Proud And Tall

With all these armed white supremacist showing up at LGBTQ+ events and the events go on even with all the armed protester is a “Profile in Courage.”

'We don't scare that easy:' Performers in protested drag show describe the moment the power went out in Moore County
The power went out in Moore County less than an hour into a drag show that drew heated protests. But the show's headliner describes how the audience used cell phones to light the theater and continue the show.
WRAL News
By Matt Talhelm
December 5, 2022


A targeted attack on the power grid has left most Duke Energy customers in Moore County without power -- likely for days.

The power went out less than an hour into a drag show in Southern Pines that drew threats and protests.

The power is still out at the Sunrise Theater in downtown, where the Downtown Divas sign is still on the marquee.

Sandhills Pride organized this show - their fourth drag show in the county.

They say while the timing of the outage is suspicious, they're giving investigators time to figure out if there's a connection between their heavily-protested show and the attack on the power grid.

Saturday's drag performance drew a floodlight of attention from religious and alt-right protesters. A police line stood between those protesters, gathered on the steps of the train station, and the counter-protesters, supporting the show outside the theater with rainbow flags.

"This is nothing new to the queer community. We’ve been dealing with this for a very long time," said Naomi Dix, a drag performer who was part of Saturday's performance.

I just want to reiterate, the motive to shoot up a substation is not know at this time.

The Far-Right Attacked Drag Events in 4 States This Weekend
Protests against drag events have been an almost weekly occurrence this year. This weekend was no different.
Vice News
By Tess Owen
December 5, 2022


Neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, militiamen, Christian nationalists, and culture warriors in at least four states mobilized to shut down and intimidate events involving drag queens over the weekend. 

In Columbus, Ohio, a Unitarian Church was forced to cancel a planned Drag Queen Story Hour event when Proud Boys and a coalition of other far-right groups showed up to intimidate it. 

At least 50 Proud Boys showed up in their “colors,” some of whom wore tactical vests and covered their faces with masks and ski goggles, according to videos posted to social media by videographer Brendan Gutenschwager. 

About 30 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front also joined the fray, as well as a group of armed men in camouflage. 

About 15 others affiliated with the network “White Lives Matter” showed up waving their flag—a white square with a cross in the corner—and performed Hitler salutes. Some members of that group also held a large homemade banner that read “Groomers Not Welcome.” A group of counterprotesters also showed up; at one point police had to intervene in some heated verbal exchanges between Proud Boys and counterprotesters, according to Gutenschwager.

I want to point out that the conservatives are always screaming “Religious Freedom” as long as it is their religion they seem to have no qualms in shutting other’s people’s religion.

'We will not hide in the shadows' Long-running LGBTQ group forges ahead with annual gala despite recent violence
KUNC Colorado Public Radio
By Mickey Capper
December 6, 2022


A group of older LGBTQ residents held their 22nd Annual Lavender Gala on Sunday at Nissi’s in Lafayette. After the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, organizers had some concerns about going forward with the event. But they decided to go ahead, adopting the mantra, 'We will not hide in the shadows.'

For 22 years, lesbian, gay, bi, queer, and trans seniors have come together in Boulder County for the event, hosted by the Rainbow Elders of Boulder County’s Area Agency on Aging.

This year's holiday party wasn't much different from years past. Mrs. Eda Bagel – a self-described 'gender illusion technician' – was the entertainment again, and they lip-synced musical number after number. Guests ate a salmon and tofu lunch and reconnected with old friends while dancing the afternoon away.

[…]

"I think it's the only time I've seen a police car, and I was glad to see a police car," said Mark Killinger, a member of the Area Agency on Aging's LGBTQ advisory board.

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Standing up to misanthropes...

School officials and students defend N.J. high school drag show after backlash
NJ.com
By Jackie Roman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
December 7, 2022


A drag show meant to foster a sense of community among Hunterdon Central Regional High School’s LGBTQ+ students has become a point of controversy, with district officials and student organizers defending the show from backlash over whether it was “fair and equitable.”

The drag show was an invitation-only event put on Oct. 27 by the high school P.U.L.S.E (People Understanding Love Serves Everyone) club and it was meant to provide a safe space for students to be themselves, club members said during a recent board of education meeting. But the event has exposed underlying tensions at the school and community it serves.

[...]

Critics of the drag show held at Hunterdon Central Regional High School compared it to lewd adult entertainment and argued it was a symptom of “preoccupation with ideology and sexuality at the expense of academia.”

But information about the student-led event has been “twisted and demonized,” said Moore.

“When people say that we can’t support our students in a project like this because there are pedophiles hiding in our community, and we’re serving their agenda to hurt our kids, I’m sorry — I don’t think we’re living on the same planet,” Moore said last month.

And you wonder why we have Pride Parades?

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First shots of a U.S. Civil War fired in the Carolinas … again | Will Bunch Newsletter
The Philadelphia Inquirer


The coordinated attack came just a couple of hours after nightfall had descended on the region. The strikes on at least two key electrical substations around 7 p.m. plunged more than 45,000 people into Stone Age-level darkness on a chilly December Saturday night.

Cars backed up in several downtowns without traffic lights. Some crowded into a hastily assembled shelter, among the thousands desperately seeking warmth during the short days and long nights. Schoolkids were ordered to stay home. A reporter found one man outside his darkened home, huddled over a fire pit and muttering, “It’s really cold.”

[…]

Moore County’s GOP sheriff Ronnie Fields told reporters Monday that gunfire severely damaged the two substations in a “targeted attack” by people who clearly “knew what they were doing.” Some 50 hours later, authorities — including the FBI, which has been called onto the case — don’t have any suspects or even a motive for the attack, and unanswered questions have overwhelmed what we know so far.

One person so far have died because of the terrorist attack.