As a celebration of the new official religion of our country, this upcoming weekend’s 2022 Boise Pride Festival has attracted many corporate and government sponsors who want to signal their fealty to the LGBTQ+ community.
Local grocery chain Albertson’s serves as the premier sponsor this year, dusting off its June Pride Month logo once again. Many other local banks, retailers, alcohol distributors, and medical companies are on the long list of sponsors as well.
If residents disagree with this corporate promotion, they are free to vote with their wallets. But what about their tax dollars?
The City of Boise is just one of several public entities that are donating taxpayer dollars to fund this event. Other government sponsors include the University of Idaho College of Law, the College of Western Idaho, and Central District Health.
Of course, using taxpayer money to fund such causes isn’t a new phenomenon; the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spent more than $100,000 on pride events in 2021.
Pride events have become increasingly vulgar in recent years, with skimpy clothing, overtly sexual dancing, and even public nudity being common sights. Things that would get people arrested in any other context are celebrated while activists invite parents to bring their children to these “family-friendly” events.
A big part of the Pride Festival this year is a series of drag queen performances. A flier for the event advertises performances such as “Lezbe Kings,” “Drag Story Time with Gendertainers,” “Get up and Dance with Corevette Collective,” but the most shocking is one called “Drag Kids on Stage.”
The flier describes it as “a drag show like none other,” and says the “Drag Kids range from ages 11 - 18 and are ready to bring it all to the Boise Pride Festival stage.”
Bring all of what, exactly?
Drag shows have become a front in the culture war over the past few years as LGBTQ+ organizations have started using men dressed as garish caricatures of women to bring their agenda to young children. Activists claim that it is all about teaching tolerance and inclusion, but should such tolerance extend to children dancing on stage in front of adults in a manner that resembles behavior at a strip club?
Despite the claims of LGBTQ+ activists that it is innocent fun, the drag queen phenomenon is clearly about capturing the minds of our children in pursuit of an agenda. In an academic paper called “Drag Pedagogy,” an activist and a drag queen clearly explain how Drag Queen Story Hour should be used to mold the minds of young children toward “queerness.”
It is not only Boise taxpayers who are supporting this, but every resident of Idaho. We expect the University of Idaho to use our tax dollars to educate students, not promote LGBTQ+ pride. Residents expect public colleges and universities to educate students, not promote lasciviousness. Residents of Boise trust their city government to use their tax dollars to maintain a safe and healthy city, not sponsor child drag shows. Remember this the next time our elected leaders come to us asking for more money for education or public safety.
This is not responsible government. This is not freedom or the blessings of liberty. This is the state imposing a worldview on the people. This is socialism on steroids.
