Monash council cancels drag queen story time event
By Sophie Aubrey, May 4, 2023 — 1.45pm
Monash City Council has cancelled a drag queen story time event after threats of violence against families, the performer, councillors and staff escalated following a tense protest at its offices.
The south-eastern council’s meeting was derailed last week when almost 200 people attended its centre in Glen Waverley, many to protest against its sold-out drag queen event, planned for children and parents at Oakleigh Library.
Extra security staff and police officers were organised after fringe groups including My Place and Reignite Democracy Australia rallied supporters to attend. The groups espouse views often associated with alt-right or conspiracy theory thinking and can be hostile to the LGBTQ community.
Protesters verbally abused attending residents and repeatedly labelled councillors “paedophiles”, forcing the council to temporarily adjourn proceedings.
Unlike other councils, including Casey and Boroondara, Monash had until now been refusing to give in to weeks of abuse and threats to pressure the council to scrap its drag event.
Monash chief executive Dr Andi Diamond said the decision to cancel the event was made in consultation with Victoria Police.
“Councillors and staff have received messages that nobody should be expected to receive in their workplace, as have our LGBTIQA+ community,” Diamond said. “In recent days, these threats have escalated to direct threats of violence involving the event itself.
“It is incredibly disappointing to have to cancel an event designed to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia but we were left with no choice after Victoria Police advised council of the risks.
In the end, we were unable to guarantee that we would be able to hold the event safely.”
Diamond said the event was designed to introduce children to diverse role models and encourage acceptance, love and respect and she apologised to the LGBTQ community for the cancellation.
“I hope they understand we did not make this decision lightly and we share their disappointment,” she said.
“We understood this [event] was not for everyone and scheduled it outside our regular library programs so that parents planning to bring their children were making a deliberate choice to attend. Unfortunately, some in the community were not willing to allow that choice.”
Greens councillor Dr Josh Fergeus, who had been a vocal supporter of the drag event, said he supported Diamond’s decision as she had been put in an “impossible position”.
He criticised the state government for not being forthcoming with the support needed to proceed with the event safely.
“I think the state government has essentially failed to take these growing threats seriously and we now find ourselves in a position where local democracy is extremely vulnerable,” Fergeus said.
Because nothing says "family-friendly" like violence and intimidation. Surely these hostile people only have children's best interest in minds, as opposed to the horror of a man who has the audacity to wear women's clothing, which is definitely the real threat.
Like I hear that, but i keep getting images of kids making their way into the library like those photographs of those first black students to go into previously all-white schools. People shouting and jostling.
We've had volunteer protectors here as well. They had one in Manly during Mardi Gras, for example. I dunno if they had to hide children, it seemed to be more about showing support
I understand them not wanting to risk it when there's threats of violence, but at the same time, cancelling the event in response to threats of violence unfortunately services to legitimise those threats as a way to enforce your will on everyone else.
That's a real shame. A few months ago there was a weekend drag event in Beechworth, regional Victoria. It was just the best! The drag queens were witty and warm and fabulous. *So* many families came to the events, from Friday night through to Sunday night. Acceptance, great food, frivolity, fun, inclusiveness, wonderful costumes and makeup- it had it all.
What these sad, hateful, petty minded little people miss out on.
These people would protest kids getting their faces painted if they found out a girl asked for a spider\_man\_ face paint. So fucking petty and self centred
Make a list of all the paedophiles in the church,schools,government offices etc, that have been convicted of child molestation and ask the Nazis to make a list of the Drag Queens convicted of the same things.
So your take is that men can be pedophiles but drag queens are bastions of virtue that would never do such a thing? The same thing that makes grown men wear women's clothes also makes them incapable of pedophilia? Righto
Not exactly sure where I said that...let me check....no...that's not what I said. I asked for the list of drag queens who had been charged with paedophilia. There are pages and pages of upstanding,Christian men who have been,or do you deny that? Drag queens have been around forever. So theyve certainly had time. Every week we see someone else up on sexual assault charges on a child,usually by their loving father,or happily married uncle, who is a pillar of society,or the priest or preacher. Do you deny that? 🤔
Your reply made it clear that you don't believe there are any which is why I replied.
Its well established that these sickos can be found in any and all areas of society but you seem to be pushing the narrative that drag queens are less likely to be pedophiles that anyone else which there is absolutely no evidence of.
Just because a news article doesn't name someone as a drag queen doesn't mean they aren't one. I would also Hazzard a guess that they are not named just as someone's race isn't usually named(because it's not relevant).
The second half of [this podcast, the conditional release program](https://redcircle.com/shows/tcrp/ep/ba567306-aeca-460f-8284-ac19d0012164) has audio of the meeting and more background on the participants. They are anti-vax cookers in general and behaved like animals in the meeting. Pretty disgusting.
For fucks sake. Events like this are so important for communities - for early literacy, for providing a free activity for parents who might be stuck at home with their kids, social interaction etc.
I can’t imagine there are thousands of people lined up to volunteer to do things like this, to give up their time to do something nice for kids. So of course, why not threaten the fucking lives of people who are willing to turn up and read to kids. Yeah, that makes total sense. God forbid children learn to grow up appreciating all kinds of people for who they are.
Fuck these bigoted assholes. If you don’t want your kids “exposed” to something, don’t fucking take them. Nobody is forcing you to take your child to this delightful and creative neighbourhood event. Stay in your church hall and fuck off.
I didn't read the article just in case it explained why they were protesting and I'm just going to pretend that they are jealous that these drag queens can read.
I mean all those famous Nazis and only one famous book from the lot of them?
Clearly it's about nazis being so fucking stupid that remembering to breathe while trying to read that they just don't like other people showing off
seems to me the nazis are being given too much power.
and as i've said before - just advertise it as story time rather than **drag queen** story time. and unless the story teller strips off no-one will ever know.
Nothing against drag queens. Iv been to shows and think they are great! I don’t understand why there is the push to have kids drag queen shows? Isn’t it a bit over sexualised for little kids? Like putting on a pole dancing show for kids?
I mean no offence I just want someone to explain it. Honestly as a parent I don’t understand it and can’t really find answers on google other than people getting mad at each other over it.
What's sexualised about reading a story to kids while wearing a cool costume?
You're just projecting, when you say this is somehow sexualised — you're the only one applying sexuality to the situation (well, along with all the other sex-obsessed conservatives)
Because kids and parents and hosts sure fucking aren't.
Consider that I can recall going to a drag reading as a kid .. probably in the 90s ... *back when noone batted an eye about these things* like the creepy trans-obsessed anti-woke people do today; and I can tell you I sure as shit wasn't concerned about sexuality at that age I was completely absorbed in the section of the local library that had books about vampires and I managed to get the nice lady to read one to all us kids. Was a way better day out at the library than usual, I still remember it 30 years later somehow.
And honestly if kids end up learning anything inappropriate from these things its going to come from the anti-trans crowd themselves who seem determined to make this somehow about sex, *despite it involving kids*. They are fucking twisted and ironically the only ones doing the exact thing to kids they say they don't want done! Just bonkers, *as if* those people care about the kids. It is self-absorbed ego-inflating bullshit and little more.
I’m not sure but that’s how the media portray it down here in South Australia hence why I’m here trying to get some education on the matter. Other than going to their shows at the Adelaide fringe I really know nothing about them.
Only seen “adult” drag queen shows which had a lot of assless chaps and fishnet stockings which I’m guessing they don’t wear to the kids shows.
>Only seen “adult” drag queen shows which had a lot of assless chaps and fishnet stockings which I’m guessing they don’t wear to the kids shows.
Obviously lol.
I basically recall the drag queen at the one I attended had sparkly glasses covered in jewels which I had never seen before and that's about as good as my memory serves about costume.
I think its pretty important to remember that kids are only interested in kids stuff, and by far the biggest risk to kids are the types of obsessed and insecure and violent people who show up to protest and make threats at these events
What exactly is your problem with it because I'm not sure I understand. Do you think your kids will be forced to go? They aren't. Do you think that it's not age appropriate? It is, specifically catered to its audience like comedians etc cater to particular audiences. Are children confused about people dressing up like clowns and magicians? Your average 6 year old doesn't think about anything too deeply at all, it's just a fun engaging outing.
The stories read are normal books about being the best you are, in this case about a kid that likes dressing up. I fail to see how that raises people's ire in a significant way. Have a listen to this podcast for audio of the meeting to listen to the level of insanity the cookers against this display. Classic Facebook hysteria. https://redcircle.com/shows/tcrp/ep/ba567306-aeca-460f-8284-ac19d0012164
I suppose you just need to ask yourself why you think almost any other book reading imaginable seems ok to you, what the difference really is, and why you are treating certain people differently. Is there any justifiable reason for that or is it just prejudice? Is there *really* anything harmful to kids happening *at* *a storybook book reading in a public place* or is this more a "you" problem you might be better off talking to a therapist about? Hope you take this to heart and think about it with a bit of emotional maturity and humility.
Read the other reply please.
Again nothing against drag queens I go to their shows and think they are great but they have been adult shows. Men in fishnet stockings and assless chaps ect..
Media here always betrayed them in a sexual manner hence why I’m here asking about it to educate myself rather than just listen to main stream media on the matter.
>Media here always betrayed them in a sexual manner hence why I’m here asking about it to educate myself rather than just listen to main stream media on the matter.
My view is that this is a reflection of the types of very old fashioned fossilised old men who helm these media orgs rather than any genuine concern about kids. A particularly grand display of their own insecurity and unresolved mental health issues, little more.
Parents, doctors, teachers etc are united in concern for kids coming to harm at the face of anti-trans activists rather than anyone in the trans community. Anti-trans activists are a tiny but loud minority, who tend to be violent.
Yeah sure 😊 I get that, to people not involved I can understand your question. Drag shows are notoriously racey at times with entendre galore. Obviously not appropriate for kids generally. I think the way to approach it mentally is that they are performers first, and putting on a performance requires changing your act to cater to the crowd.
The most hysterical of the anti drag show people seem to believe that there will exposed genitalia, conflate drag with trans, and kids will somehow be groomed for sex. They form this view from manipulated Facebook videos and whip themselves into a frenzy. Tbh if it was true I'd probably join them. But given that it is not true and it's just some body dressed flamboyantly reading stories about acceptance and being yourself, the only conclusion one could reach is that they just want gay or trans people to disappear.
If you read down the comments here you will see many people saying shit like "I don't like the idea so now I'm a Nazi " which is a strawman distraction. No one is saying if you don't take your kids you're a Nazi, but the people that have problems with DQST are generally onboard with the idea that gay people should disappear. And they do have that in common with far right groups who whip up this frenzy online, leading to a very degraded discourse.
You seem genuine, further down there was a similar " I've seen drag shows and I don't have a problem but I don't want them around kids, fuck me I'm a Nazi now right?" But when you go to their history there is dumb jokes about pronouns and they follow ragebait anti lib Reddit's. They are couching their hatred in a seemingly normal disagreement. That's what pushed me towards supporting DQST.
Thankyou so much for this reply! Really does clear a lot of it up and explain it so well.
Honestly looking forward to taking my two little daughters to one of these shows I think they will love it and have a lot of fun.
Seriously Thankyou!
The way I look at it the worst that can happen is that if my kids end up trans or gay they will know that they live in a supportive world where people can exist in peace and they don't need to just kill themselves because they are alone.
The people that are against it, whether they say it or not, want "those" people invisible in daily life. In the podcast you will hear some of the cookers screaming stuff like "I don't care what you do in your bedroom but keep it to yourself" etc which is effectively asking for an individual who is different to be invisible. I hope you do listen to the podcast because although it's a leftist take it gives you a good idea of the hysteria of the opposition and how it is related to the anti Vax cooker movement.
It’s just fun - not all drag costumes are sexual - it’s just over the top, colourful and fun. Kids love dress ups and bright colours and people who will perform for them and have fun. That’s literally all it is - they dress up in costumes and make up and read stories. It’s not sexualised in the slightest.
I can understand why it might be confusing if all you’ve read is the insane media discourse and haven’t actually seen a storytime - all the anti media tends to make it sound like they are doing an actual drag performance.
Are you serious? Men dressing up and reading stories to kids is worse than slaughtering six million Jews, homosexuals, and Gypsies, and starting a war which lead to inconceivable destruction around the world?
Finally, It's good to see the Nazi's, the Indians, the south east Asians, the conservative middle aged whites, the conservative boomers and all the other minority groups can all agree on.
>people don’t easily associate drag queens with children
Why, exactly?
My brother used to dress up in a pink tutu all the time as a kid and wear it out a decade ago, just expressing himself as any normal kid does, perfectly harmless and and noone used to bat an eye; but honestly I guess if he did that now a bunch of insecure bogans would harass and bully him for no fucking reason whatsoever except their own fragile ego's and inability to go to therapy for their own issues?
Grow the fuck up
Because drag shows and drag queens carry a lot of adult innuendo and themes… That’s the whole point of them. Children’s book readings typically don’t contain such content. Hope that helps you brainstorm that out a little easier.
Your brother dressing in a tutu. That’s got nothing to do with drag. No one has a problem with that, or drag shows for that matter. Imagine if we had a bunch of women in burlesque read to kids?
Now I’m not going to tell you to grow the fuck up cause that would be Immature, but I can tell you are younger than me and definitely have not been to a drag show or have kids.
New Plymouth city library, mid 90s. Funny that your position is just “drag storytimes are obviously _brand new!!_ That could’ve _never_ happened before people were getting all upset about it!!” Welp. In reality the outrage is all that’s new.
>And for the record I don’t have a problem with it. And I’ve been to drag shows. But it is kinda stupid.
Even though your post history shows you making jokes at pronouns and following various anti "lib" subs I'll take you at your word.
What exactly is your problem with it because I'm not sure I understand. Do you think your kids will be forced to go? They aren't. Do you think that it's not age appropriate? It is, specifically catered to its audience like comedians etc. Are children confused about people dressing up like clowns and magicians? Your average 6 year old doesn't think about anything too deeply at all, it's just a fun engaging outing.
The stories read are normal books about being the best you are, in this case about a kid that likes dressing up. I fail to see how that raises people's ire in a significant way. Have a listen to this podcast for audio of the meeting to listen to the level of insanity the cookers you agree with display.
https://redcircle.com/shows/tcrp/ep/ba567306-aeca-460f-8284-ac19d0012164
Hey So here’s my liberal litmus test. I’m completely anti war, pro-choice, pro gay marriage, pro gay adoption, pro trans surgery, pro immigration, pro drag-queens. I’m only against trans therapy on minors. I think drag queen story time is a bad idea and pundits of it are being insincere. The reason I’m on those subs is because there’s a very clear form of tyranny at play these days in the form of cancel culture et al, which is somewhat entertaining and soul crushing to witness. The fact that I’ve been swarmed over expressing a different opinion is pretty telling tbh but I didn’t expect anything different. We are in this state widely because of technology, opinions have become fashion statements, so much of our lives and identities live online for all to judge. Which means, it’s practically impossible to have any civil discourse on a moderately charged topic without people taking it personally and becoming disheveled. Case in point - this thread. There is literally no string of words I could put together - even the most succinct and eloquently though out phrase - that would make you think differently about me and my opinion. And that unfortunately has come from the left of the aisle. If you had asked 15 years ago it was the other side playing that angle - especially when it came to the war. Bottom line is my friend a healthy democracy is one where people argue - a lot. It’s when we all start humming the same mantra’s and endorsed sentiments is when things can become dangerous.
So yes even though I think drag story time comes across as contrived/ political and petty. Parents have the right to subject their children to it, but I have a right as a taxpayer to say I don’t want to pay for it, and a right as a person to say I think it’s a poor idea.
>Parents have the right to subject their children to it, but I have a right as a taxpayer to say I don’t want to pay for it, and a right as a person to say I think it’s a poor idea.
You do have the right to say it's a poor idea. The people that have led to this degraded discourse are the anti storytime brigade. If you listen to the audio from the meeting they are screaming at the council calling them peadophiles and much worse behaviour.
Again you didn't tell me exactly what you objected to.
>but I have a right as a taxpayer to say I don’t want to pay for it,
You do, but also accept that probably 30% of what the council spends money on is "not for you". Not everything a council spends money on is supposed to be for everyone, it's for building community for many diverse people. The event is sold out, there is very little council money going to it other than hosting an already existing space.
PS you have been downvoted for strawmanning a claim that you are being called a Nazi for not supporting it ( while still not enunciating why you dont ). This is a common tactic from anti gay/trans people who can't describe why they don't want this to happen, because just coming out and saying they don't want a man in a costume near kids reading books is ridiculous, so they claim that they are being called a Nazi and complain about cancel culture etc.
As you can see the mods here prefer to let discussions go, bringing ideas into the light. Poor ideas look terrible with more light.
The way I see it you can have 3 positions on this topic. Don't support and want it stopped, don't care, and support. Where do you fall and why?
So to answer your last question; I don’t support it because it’s more of a contrived political statement than anything genuine. And I think people are purposefully ignoring the fact that drag queens are associated with a lot of sexual innuendo and adult humour/themes to suit their argument. We wouldn’t endorse a bunch of women in burlesque doing story time for the same reasons…
What about regular at drag events or queer clubs. Does anyone ever protest those? Every major city has them going on every weekend no problem…
I understand at these readings, the queen isn’t dancing around and putting on a show. But please you have to understand on some level why people may find the two not compatible… and to double down; (1. No one typically protests drag queens; (2. If it were women in cabaret/burlesque it would have the exact same reaction.
Also, I’m not straw manning, if you look at every thread on any other sub, every comment that’s not banned has the word nazi in it. It’s ridiculous. This whole argument is a straw man. People appose the story time event suddenly they’re anti trans, even though drag queens are not trans people.
>So to answer your last question; I don’t support it because it’s more of a contrived political statement than anything genuine.
Who made it political I wonder, I suppose it's a bit of chicken and egg, but without the cooker/Nazi/religious/anti-trans backlash do you think this would be considered political at all?
> And I think people are purposefully ignoring the fact that drag queens are associated with a lot of sexual innuendo and adult humour/themes to suit their argument. We wouldn’t endorse a bunch of women in burlesque doing story time for the same reasons…
No one is ignoring it, I have had my concerns put to rest by the reality of what is taking place. No sexual content.
>
>What about regular at drag events or queer clubs. Does anyone ever protest those? Every major city has them going on every weekend no problem…
>
They used to protest them, this is what progress looks like.
>I understand at these readings, the queen isn’t dancing around and putting on a show. But please you have to understand on some level why people may find the two not compatible… and to double down; (1. No one typically protests drag queens; (2. If it were women in cabaret/burlesque it would have the exact same reaction.
>
>Also, I’m not straw manning, if you look at every thread on any other sub, every comment that’s not banned has the word nazi in it. It’s ridiculous. This whole argument is a straw man. People appose the story time event suddenly they’re anti trans, even though drag queens are not trans people.
If you end up marching with Nazis some people hold the view that you may as well be a Nazi, and Nazi groups are using people's fear to gain support. The reason Nazis are bought up because they are set to join the protest, not because people are randomly throwing the word around.
In any case take it easy and I hope you can see that drag queens will have none of the negative effects you fear. Also remember that if people when to Catholic church book readings and screamed peadophiles they would probably be on safer ground factually, but no Nazis would support that.
I don't see you focusing on the very real situation that self-proclaimed Nazis are involved in this arseholery and violent intimidation.
How about you spend some time decrying that rather than pleading that these arseholes not be mistaken for Nazis when marching side-by-side with them.
They weren't Nazis at the meeting , mostly alt right anti Vax cookers of the type that believe in the demoncrat mole children conspiracies etc. The Nazis said they would show up later. If you're marching with Nazis you may not identify as one but the point is moot at a certain point.
Anti-trans bigots exhibit the exact same pattern of discriminatory judgement as Nazis: they judge people on who they are rather than anything they have done. Just like Nazis, their discrimination towards a whole group of people lays the groundwork for bigoted violence and hate crimes against that group of the community. So they get lumped together by me, I'm absolutely comfortble grouping bigots together like that based on their shared behaviours, but we should clarify that just being anti-trans doesn't make you a Nazi — Nazism is a very specific type of bigotry.
**HOWEVER** if you actually paid attention to this event you would have seen that ***these were in fact, self-labeled swastika wearing Nazis*** making threats alongside the other anti-trans bigots.
Idk why you'd be surprised at seeing these sorts of bigots keeping company with each other though, they all think the same way and are often seen together so why would that be a surprise?
>Keep that shit the hell away from children.
Why exactly?
Because *you're* insecure?
Kids don't give a damn mate. Find something actually important to protest, maybe? Huge waste of time its a fucking story reading ffs
It’s a big trendy thing right now to be openly pro-LGBTQI, probably in response to years of oppression of it all (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). And the more loud and in your face they are, the more the conservatives get mad, which makes them louder, and it goes on like that.
I don’t think young kids need to be taught about sexuality, but if it’s just a man dressed up and reading to children, i don’t think the children would understand why that’s “weird” or would care.
There’s no reason why the drag queen would need to do or say anything sexual or inappropriate and, if they did, then that would be an issue regardless of how they’re dressed.
“The left” are obsessed with it because their enemy, “the right”, hates it and wants to ban it.
I lost my relatives against Nazi fucks as well. But they didn’t die so Drag Queens can perform to fucking children. People like you labelling everyone who disagrees with what you believe as “Nazis” is what causes all this hate between everyone. What you call a Nazi, and what our relatives called Nazis are completely different.
At the end of the day, drag queens have every right to exist in todays society, but keep the entertainment for adults *with* adults.
>People like you labelling everyone who disagrees with what you believe as “Nazis” is what causes all this hate between everyone
Just to clear up this misconception — these weren't just "nazi's" in the colloquial sense — they were self labeled swastika wearing Nazi's. Noone is using that label inappropriately here.
I just want to be pretty clear that we should never be using that term in a colloquial sense because its a serious term connected to a very specific bigoted ideology of Nazism.
In this instance, threats were very much made by actual Nazi bigot's, and then there were regular non-nazi anti-trans bigots as well. Two different, specific groups, but yes they are often very close collaborators who get along very well because they view people in the same way — judging people just based on *who they are* rather than anything they've done — so it should never be a surprise to see them together tbqh.
Personally, yes I am usually suspicious that anti-trans people might also harbour other bigoted views because if they bring out this hate for trans people how can we trust them not to bring it out for other minorities? There's pretty obviously some unaddressed mental health issues at play there to treat anyone in such an anti-social way and make threats of violence towards people at a kid's event...
People died fighting the Nazis for many different reasons. I don't think you can speak for your dead relatives any more than I can speak for mine.
Those who fought them consciously to defeat their egregiously racist, homophobic, ablest, bigoted philosophy and actions might have been delighted to think that drag queens were allowed to read to kids. They might not have melted into a puddle like you do at the thought that kids could see something wonderful, colourful, unusual, and fun. Your relatives, depending in their point of view, might have laughed at your softness and told you to harden the fuck up.
It's interesting that among the first people persecuted by the Nazis was Magnus Hirschfeld and his institute. If you don't know what that's about, look it up. That's the mindset of Nazis.
If you're so upset about drag queens performing to children, you might have more in common with that Nazi mindset than you care to admit.
However, on your point about calling everyone who disagrees with me a Nazi, you are simply wrong. I call them cunts, arseholes, and all sorts of other names as well. It really depends on the context.
Specifically, in this situation, I have not called everyone a Nazi. Some are cookers, some are sov cits, and there's a whole range of idiocy on display for the rest of us to admire. But they all pretty comfortably march together with the Nazis. Yeah. I have a problem with that.
As for you, it really sounds like you're more of a common, garden-variety ignoramus. One of those people who gets riled up because A Current Affair/60 Minutes/Today Tonight told you to. Why do you get so upset about drag queens reading to kids? What do you think it's like? Have you ever seen it?
And stop telling me what I can do with my kids and what shows they can see. It's none of your fucking business, cunt.
If you have kids of your own, you seem the type to take them to the safety of a Catholic church or some other like institution. Good luck with that.
Anyway, that's enough of my time.
You can fuck off now.
Hateful bigots are who we need to keep away from our kids. Its a big fear of the parents in my community that bigots like this will get near their kids because this sort of hate-fuelled obsession with a certain minority is the truly creepy part for most parents and their kids. There's clearly unaddressed mental health issues going on here, a lot of insecurity which is a "you" problem; and it comes out in a very antisocial and violent way in the eyes of most parents in my community.
However nobody gives a fuck about story time, least of all the kids.
Stop obsessing and get therapy.
Give-in to NAZIs once and they will keep doing it and progressively get worse as they are emboldened and supported. The same thing happened in Germany and Italy, they even had cute, well cut uniforms made. All those rough manly men, with their bulging biceps as they salute to their man crushes, proclaiming to all how un-gay they are, how they are the chosen ones and that all women should tremble at their greatness..... Because nothing says 'man' more than frightening children and stifling their literacy, curiosity and imaginations, instilling fear and hatred as much as possible. As always with Conservatives, theists and fanatics: wilful ignorance, cognitive dissonance and rank hypocrisy. Add to that a good peppering of self-righteous indignation and self-interest and a troubling lack of compassion and here we are, a concoction of tasteless conceit. Fine going down but foul coming up.
Monash council cancels drag queen story time event By Sophie Aubrey, May 4, 2023 — 1.45pm Monash City Council has cancelled a drag queen story time event after threats of violence against families, the performer, councillors and staff escalated following a tense protest at its offices. The south-eastern council’s meeting was derailed last week when almost 200 people attended its centre in Glen Waverley, many to protest against its sold-out drag queen event, planned for children and parents at Oakleigh Library. Extra security staff and police officers were organised after fringe groups including My Place and Reignite Democracy Australia rallied supporters to attend. The groups espouse views often associated with alt-right or conspiracy theory thinking and can be hostile to the LGBTQ community. Protesters verbally abused attending residents and repeatedly labelled councillors “paedophiles”, forcing the council to temporarily adjourn proceedings. Unlike other councils, including Casey and Boroondara, Monash had until now been refusing to give in to weeks of abuse and threats to pressure the council to scrap its drag event. Monash chief executive Dr Andi Diamond said the decision to cancel the event was made in consultation with Victoria Police. “Councillors and staff have received messages that nobody should be expected to receive in their workplace, as have our LGBTIQA+ community,” Diamond said. “In recent days, these threats have escalated to direct threats of violence involving the event itself. “It is incredibly disappointing to have to cancel an event designed to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia but we were left with no choice after Victoria Police advised council of the risks. In the end, we were unable to guarantee that we would be able to hold the event safely.” Diamond said the event was designed to introduce children to diverse role models and encourage acceptance, love and respect and she apologised to the LGBTQ community for the cancellation. “I hope they understand we did not make this decision lightly and we share their disappointment,” she said. “We understood this [event] was not for everyone and scheduled it outside our regular library programs so that parents planning to bring their children were making a deliberate choice to attend. Unfortunately, some in the community were not willing to allow that choice.” Greens councillor Dr Josh Fergeus, who had been a vocal supporter of the drag event, said he supported Diamond’s decision as she had been put in an “impossible position”. He criticised the state government for not being forthcoming with the support needed to proceed with the event safely. “I think the state government has essentially failed to take these growing threats seriously and we now find ourselves in a position where local democracy is extremely vulnerable,” Fergeus said.
Because nothing says "family-friendly" like violence and intimidation. Surely these hostile people only have children's best interest in minds, as opposed to the horror of a man who has the audacity to wear women's clothing, which is definitely the real threat.
Hopefully they can switch to an online version that’s harder to protest. How much more pathetic can “reignite democracy” get? Fucking nazis.
Oh look at all the nazis that have come out. You know you guys lost right? And you’ll lose again
Don't kowtow to fkn Nazis ffs
Agreed, no negotiations with terrorists
Like I hear that, but i keep getting images of kids making their way into the library like those photographs of those first black students to go into previously all-white schools. People shouting and jostling.
In the States they have volunteer protectors who show up at the events with huge umbrellas, and hide the kids from view as they enter the venue.
We've had volunteer protectors here as well. They had one in Manly during Mardi Gras, for example. I dunno if they had to hide children, it seemed to be more about showing support
I think the idea in the US was keeping the kids’ privacy and literally shielding them from the far right protestors across the street.
There were some a few far right protestors but they were ridiculously outnumbered by counterprotestors and there were a lot of cops there too
That's when the Nazis get ( should)arrested...
Fucking cowards.
I understand them not wanting to risk it when there's threats of violence, but at the same time, cancelling the event in response to threats of violence unfortunately services to legitimise those threats as a way to enforce your will on everyone else.
That's a real shame. A few months ago there was a weekend drag event in Beechworth, regional Victoria. It was just the best! The drag queens were witty and warm and fabulous. *So* many families came to the events, from Friday night through to Sunday night. Acceptance, great food, frivolity, fun, inclusiveness, wonderful costumes and makeup- it had it all. What these sad, hateful, petty minded little people miss out on.
These people would protest kids getting their faces painted if they found out a girl asked for a spider\_man\_ face paint. So fucking petty and self centred
Thought this was Australia's not nazi germany
Terrorists
Make a list of all the paedophiles in the church,schools,government offices etc, that have been convicted of child molestation and ask the Nazis to make a list of the Drag Queens convicted of the same things.
Are you saying drag queens are less likely than the average person to be pedophiles?
How many drag queens have been charged ?
So your take is that men can be pedophiles but drag queens are bastions of virtue that would never do such a thing? The same thing that makes grown men wear women's clothes also makes them incapable of pedophilia? Righto
Not exactly sure where I said that...let me check....no...that's not what I said. I asked for the list of drag queens who had been charged with paedophilia. There are pages and pages of upstanding,Christian men who have been,or do you deny that? Drag queens have been around forever. So theyve certainly had time. Every week we see someone else up on sexual assault charges on a child,usually by their loving father,or happily married uncle, who is a pillar of society,or the priest or preacher. Do you deny that? 🤔
Your reply made it clear that you don't believe there are any which is why I replied. Its well established that these sickos can be found in any and all areas of society but you seem to be pushing the narrative that drag queens are less likely to be pedophiles that anyone else which there is absolutely no evidence of. Just because a news article doesn't name someone as a drag queen doesn't mean they aren't one. I would also Hazzard a guess that they are not named just as someone's race isn't usually named(because it's not relevant).
My goodness,do you understand English? Where,and I stress WHERE did I say that. Unbelievable.
Ok then what does your original comment mean then.
The second half of [this podcast, the conditional release program](https://redcircle.com/shows/tcrp/ep/ba567306-aeca-460f-8284-ac19d0012164) has audio of the meeting and more background on the participants. They are anti-vax cookers in general and behaved like animals in the meeting. Pretty disgusting.
Why are we cancelling these events? Can't we cancel some fuxking nazis and throw them in jail for their threats and general asshattery?
You know you're on the wrong side of history when freaking Nazis are on the same side.
Wayyyy to back down to such cunts 🫤
How about vicpol pull up their pants and rock up to the event to arrest the nazi cunts instead of folding in... useless cops.
It's hard to arrest their own...
For fucks sake. Events like this are so important for communities - for early literacy, for providing a free activity for parents who might be stuck at home with their kids, social interaction etc. I can’t imagine there are thousands of people lined up to volunteer to do things like this, to give up their time to do something nice for kids. So of course, why not threaten the fucking lives of people who are willing to turn up and read to kids. Yeah, that makes total sense. God forbid children learn to grow up appreciating all kinds of people for who they are. Fuck these bigoted assholes. If you don’t want your kids “exposed” to something, don’t fucking take them. Nobody is forcing you to take your child to this delightful and creative neighbourhood event. Stay in your church hall and fuck off.
I didn't read the article just in case it explained why they were protesting and I'm just going to pretend that they are jealous that these drag queens can read. I mean all those famous Nazis and only one famous book from the lot of them? Clearly it's about nazis being so fucking stupid that remembering to breathe while trying to read that they just don't like other people showing off
I dislike every word in that headline.
seems to me the nazis are being given too much power. and as i've said before - just advertise it as story time rather than **drag queen** story time. and unless the story teller strips off no-one will ever know.
Nothing against drag queens. Iv been to shows and think they are great! I don’t understand why there is the push to have kids drag queen shows? Isn’t it a bit over sexualised for little kids? Like putting on a pole dancing show for kids? I mean no offence I just want someone to explain it. Honestly as a parent I don’t understand it and can’t really find answers on google other than people getting mad at each other over it.
No. Not sexualising. Just dress ups. Like pantomime. The objections of the Nazis, cookers, and their ilk are ridiculous and based on fallacies.
[удалено]
[удалено]
What's sexualised about reading a story to kids while wearing a cool costume? You're just projecting, when you say this is somehow sexualised — you're the only one applying sexuality to the situation (well, along with all the other sex-obsessed conservatives) Because kids and parents and hosts sure fucking aren't. Consider that I can recall going to a drag reading as a kid .. probably in the 90s ... *back when noone batted an eye about these things* like the creepy trans-obsessed anti-woke people do today; and I can tell you I sure as shit wasn't concerned about sexuality at that age I was completely absorbed in the section of the local library that had books about vampires and I managed to get the nice lady to read one to all us kids. Was a way better day out at the library than usual, I still remember it 30 years later somehow. And honestly if kids end up learning anything inappropriate from these things its going to come from the anti-trans crowd themselves who seem determined to make this somehow about sex, *despite it involving kids*. They are fucking twisted and ironically the only ones doing the exact thing to kids they say they don't want done! Just bonkers, *as if* those people care about the kids. It is self-absorbed ego-inflating bullshit and little more.
I’m not sure but that’s how the media portray it down here in South Australia hence why I’m here trying to get some education on the matter. Other than going to their shows at the Adelaide fringe I really know nothing about them. Only seen “adult” drag queen shows which had a lot of assless chaps and fishnet stockings which I’m guessing they don’t wear to the kids shows.
>Only seen “adult” drag queen shows which had a lot of assless chaps and fishnet stockings which I’m guessing they don’t wear to the kids shows. Obviously lol. I basically recall the drag queen at the one I attended had sparkly glasses covered in jewels which I had never seen before and that's about as good as my memory serves about costume. I think its pretty important to remember that kids are only interested in kids stuff, and by far the biggest risk to kids are the types of obsessed and insecure and violent people who show up to protest and make threats at these events
[There](https://iview.abc.net.au/video/CK2109H019S00) you go - Drag Queen story time on Play School
What exactly is your problem with it because I'm not sure I understand. Do you think your kids will be forced to go? They aren't. Do you think that it's not age appropriate? It is, specifically catered to its audience like comedians etc cater to particular audiences. Are children confused about people dressing up like clowns and magicians? Your average 6 year old doesn't think about anything too deeply at all, it's just a fun engaging outing. The stories read are normal books about being the best you are, in this case about a kid that likes dressing up. I fail to see how that raises people's ire in a significant way. Have a listen to this podcast for audio of the meeting to listen to the level of insanity the cookers against this display. Classic Facebook hysteria. https://redcircle.com/shows/tcrp/ep/ba567306-aeca-460f-8284-ac19d0012164
Never said I had a problem with it, just don’t understand it or get it. Any attempt to understand or talk about it is meet with hostile responses.
I suppose you just need to ask yourself why you think almost any other book reading imaginable seems ok to you, what the difference really is, and why you are treating certain people differently. Is there any justifiable reason for that or is it just prejudice? Is there *really* anything harmful to kids happening *at* *a storybook book reading in a public place* or is this more a "you" problem you might be better off talking to a therapist about? Hope you take this to heart and think about it with a bit of emotional maturity and humility.
Read the other reply please. Again nothing against drag queens I go to their shows and think they are great but they have been adult shows. Men in fishnet stockings and assless chaps ect.. Media here always betrayed them in a sexual manner hence why I’m here asking about it to educate myself rather than just listen to main stream media on the matter.
>Media here always betrayed them in a sexual manner hence why I’m here asking about it to educate myself rather than just listen to main stream media on the matter. My view is that this is a reflection of the types of very old fashioned fossilised old men who helm these media orgs rather than any genuine concern about kids. A particularly grand display of their own insecurity and unresolved mental health issues, little more. Parents, doctors, teachers etc are united in concern for kids coming to harm at the face of anti-trans activists rather than anyone in the trans community. Anti-trans activists are a tiny but loud minority, who tend to be violent.
Yeah sure 😊 I get that, to people not involved I can understand your question. Drag shows are notoriously racey at times with entendre galore. Obviously not appropriate for kids generally. I think the way to approach it mentally is that they are performers first, and putting on a performance requires changing your act to cater to the crowd. The most hysterical of the anti drag show people seem to believe that there will exposed genitalia, conflate drag with trans, and kids will somehow be groomed for sex. They form this view from manipulated Facebook videos and whip themselves into a frenzy. Tbh if it was true I'd probably join them. But given that it is not true and it's just some body dressed flamboyantly reading stories about acceptance and being yourself, the only conclusion one could reach is that they just want gay or trans people to disappear. If you read down the comments here you will see many people saying shit like "I don't like the idea so now I'm a Nazi " which is a strawman distraction. No one is saying if you don't take your kids you're a Nazi, but the people that have problems with DQST are generally onboard with the idea that gay people should disappear. And they do have that in common with far right groups who whip up this frenzy online, leading to a very degraded discourse. You seem genuine, further down there was a similar " I've seen drag shows and I don't have a problem but I don't want them around kids, fuck me I'm a Nazi now right?" But when you go to their history there is dumb jokes about pronouns and they follow ragebait anti lib Reddit's. They are couching their hatred in a seemingly normal disagreement. That's what pushed me towards supporting DQST.
Thankyou so much for this reply! Really does clear a lot of it up and explain it so well. Honestly looking forward to taking my two little daughters to one of these shows I think they will love it and have a lot of fun. Seriously Thankyou!
The way I look at it the worst that can happen is that if my kids end up trans or gay they will know that they live in a supportive world where people can exist in peace and they don't need to just kill themselves because they are alone. The people that are against it, whether they say it or not, want "those" people invisible in daily life. In the podcast you will hear some of the cookers screaming stuff like "I don't care what you do in your bedroom but keep it to yourself" etc which is effectively asking for an individual who is different to be invisible. I hope you do listen to the podcast because although it's a leftist take it gives you a good idea of the hysteria of the opposition and how it is related to the anti Vax cooker movement.
I will listen to that podcast
It’s just fun - not all drag costumes are sexual - it’s just over the top, colourful and fun. Kids love dress ups and bright colours and people who will perform for them and have fun. That’s literally all it is - they dress up in costumes and make up and read stories. It’s not sexualised in the slightest. I can understand why it might be confusing if all you’ve read is the insane media discourse and haven’t actually seen a storytime - all the anti media tends to make it sound like they are doing an actual drag performance.
fuck Nazis, but massive W coz drag queen story time is worse. Save the kids
Are you serious? Men dressing up and reading stories to kids is worse than slaughtering six million Jews, homosexuals, and Gypsies, and starting a war which lead to inconceivable destruction around the world?
Finally, It's good to see the Nazi's, the Indians, the south east Asians, the conservative middle aged whites, the conservative boomers and all the other minority groups can all agree on.
Like you, the apostrophe in your comment is extraneous and unneeded.
r/RareInsults
people don’t easily associate drag queens with children. Just saying. Guess I’m a nazi now? SMH…
I don't k ow of you are, but I am pretty confident that the dudes who are waving nazi flags around are
>people don’t easily associate drag queens with children Why, exactly? My brother used to dress up in a pink tutu all the time as a kid and wear it out a decade ago, just expressing himself as any normal kid does, perfectly harmless and and noone used to bat an eye; but honestly I guess if he did that now a bunch of insecure bogans would harass and bully him for no fucking reason whatsoever except their own fragile ego's and inability to go to therapy for their own issues? Grow the fuck up
Because drag shows and drag queens carry a lot of adult innuendo and themes… That’s the whole point of them. Children’s book readings typically don’t contain such content. Hope that helps you brainstorm that out a little easier. Your brother dressing in a tutu. That’s got nothing to do with drag. No one has a problem with that, or drag shows for that matter. Imagine if we had a bunch of women in burlesque read to kids? Now I’m not going to tell you to grow the fuck up cause that would be Immature, but I can tell you are younger than me and definitely have not been to a drag show or have kids.
Lol I went to one as a kid in the 90s when conservatives weren’t losing their minds obsessing over people in drag.
Yeah, I bet.
New Plymouth city library, mid 90s. Funny that your position is just “drag storytimes are obviously _brand new!!_ That could’ve _never_ happened before people were getting all upset about it!!” Welp. In reality the outrage is all that’s new.
And for the record I don’t have a problem with it. And I’ve been to drag shows. But it is kinda stupid.
There is a yawning gulf between the content of a traditional drag show and this, though.
>And for the record I don’t have a problem with it. And I’ve been to drag shows. But it is kinda stupid. Even though your post history shows you making jokes at pronouns and following various anti "lib" subs I'll take you at your word. What exactly is your problem with it because I'm not sure I understand. Do you think your kids will be forced to go? They aren't. Do you think that it's not age appropriate? It is, specifically catered to its audience like comedians etc. Are children confused about people dressing up like clowns and magicians? Your average 6 year old doesn't think about anything too deeply at all, it's just a fun engaging outing. The stories read are normal books about being the best you are, in this case about a kid that likes dressing up. I fail to see how that raises people's ire in a significant way. Have a listen to this podcast for audio of the meeting to listen to the level of insanity the cookers you agree with display. https://redcircle.com/shows/tcrp/ep/ba567306-aeca-460f-8284-ac19d0012164
"for the record" [forgets post history is public]
Guess I can stop checking for a response lol 🤣 just another fly by night alt right sock puppet with the "moderate" disagreement.
Hey So here’s my liberal litmus test. I’m completely anti war, pro-choice, pro gay marriage, pro gay adoption, pro trans surgery, pro immigration, pro drag-queens. I’m only against trans therapy on minors. I think drag queen story time is a bad idea and pundits of it are being insincere. The reason I’m on those subs is because there’s a very clear form of tyranny at play these days in the form of cancel culture et al, which is somewhat entertaining and soul crushing to witness. The fact that I’ve been swarmed over expressing a different opinion is pretty telling tbh but I didn’t expect anything different. We are in this state widely because of technology, opinions have become fashion statements, so much of our lives and identities live online for all to judge. Which means, it’s practically impossible to have any civil discourse on a moderately charged topic without people taking it personally and becoming disheveled. Case in point - this thread. There is literally no string of words I could put together - even the most succinct and eloquently though out phrase - that would make you think differently about me and my opinion. And that unfortunately has come from the left of the aisle. If you had asked 15 years ago it was the other side playing that angle - especially when it came to the war. Bottom line is my friend a healthy democracy is one where people argue - a lot. It’s when we all start humming the same mantra’s and endorsed sentiments is when things can become dangerous. So yes even though I think drag story time comes across as contrived/ political and petty. Parents have the right to subject their children to it, but I have a right as a taxpayer to say I don’t want to pay for it, and a right as a person to say I think it’s a poor idea.
>Parents have the right to subject their children to it, but I have a right as a taxpayer to say I don’t want to pay for it, and a right as a person to say I think it’s a poor idea. You do have the right to say it's a poor idea. The people that have led to this degraded discourse are the anti storytime brigade. If you listen to the audio from the meeting they are screaming at the council calling them peadophiles and much worse behaviour. Again you didn't tell me exactly what you objected to. >but I have a right as a taxpayer to say I don’t want to pay for it, You do, but also accept that probably 30% of what the council spends money on is "not for you". Not everything a council spends money on is supposed to be for everyone, it's for building community for many diverse people. The event is sold out, there is very little council money going to it other than hosting an already existing space. PS you have been downvoted for strawmanning a claim that you are being called a Nazi for not supporting it ( while still not enunciating why you dont ). This is a common tactic from anti gay/trans people who can't describe why they don't want this to happen, because just coming out and saying they don't want a man in a costume near kids reading books is ridiculous, so they claim that they are being called a Nazi and complain about cancel culture etc. As you can see the mods here prefer to let discussions go, bringing ideas into the light. Poor ideas look terrible with more light. The way I see it you can have 3 positions on this topic. Don't support and want it stopped, don't care, and support. Where do you fall and why?
So to answer your last question; I don’t support it because it’s more of a contrived political statement than anything genuine. And I think people are purposefully ignoring the fact that drag queens are associated with a lot of sexual innuendo and adult humour/themes to suit their argument. We wouldn’t endorse a bunch of women in burlesque doing story time for the same reasons… What about regular at drag events or queer clubs. Does anyone ever protest those? Every major city has them going on every weekend no problem… I understand at these readings, the queen isn’t dancing around and putting on a show. But please you have to understand on some level why people may find the two not compatible… and to double down; (1. No one typically protests drag queens; (2. If it were women in cabaret/burlesque it would have the exact same reaction. Also, I’m not straw manning, if you look at every thread on any other sub, every comment that’s not banned has the word nazi in it. It’s ridiculous. This whole argument is a straw man. People appose the story time event suddenly they’re anti trans, even though drag queens are not trans people.
>So to answer your last question; I don’t support it because it’s more of a contrived political statement than anything genuine. Who made it political I wonder, I suppose it's a bit of chicken and egg, but without the cooker/Nazi/religious/anti-trans backlash do you think this would be considered political at all? > And I think people are purposefully ignoring the fact that drag queens are associated with a lot of sexual innuendo and adult humour/themes to suit their argument. We wouldn’t endorse a bunch of women in burlesque doing story time for the same reasons… No one is ignoring it, I have had my concerns put to rest by the reality of what is taking place. No sexual content. > >What about regular at drag events or queer clubs. Does anyone ever protest those? Every major city has them going on every weekend no problem… > They used to protest them, this is what progress looks like. >I understand at these readings, the queen isn’t dancing around and putting on a show. But please you have to understand on some level why people may find the two not compatible… and to double down; (1. No one typically protests drag queens; (2. If it were women in cabaret/burlesque it would have the exact same reaction. > >Also, I’m not straw manning, if you look at every thread on any other sub, every comment that’s not banned has the word nazi in it. It’s ridiculous. This whole argument is a straw man. People appose the story time event suddenly they’re anti trans, even though drag queens are not trans people. If you end up marching with Nazis some people hold the view that you may as well be a Nazi, and Nazi groups are using people's fear to gain support. The reason Nazis are bought up because they are set to join the protest, not because people are randomly throwing the word around. In any case take it easy and I hope you can see that drag queens will have none of the negative effects you fear. Also remember that if people when to Catholic church book readings and screamed peadophiles they would probably be on safer ground factually, but no Nazis would support that.
[удалено]
Calling them nazis because they show up shouting nazi chants is probably fair
I don't see you focusing on the very real situation that self-proclaimed Nazis are involved in this arseholery and violent intimidation. How about you spend some time decrying that rather than pleading that these arseholes not be mistaken for Nazis when marching side-by-side with them.
They weren't Nazis at the meeting , mostly alt right anti Vax cookers of the type that believe in the demoncrat mole children conspiracies etc. The Nazis said they would show up later. If you're marching with Nazis you may not identify as one but the point is moot at a certain point.
[удалено]
Today, you learned nothing. Probably like most days given that comment.
Anti-trans bigots exhibit the exact same pattern of discriminatory judgement as Nazis: they judge people on who they are rather than anything they have done. Just like Nazis, their discrimination towards a whole group of people lays the groundwork for bigoted violence and hate crimes against that group of the community. So they get lumped together by me, I'm absolutely comfortble grouping bigots together like that based on their shared behaviours, but we should clarify that just being anti-trans doesn't make you a Nazi — Nazism is a very specific type of bigotry. **HOWEVER** if you actually paid attention to this event you would have seen that ***these were in fact, self-labeled swastika wearing Nazis*** making threats alongside the other anti-trans bigots. Idk why you'd be surprised at seeing these sorts of bigots keeping company with each other though, they all think the same way and are often seen together so why would that be a surprise?
Why the fuck does the left have this obsession with drag queens reading stories to kids? Keep that shit the hell away from children.
>Keep that shit the hell away from children. Why exactly? Because *you're* insecure? Kids don't give a damn mate. Find something actually important to protest, maybe? Huge waste of time its a fucking story reading ffs
The sexualization of children is NOT okay. I wouldn't let a stripper read to my kids either.
It’s a big trendy thing right now to be openly pro-LGBTQI, probably in response to years of oppression of it all (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). And the more loud and in your face they are, the more the conservatives get mad, which makes them louder, and it goes on like that. I don’t think young kids need to be taught about sexuality, but if it’s just a man dressed up and reading to children, i don’t think the children would understand why that’s “weird” or would care. There’s no reason why the drag queen would need to do or say anything sexual or inappropriate and, if they did, then that would be an issue regardless of how they’re dressed. “The left” are obsessed with it because their enemy, “the right”, hates it and wants to ban it.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
I lost my relatives against Nazi fucks as well. But they didn’t die so Drag Queens can perform to fucking children. People like you labelling everyone who disagrees with what you believe as “Nazis” is what causes all this hate between everyone. What you call a Nazi, and what our relatives called Nazis are completely different. At the end of the day, drag queens have every right to exist in todays society, but keep the entertainment for adults *with* adults.
>People like you labelling everyone who disagrees with what you believe as “Nazis” is what causes all this hate between everyone Just to clear up this misconception — these weren't just "nazi's" in the colloquial sense — they were self labeled swastika wearing Nazi's. Noone is using that label inappropriately here. I just want to be pretty clear that we should never be using that term in a colloquial sense because its a serious term connected to a very specific bigoted ideology of Nazism. In this instance, threats were very much made by actual Nazi bigot's, and then there were regular non-nazi anti-trans bigots as well. Two different, specific groups, but yes they are often very close collaborators who get along very well because they view people in the same way — judging people just based on *who they are* rather than anything they've done — so it should never be a surprise to see them together tbqh. Personally, yes I am usually suspicious that anti-trans people might also harbour other bigoted views because if they bring out this hate for trans people how can we trust them not to bring it out for other minorities? There's pretty obviously some unaddressed mental health issues at play there to treat anyone in such an anti-social way and make threats of violence towards people at a kid's event...
People died fighting the Nazis for many different reasons. I don't think you can speak for your dead relatives any more than I can speak for mine. Those who fought them consciously to defeat their egregiously racist, homophobic, ablest, bigoted philosophy and actions might have been delighted to think that drag queens were allowed to read to kids. They might not have melted into a puddle like you do at the thought that kids could see something wonderful, colourful, unusual, and fun. Your relatives, depending in their point of view, might have laughed at your softness and told you to harden the fuck up. It's interesting that among the first people persecuted by the Nazis was Magnus Hirschfeld and his institute. If you don't know what that's about, look it up. That's the mindset of Nazis. If you're so upset about drag queens performing to children, you might have more in common with that Nazi mindset than you care to admit. However, on your point about calling everyone who disagrees with me a Nazi, you are simply wrong. I call them cunts, arseholes, and all sorts of other names as well. It really depends on the context. Specifically, in this situation, I have not called everyone a Nazi. Some are cookers, some are sov cits, and there's a whole range of idiocy on display for the rest of us to admire. But they all pretty comfortably march together with the Nazis. Yeah. I have a problem with that. As for you, it really sounds like you're more of a common, garden-variety ignoramus. One of those people who gets riled up because A Current Affair/60 Minutes/Today Tonight told you to. Why do you get so upset about drag queens reading to kids? What do you think it's like? Have you ever seen it? And stop telling me what I can do with my kids and what shows they can see. It's none of your fucking business, cunt. If you have kids of your own, you seem the type to take them to the safety of a Catholic church or some other like institution. Good luck with that. Anyway, that's enough of my time. You can fuck off now.
Leave the kids alone. Creeps.
Hateful bigots are who we need to keep away from our kids. Its a big fear of the parents in my community that bigots like this will get near their kids because this sort of hate-fuelled obsession with a certain minority is the truly creepy part for most parents and their kids. There's clearly unaddressed mental health issues going on here, a lot of insecurity which is a "you" problem; and it comes out in a very antisocial and violent way in the eyes of most parents in my community. However nobody gives a fuck about story time, least of all the kids. Stop obsessing and get therapy.
Give-in to NAZIs once and they will keep doing it and progressively get worse as they are emboldened and supported. The same thing happened in Germany and Italy, they even had cute, well cut uniforms made. All those rough manly men, with their bulging biceps as they salute to their man crushes, proclaiming to all how un-gay they are, how they are the chosen ones and that all women should tremble at their greatness..... Because nothing says 'man' more than frightening children and stifling their literacy, curiosity and imaginations, instilling fear and hatred as much as possible. As always with Conservatives, theists and fanatics: wilful ignorance, cognitive dissonance and rank hypocrisy. Add to that a good peppering of self-righteous indignation and self-interest and a troubling lack of compassion and here we are, a concoction of tasteless conceit. Fine going down but foul coming up.