Yea, this is continuing the story from yesterday's blog post.
While my "NO SHAKESPEARE FOR YOU" (with its Seinfeldian echoes) was a humorous take on a very serious issue, St Sen Steve Santarsiero responded to Sen Mastriano's anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry with great humanity.
His response can be found here in the Bucks County Herald.
He starts:
After receiving the gentleman from Franklin County’s memo late yesterday regarding “drag events,” I felt compelled to respond.
While I disagree with the gentleman’s proposal as a matter of policy, I take particular exception to his distorted characterization of the Rainbow Room’s Queer Prom, a dance specifically arranged for LGBTQ+ youth in Bucks County.
And explains what The Rainbow Room means:
The Rainbow Room, which Planned Parenthood established over 20 years ago to be a safe place for LGBTQ+ youth to come together and build self-esteem, first held the prom in February 2020.
And:
Many of these students do not feel accepted by their peers. Indeed, the Central Bucks School District, where many of these students attend school, is presently led by a board majority that has created an educational environment that is openly hostile to LBGTQ+ youth. So, having an organization like the Rainbow Room and an event like the Queer Prom can very literally save the lives of kids who otherwise experience feelings of depression and isolation.
And so:
With this background, I hope you can appreciate why I was saddened and indeed angered when I read the gentleman’s co-sponsorship memo, which described the 2022 prom as “a sexually charged [sic] drag show.” I can only assume that this distortion, written by someone who was not present, is based on the fact that one student and one recent alum of the Rainbow Room dressed in drag and danced at the request of the prom committee. That can hardly be grounds for describing the hours-long prom as a “drag show.”
Not that the facts matter to Doug's slice of the MAGA crowd.
Will Sen Mastriano be correcting his factual error anytime soon?
Yea, silly question.
I'll let Sen Santarsiero have the last word. After pointing out that he'd received hate mail as a response to Doug's memo, he writes:
While no one likes ad hominem attacks, I have long ago learned that they are a sad part of public life in this era. But no LGBTQ+ child in this country should have to live with the hate that has been unleashed here. I only hope that as members of our State Senate, we can rise above ignorance and remember that we have a special obligation to stand up for the most vulnerable members of our society. [Emphasis added.]
