being transgender.

From an earlier post I wrote about the lawsuit:

CNN obtained emails that show Littlejohn wrote the school in 2020 and notified a teacher that her child wanted to change pronouns.  . . . Littlejohn also wrote that she would not stop her child from using preferred pronouns or name of choice at school. Littlejohn references these emails in her lawsuit against the school and they were reported by the Tallahassee Democrat in November. 

 . . In an August 27, 2020, email to a teacher, Littlejohn stated, in part, "This has been an incredibly difficult situation for our family and her father and I are trying to be as supportive as we can. She is currently identifying as non-binary. She would like to go by the new name [redacted] and prefers the pronouns they/them. We have not changed her name at home yet, but I told her if she wants to go by the name [redacted] with her teachers, I won't stop her." 

The teacher thanked Littlejohn and asked if she should share with other teachers. Littlejohn explained it was difficult and confusing, and went on to write, "Whatever you think is best or [redacted] can handle it herself." In another email the same day, Littlejohn told the teacher, "This gender situation has thrown us for a loop. I sincerely appreciate your support. I'm going to let her take the lead on this."

According to CNN, Littlejohn filed a lawsuit against the school because she claimed that after this email, the school went behind her and her husband's back and created a Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Student Support Plan with the child. She also claimed that she was denied access to information.

However, the school district spokesperson said the following:

"From the moment Mrs. Littlejohn first emailed her child's teacher to inform our staff of the situation, this has been handled together in partnership with clear communication. We understand that outside entities have now become involved, but the family clearly instructed the school staff via email to allow their child to 'take the lead on this' and to do 'whatever you think is the best,' " Chris Petley, Leon County Schools communications coordinator, said in a statement to CNN.

The outside entities Petley is talking about are the attorneys hired by Littlejohn. They are from the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, a right-wing anti-trans group.

It's all about the spin  with the Family Research Council. The group's goal is to cause alarm and fear with the single-minded purpose of exploiting that mix into more political power and clout. 

And in doing so, FRC is obscuring an important reality.

Trans kids are coming out and parents are not being equipped with the knowledge or resources to help these kids. Instead, they are being manipulated into filing for lawsuits  designed to point the finger of blame for their child being trans. Doing this relieves them from the responsibility of taking responsibility of ensuring the health of their children in the correct way.

In the long run, this is could severely damage those kids. It may even kill them.

But the Family Research Council doesn't give a damn. What's a few wasted lives when you're trying to convert a nation into your definition of a biblical world view, right FRC?

'NBA player Anthony Edwards fined $40,000 for homophobic language on social media' & other Wed midday news briefs

Anthony Edwards

Anthony Edwards fined $40k by NBA, no mention of gay community or homophobia​ - Gotta do better than that. 

Kelley Robinson, Black Queer Woman, Is New Human Rights Campaign Head - Wonderful. Let's support as she and the organization gets to work.

Anti-vaxxer convicted for making death threats against gay state lawmaker Scott Wiener - For Pete's sake . . . 

Gay Comedian Reveals He Was Raped in a Sauna - This is one of the dangers of being trapped in the closet. None of what happened was his fault but a society which makes gay men fearful of being open and honest causes situations like this.

The homoeroticism of The Proud Boys

How odd is it that the Proud Boys are a homophobic group seeing that its founder, Gavin McInnes, stuck a dildo up his rear on live television.

The far-right racist group The Proud Boys has been in the media recently for several attacks against the LGBTQ community and drag shows. And it's the height of irony, considering its founder, Gavin McInnes. Of course McInnes himself is a conundrum. A far-right, homophobic and racist conundrum. 

A recent story in Mediaite says that McInnes came up with the 'Proud Boys' name as sort of an anti-gay dig:

Huffington Post reporter Andy Campbell’s new book on the Proud Boys opens with the story of how the group got its name. Campbell reported that founder Gavin McInnes was once so appalled by a young boy singing a song from the musical Aladdin at a school recital he attended that he decided to mock the boy and name the group after a lyric in the song. 

 “The Proud Boys name first came to Gavin McInnes while he watched, with disgust, as a twelve-year-old boy with brown skin sang a musical number onstage at a school recital,” Campbell writes in his book titled: We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism. 

 . . .“Fuckin’ musicals, man. My wife’s a fag hag so I had to sit there and just not laugh. I couldn’t say to my boys, ‘Don’t ever fucking do that or I will be the opposite of proud,” Campbell quotes McInnes saying on an early episode of his podcast The Gavin McInnes Show. “This little Puerto Rican kid comes out, and he goes, ‘I’ll make you proud boy! It was the gayest fucking song,'” McInnes added. “When I was watching I was like, this is obviously the Hispanic son of a single mom. He did high-five a grown man afterward, but it couldn’t have been the real dad.”

So McInnes came up with the name of his group as a way to "own gays," or make fun of the LGBTQ community in a satirical way.  It's an odd thing to do, but no more odder than another stunt he pulled involving a dildo. On live television (I'm not sure of the year), he stuffed a dildo up his butt to supposedly "own liberals" and prove he has no problem with gays. So he said.  I saw the video and  I caution against it, but for those who are interested in things like that, you can see a play-by-play of McInnes via screenshots here. Then there was the time when other members of the Proud Boys wearing kilts mooned people with the words ""F@ck Anitfa" written on their butt cheeks.

These folks clearly have issues. Maybe if they took care of their issues, they wouldn't have time to annoy LGBTQ people.

'Over 1600 books banned during 2021-22 school year, report finds' & other Tue midday news briefs

More than 1,600 books banned during 2021-22 school year, report finds - And guess how many were LGBTQ-oriented. A serious plot. 

Town board votes to ban book-banning while slamming conservative activists - THIS is how it should be done. 

Misinformation surrounding LGBTQ training for educators ‘deliberately divisive’, state department says - Guess who is behind THIS madness. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Declares War on Transgender Kids​ - Trying to become president on the backs of trans kids.

Greenville GOP wants LGBTQ library books blocked from kids’ sections - When idiots are empowered.

Tucker Carlson openly calling for violence against LGBTQ community and teachers

No matter how you attempt to soft pedal this, Tucker Carlson is in fact calling for violence against teachers and the LGBTQ community.  Spurred on by lies put out by Libs of TikTok, Matt Walsh and others claiming that LGBTQ people and teachers are sexualizing children, Carlson is taking this madness deeper down a dark road. None of the things he or anyone else is claiming about children being sexualized is true. The narrative is an adrenalized version of Anita Bryant's 'Save the Children' nonsense. But the stakes are now higher because the chances of violence is more prevalent.

We've already seen bomb threats against children's hospitals, and far-right groups attacking drag shows.  What else are we going to see when idiots like Carlson are openly demanding that people act outside the law.  He's not saying the words per se, but his intent is definitely cleared. How many people are going to get hurt before someone gives a damn?

Tucker Carlson is openly calling for violence against teachers and LGBTQ+ people:

"No parent should put up with this for one second, no matter what the law says. Your moral duty is to defend your children. This is an attack on your children and you should fight back." pic.twitter.com/dwMkO057Ne

— Kat Abu (@abughazalehkat) September 20, 2022

Montana ends up double loser in failed attempts to undermine transgender rights

The state of Montana was recently dealt a double loss in its attempts to undermine transgender rights. The first was announced on Friday and it is a big one.

From the Associated Press:

A Montana state judge has determined three laws passed by Montana’s Republican-controlled legislature to regulate activities on university campuses are unconstitutional, including one that sought to ban transgender women from participating on female collegiate sports teams. Montana’s Constitution gives the state board of regents full authority to govern public college campuses and precludes state lawmakers from imposing their own rules, District Court Judge Rienne McElyea said in a ruling issued Wednesday that was emailed to attorneys in the case on Friday. Her ruling noted that the Montana Supreme Court recently affirmed the same conclusion in a challenge to a bill that sought to allow more people to carry guns on campuses.

And on the heels of that victory comes another one on Monday involving the state's attempt to keep trans residents from changing the gender of their birth certificate. Initially the state defied a judge's order to do so. But that changed today after he threatened to consider motions of contempt 

After months of defiance, Montana’s health department says it will follow a judge’s ruling and temporarily allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificates. In a written order Monday morning, the judge said state health officials had made “calculated violations” of his order earlier this year to temporarily stop enforcing a state law that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate. The health department passed a rule saying no one could change the sex on their birth certificate unless there was a clerical error. Under the order, transgender residents can obtain a corrected birth certificate by submitting a sworn affidavit to the health department.

'Meet the Rainbow Youth volunteers saving LGBTQ kids' & other Mon midday news briefs

Rainbow Youth Volunteers Talk LGBTQ Kids Off Ledges. Meet Them!​ - Now these folks are the true heroes. 

These States Had Few, If Any, Trans Student Athletes. They Passed Sports Bans Anyway. - Simply nasty stunts appealing to fear and lies. 

California enacts law to help LGBTQ military veterans - This law should be federal, not just a statewide endeavor.

Texas Judge Blocks Investigations of More Trans-Supportive Families - More good news from Texas.

Video - 'Too Gay for Television?' How Charles Nelson Reilly conquered television after being labeled as 'too queer'

Yes this is a shameless plug for Matt Baume's video channel. And that's only because his work is so good when it comes to exploring the cultural history of the LGBTQ community, particularly trendsetters who go unnoticed. One complaint I have about my LGBTQ brothers and sisters has to do with our lack of desire to learn all facets of our history. And I mean all facets, such as this one about Charles Nelson Reilly, a gay actor who, according to Matt Baume, went from being forced to sell his own blood to becoming one of the most in-demand actor on television. And without compromising who he was even after told by an executive that "they don't let queers on television."

'On tape - school cop hurls vicious slurs at gay kid' & other Fri midday news bries

School Cop Hurls Anti-Gay Slurs at Gay Kid. School, Media Circle Wagons.​ - The recording is heartbreaking. It's difficult not to get angry at what is heard. 

Angry judge blocks Montana’s latest attempt to stop trans people correcting their birth certificates - Montana went against the judge's orders and he was not having any of it.

Suspect arrested for transphobic bomb threat against children's hospital that conservatives called a hoax - My post from last night. Highly important that we not let this die.

Molly Kearney Makes History as First Out Nonbinary Actor to Join SNL - Congratulations, Molly! 

This trans artist has been creating art from behind bars for nearly three decades - Way to go, Jamie Diaz!

Suspect arrested for transphobic bomb threat against children's hospital that conservatives called a hoax

First Libs of Tik Tok, Tucker Carlson, Matt Walsh, and the rest of that bunch spread a false story that  Boston Children's Hospital was performing hysterectomies on trans kids. 

Then when their lies generated bomb threats against the hospital, they claimed that it was all a hoax.

I wonder what they are going to say now that it turns out that the bomb threat turned out to be real? In fact, I insist that we demand they say something 

From Insider via Yahoo News:

Federal authorities arrested a Westfield, Massachusetts, woman on a charge of making a fake bomb threat that was called into the Boston Children's Hospital on August 30. Catherine Leavy was arrested at her home on Thursday morning, US attorney Rachael Rollins said during a press conference. Her age was not disclosed during the announcement. 

 Authorities allege that the suspect was the caller on August 30 who made a false bomb threat to the Boston hospital. "There is a bomb on the way to the hospital, you better evacuate everybody, you sickos," the caller said, according to Rollins. The threat prompted an immediate lockdown of the hospital and the surrounding area, and a bomb squad was sent in to investigate the facility, an FBI agent said during the conference. No explosives were found, Rollins said. 

 Through a court-approved search warrant, authorities were able to track the phone call to the suspect's phone, the attorney said. She is being charged with one count of a false telephonic bomb threat. Rollins could not speak on possible motives.

Technically until there is more proof, I guess there can be no confirmation about motive. However, let's not play games. I would venture to say that the motive isn't farfetched, nor the parties involved in creating the motive. The Boston Children Hospital has been attacked in a vicious campaign of lies over the past months concerning how it treats trans kids.

According to Heavy:

The misinformation about trans health care for kids and threats against the hospital led Facebook to suspend “LibsofTikTok” from its platform, MassLive.com reports. “LibsofTikTok” is run by Chaya Raichik, a Brooklyn-based real estate agent who has amassed more than 1.3 million followers and appeared on Fox News with Tucker Carlson. Raichik and her page have quickly risen in prominence among right-wing media. Facebook reversed its decision to permanently suspended the account 24 hours after doing so.

 LibsofTikTok shared a video on August 11 of a Boston Children’s Hospital doctor talking about “gender-affirming hysterectomies.” The children’s hospital said they do not perform gender-affirming hysterectomies or removal of sex organs on patients under the age of 18. The hospital said in a statement a patient with “persistent, well-documented, gender dysphoria” must be at least 18 and have a letter from a doctor recommending the surgery, according to The Boston Globe. 

Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh tweeted to his 1 million followers on August 11, “There needs to be an organized effort to fight back against the drugging and mutilating of children. There should be rallies outside of hospitals that butcher children. There should be marches on Washington with hundreds of thousands of people. I will try to get this ball rolling.”

Many folks who had a hand in spreading the lies about the hospital claimed that threats were a hoax.   Ari Drennen, LGBTQ Program Director for Media Matters for America compiled a list which included the following:

Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire: "No critic of gender ideology gains anything or has any incentive to make a threat. The Left does gain and does have incentive" pic.twitter.com/4vmtDC1BRM

— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) September 15, 2022

Billboard Chris, a Canadian anti-trans activist who had announced a protest of the hospital for this weekend, also said that "it was a false flag" pic.twitter.com/JswxMj9wDr

— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) September 15, 2022

I hope there will be repercussions not only for the perpetrator of the bomb threat, but also the parties who instigated it all. I can say at least for now that this story is far from over.

'Upcoming gay romantic comedy 'Bros' may be highly controversial' & other Thur midday news briefs

 

What reviews are saying about Billy Eichner’s gay rom-com “Bros”​ - Let me just say that based upon the trailer, this may be a very controversial move within the LGBTQ community. But I laughed out loud at a few of the scenes. 

‘Hate-fueled intimidation’: Proud Boy attends school board meeting after Facebook fight over teacher displaying a Pride flag - What gets me about all of this is the irony of the Proud Boys attacking LGBTQ people when its founder once shoved a dildo up his rear on live television in order to claim that he isn't homophobic. 

Supreme Court declines to block order requiring Yeshiva University to recognize LGBTQ student club - Don't get too happy. Alito was pissed. 

Right-Wing Extremists to Protest School Board Meeting Over Pride Flags - Poor babies. They are not going to win this one.

Celebrating the 37th anniversary of 'The Golden Girls' with LGBTQ Pride

Thirty-seven years ago today, a legendary comedy show, "The Golden Girls,"  premiered on NBC. Looking back, it's impossible to see how this show wasn't going to be a monster hit.

From Itech Post:

"The Golden Girls" managed to break the stereotype that women aged 50 and older led boring lives at home, knitting and spending time with their cats. The show found its leads in Bea Arthur, who played Dorothy Zbornak, Betty White who brought life to Rose Nylund, Rue McClanahan who played Blanche Devereaux, and Estelle Getty who portrayed Sophia Petrillo.

 Together, these four women shared a Miami home and showed viewers the vibrant, exciting lives that women 50 and above continue to lead despite the issues brought about by that specific stage in life. The show also tackled sensitive issues such as sexual harassment, illnesses, sexually transmitted diseases, and the LGBT community, topics that are easily still relevant today. 

 "We were four active, vibrant, funny women, three of whom were still working and all who dared to still have an active sex life," White, who passed away on December 31, 2021 from a stroke, said during an interview with the media publication. "We were all widows, but not lonely. And we were women to be valued and cared about, not cast aside, and an important part of society," the actress said. "The Golden Girls" was well-received by viewers, so much so that it had 25 million viewers during its debut and went on to receive 11 Emmy Awards, including one each for all of the four main leads. The NBC series also received four Golden Globe Awards. 

'All of the best and gayest moments from the 2022 Emmy Awards' & other Wed midday news briefs

Jerrod Carmichael stole the Emmys with his outfit and his win for 'Best Writing for a Variety Special.' In his variety special, Carmichael talked about coming out as a gay man.

All the best and gayest moments from the 2022 Emmy Awards - IF you missed it before . . .

Harris: ‘Probably by design’ that attacks on abortion, voting and LGBTQ rights come from same ‘sources - I have been saying this for YEARS. 

Disney Drag Brunch Canceled After Targeted by Right-Wing Trolls​ - Like I said, you give in and haters become more and more empowered.

Chicago-area library cancels drag queen bingo event for teens over 'vitriolic' threats - Second verse, same as the first. 

Seattle Pacific University leaders are sued for anti-LGBTQ hiring practices - I'm gonna be honest. I do not feel comfortable with suing private religious schools over this sort of thing. Now if they are getting any tax dollars, that is completely different.

Family Research Council claims that transgender Americans are a danger to women while posting misinformation which could actually kill women

Yesterday, I posted that the Family Research Council had gotten called out for tweeting misinformation about abortion. The tweet below in fact:

Many people have pointed out that this is blatant medical misinformation and complained to Twitter about it.  But as of today, the tweet remains. FRC even attempted to justify it by posting the following:

But even this backfired because FRC's article admits that abortion is necessary in some cases when the mother's life is in danger. The group attempts to cover its tracks  in the article with this confusing statement:

 

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) helpfully explains, “There are times when separating the mother and her unborn child is necessary to save the life of the mother, even if the unborn child is too premature to live. … In contrast, the purpose of an induced abortion is to produce a dead baby.” Though it is true that in some tragic cases, the baby will not be able to survive after being delivered too prematurely, as abortionists admit, there is never a need for a medical professional to intentionally kill the unborn baby in the process of saving the mother’s life.

Several responses have pointed out that the Family Research Council is making a sad effort to justify its original lie.  And they are right.

The Family Research Council also posted on its website the following article - College of the Ozarks Continues Court Fight to Keep Men Out of Women’s Private Spaces

 To summarize, FRC continues to push the hysterical lie that transgender women are actually men who pose a danger to cis women by "invading their spaces." It's a false narrative FRC continues to push, even going so far as to imply that transgender children are predators:

It's rather ironic, isn't it? The Family Research Council falsely claiming that transgender Americans are a danger to women while posting medical misinformation which could actually kill women.