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Do We Need to Have Laws to Ban Kids at Drag Shows?
The simple answer to the question in the title is “No!” If we are not mindful of the legal actions we are taking against Progressives, we are going to find our own rights even further restricted. Let me explain the background for this argument, and why we would be misguided if we try to pass another law to restrict the Progressive agenda. In response to a proposed ban on allowing kids to attend drag shows in Texas, Florida legislator Anthony Sabatini decided proposing the same kind of legislation in Florida was a good idea. It’s not.
There are several reasons not to codify a response to prevent our children from being exposed to these drag shows. First, trying to determine how to flesh out the law would be an impossible task: deciding what makes a drag show, determining what can be shown and what can’t be shown, enacting penalties on the show performers and sponsors, as well as parents—or making the laws so vague that they are useless—is a waste of time. To enact a law would also impinge on parental rights, which DeSantis has worked hard to protect, and makes no sense. (DeSantis has shown an interest in the proposed law, but I’m going to bet he will not back it.) Also, drag shows can’t be treated the same as regulations for schools, where children are required to attend and which are governed by state requirements for curriculum.
So do we let our kids be exposed to these abhorrent drag shows and do nothing? That’s not helpful, either. Instead, we need to take our citizenship seriously and be proactive about protecting our kids against these demonstrations. The ways to do so are numerous. We make the decision not to attend these activities, or activities that include demonstrations of drag queens. If our kids ask us why, we should tell them: that they are demonstrating behaviors that we consider unacceptable and immoral. We might show up for protests at the venues where these events take place. I think we can do so peacefully. We can pay attention to the programs at events so that our kids don’t attend events where drag shows were not publicized. If a drag show unexpectedly commences, leave. All of these decisions would demonstrate to our children that we have the courage to live our beliefs and convictions.
We must decide if we are prepared to take action against the ongoing incursion of the LGBTQ+ agenda. That community is determined to normalize their agenda:
‘Drag is here, and it has always been here as a part of our community,’ [Tatiana] Williams said. ‘Banning drag shows out of a misguided fear that some youth might find a sense of connection with the LGBTQ+ community would be an invasion of parents’ rights to raise their children and support them as their authentic selves. When we think of educating our youth about the world, about acceptance, and about LGBTQ+ people and history, these efforts to erase our visibility are never the answer.’
This year, Pride on the Block also featured Drag Story Time to promote reading for the younger participants. Drag Queen Story Hour, an organization that celebrates reading through the glamorous art of drag, said they were disappointed politicians were threatening programs like theirs.
There was a mass shooting threat, that moved Palm Beach County and LGBTQ+ to cancel this year’s Pride event, and they issued the following joint statement:
‘We live in a free society. Our strengths as a people come from the collective backgrounds, beliefs and lives of our diverse communities. We understand that there is increased rhetoric focused on limiting the freedoms of our citizenry, including an attack on the rights of parents to raise their children in a manner that is best for their families. We will continue to host our events and will provide a safe space for all open-minded, accepting individuals to enjoy the diversity of these freedom loving communities everywhere.’
The statement was signed by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center, the Pride Business Alliance, Transpire Help, and Pride on the Block.
Another factor in supporting any program sponsored by an LGBTQ+ community is that you are not only supporting everything they stand for, but you are also backing the Transgender community in particular, which has already inflicted enough damage on our society.
We have our work cut out for us. Let’s take our role seriously and not believe that government is always the solution.
[photo by quino al at unsplash.com]
Published in Culture
Replace the school board.
They look bored. That’s going to be the outcome. Drag etc. will become boring rather than ‘edgy’. I honestly think that’s what will happen for kids with today’s adult obsessions. Those kids will find their own edge.
I think that’s a conclusion that can’t necessarily be drawn for all kids. I don’t like the idea of normalizing drag queens.
That’s because we keep voting for feckless Republicans. We know we’re not going to be able to cound on the govt.–look at how well they are protecting the conservative Supreme Court justices. And they’re not going to protect our kids either, even with new legislation. They’ll find ways to ignore the law or skirt around it.
That’s why our time of whining and complaining is over and we will need to act, as I’ve described.
I do not want taxpayer dollars going to a Drag Queen Story Hour in any schools or libraries in FL. I can see they’re being offered by cities and counties. I wonder if taxpayers know that is how their dollars are being spent?
Drag is gay blackface.
It’s the last acceptable form of entertainment centered on offensive stereotypes of another group.
Aside from white men of course.
If you want to defeat something in modern society you have to stigmatize it.
Not to be a [redacted] about things, but when you try to use those laws, lawyers happen.
Getting medieval doesn’t require a law, but it can also cause lawyers.
Outside of drag, her background is in social work with a focus on youth.
Because of course it is.
“I can’t describe the spark in a queer kid’s (and yes, we can tell) eyes when they see you,” she said. “It’s like their gender is being acknowledged for the first time.”
She added, “These kids deserve programming and role models that is accurately reflective of our diverse world. Not a regurgitated monolith authored by xenophobes because they’re too cowardly to accept reality.”
Remember priest, soldier, and scoutmaster storytime in the library?
Me neither.
Here’s the thing; this person genuinely believes that it’s purpose in the world is to mess with gender as it is generally understood in order to help children who are confused about gender.
It would never occur – I sincerely hope – that such behavior is the cause of gender confusion.
But it would likely take the win anyway. It’s all about seeing their eyes light up after all. That’s not weird or anything.
This is my understanding too, that the Constitution was designed to keep the feds out of the micromanagement business, but that states could do as they saw fit – including having an official religion and plenty of other things that wouldn’t sit right with us today. But of course people could always leave if a state became too restrictive.
See, I am against gaybashing and always have been.
But I gotta admit that this guy makes me feel kinda hate-crimey.
This is the thing. There is government action and there is direct action and there is just ignoring what is happening. Not seeing a lot of other options.
I think it’s fine to have these kinds of laws more local, but not at a federal level. The state should have more latitude than the federal. NH can experiment in libertarianism at the state level. If Florida’s legislature can get away with passing these laws, more power to them.
Nice line. The response, of course, would be that the entirety of society supports the priest, the soldier, and the scoutmaster; they are the defaults. It is necessary to introduce a transgressive element to liberate the kids who do not find representation and validation in those archetypes.
But that’s an outdated view of the modern culture, as if the old archetypes haven’t spent the last 50 years being hammered flat by the transgressive desires, and drag is somehow a brave valiant band of rebels fighting against all the odds.
Susan, forgive me for not reading through the comments…came to this thread too late. I just wanted to agree with you. We don’t need new laws. We need parents who say to their kids, “This exists, but I don’t like it and I don’t think it is good for you.”
When my kids were little, I decided not to try to protect them from the world’s ugliness, especially the Internet, which was getting nastier in those days. I believed that my best strategy was not to fight their curiosity; rather, I made sure that they could come to me and talk about anything that was on their minds, and I would not go crazy on them, but listen respectfully and discuss it. They turned out pretty well, and I’m inclined to take some credit for that.
Good for you, Doug! I think it’s tempting to let government step in for us under the auspices of “we don’t approve” of something. If I’d had kids, I would have wanted to follow your approach, if I’d had the wisdom!
That’s exactly what I asked my wife when she caught me . . . nevermind . . .
We should be able to agree that children and their families sometimes need the support of laws we might not need if only adults existed. There is a difference between protecting children in their normal development and overly sheltering them, and we have made the parents’ job of protection extremely difficult. For instance, we know the dangers to children of unsupervised internet viewing, including hypersexualization and rampant addiction to pornography. Curiosity will need to be satisfied in an age-appropriate manner, but it is naive to think that there are not experiences that can cause great harm. When the middle class predominated, one could trust that neighbors and schools and public entertainment would not threaten but would suppport decent behavior. That is no longer the case and one reason is that the law has too often failed us.
The OP does not charge that morality should not ever be legislated, only that this particular bit of perversity should not be banned, but immorality, too, can be legislated, in this case by omission. So it comes down to whether you see this as one more stone being removed from the foundation of our country or as something that can easily be tolerated. I see it as the former.
I can identify with your concern, Sandy. It’s not an easy issue to address, especially with all the moral confusion and upheaval. Thanks for weighing in.
I’m mostly right with you, but then there’s the phrase, “These kids deserve programming….”The state (the guys who run the schools) don’t usually do the pledge of allegiance, schools fight against recruiters visiting high school and college campuses,
but this guy worked in schools to program children. And now does the same, probably for pay, in libraries.He wants to be a role model. This more than presenting an option for children who think they are trans. He wants them to follow him.
And he knows who they are by looking in their eyes.
Edit: OK, I reviewed the longer quotes and I have misrepresented the drag queen’s use of the word, ‘programming’. The word was used to mean event programming, or ‘shows’ rather than the kind of programming we do with computers where information is placed inside to cause specific behaviors.
In normal times, I’m not sure we would need new laws. The question I have is, what would happen if you called Child Protective Services on the parents who take their kids to celebrate perversity? Even five or ten years ago, the parents might have faced investigation and consequences for such child abuse. Today? CPS would probably turn the tables on you for questioning their parenting.
Our society is very, very sick.
We dont need laws here, we need parents who act like responsible adults. The place to solve this – or to manage it, is at the local level through the actions of the parents toward who is putting this on. The community should set that standard. If the school board needs to be changed, then do it, etc.
I would equate drag to female burlesque. Would you allow children to view burlesque shows? Probably not. Would you allow for burlesque story time in libraries? Nah. I’m a firm believer in adults doing what they want. But minors should be regulated. Often lefty parents are the problem- allowing their children to view this stuff.
I’d like to see a plethora of laws on the books:
– Ban drag in public spaces (parks and parades) with decency laws.
– Ban drag story time in all public places- no more at schools and libraries.
– Ban books that celebrate and indoctrinate children with trans messaging at schools or libraries.
– Parents who transition minors should be arrested for child abuse.
– Schools, doctors, public institutions that promote and try normalize transitioning minors should be banned.
The culture can and should discourage this behavior at the local level. Adults who wish to disfigure themselves- that’s on them. Minors need to be regulated.
I’m open to hearing counter points, as I distrust the government in general and don’t like additional regulations. But protecting minors from groomers and threats (but I repeat myself) I’m ok with- especially at local government level.
I think this gets to the heart of the question–what, exactly, is a drag queen “show”? Some of what I’ve read about includes explicitly sexual or highly suggestive behavior. Parents apparently are allowing children to participate in the same. I’m not sure whether we need additional laws to prohibit this (apparently we might since it’s happening with impunity), but such behavior is akin to child abuse. Parents and the “performers” could/should be prosecuted.
On the other hand, if the “show” is some ridiculous-looking man in make-up and evening gown reading a book to children, I’m much more on the side of public shaming than prosecution. If parents want to subject their children to that kind of nonsense, I’m not sure the law is a good vehicle for preventing it.
As a general rule, I think it’s much better to proscribe specific conduct rather than to attempt to regulate who may have general associations with whom.
Places like government schools, however, should definitely set curriculum policies that prevent even the more mild forms of this question. What legitimate educational purpose is served by bringing in drag queens to read to children? None.
I generally agree with you regarding schools, but I’m sincerely wondering how to enforce laws against drag at parades, parks, etc. through decency laws. It seems the definitions would get awfully messy.
Parades generally require permits, and they probably have long lists of things that aren’t allowed. Violations of those rules could mean a loss of deposit or a refusal to permit the parade in the future.
Not sure about parks, except that sometimes permits are required for park use as well.
Messy because we are trying to tolerate some seriously questionable things.
Perhaps–but how to differentiate (for the purposes of enforcing a policy) between sexualized drag and the girl scouts on a float dressed as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington because someone had to play the part.
I realize you and I (and most everyone else) can tell the difference, but how does such a policy get enforced? I suppose it can be done, but it sure seems easier to ostracize the sexualized drag stuff in public than to try to legally distinguish the two situations.
Doctors who cut off healthy bits from patients (breasts, penises) because that patient thinks he’s not the right gender — should lose their licenses and be charged with a crime. This includes doing this to both kids and adults.
If someone said “Doctor, cut off my arm or I will have dysphoria” we would seek to get that person some therapy for their mental damage. But if he says “Cut off my penis” then we’re supposed to celebrate both doctor and patient. This is complete and utter insanity.
And they’re doing this to CHILDREN.
Throw those doctors in the deepest dungeons, never to see the light of day again.