Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Good Vibes Outside Hate Conference

Nice photo from the Trans Maryland Dance Party held outside the UARE anti-trans rally at That's Amore tonight. Scowling faces indoors, happy faces dancing in the parking lot. (Photo tweeted by District 5 County Council candidate Kristin Mink.)

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

That's Amore Restaurant in Rockville to Host Anti-Trans Hatefest

A rightwing Montgomery County group, reasoning that it's racist to say that some white people are racist, has trademarked the name United Against Racism in Education, or UARE. Last summer they distributed flyers accusing some county Board of Education candidates of promoting Critical Race Theory in local schools. [EDIT:The group also supported some far-right school board candidates. All their candidates lost, except Esther Wells who made it through the primaries]. UARE members distributing the flyers are quoted as saying said they believe the candidates they endorsed would remove curriculum that "includes anti-whiteness." See, they're united against racism, uh huh.

UARE is expanding its bigotry umbrella now beyond racism to organize a local attack against transgender people, with an event planned next week -- Wednesday the 19th -- at That's Amore in Rockville. That's Amore seems to be making a reputation for itself as the go-to meeting spot for Montgomery County Republicans. Which can't really be very profitable.

According to UARE's flyer, this event is titled, "True Stories About Transgenderism," with the subhead, "It can happen to your loved ones!"

Three speakers are listed. Nicole Eckenrode is promoted as "The mother of nine children. Learn how her oldest son was Brainwashed into the GENDER IDEOLOGY." Eckenrode appears to be the owner of a Kensington gym, who last summer was quoted in the news complaining about vaccine mandates. Apparently she has rejected one of her children for failing to meet normative expectations, and blames their transition on something she calls "gender ideology," which brainwashes people.

Lisa Ruth is the second speaker, the poster calls her an "Entrepreneur and Working Mother. Talks about the Transgender Crisis in Maryland public high schools." I think it is a pretty good bet that this is the same Lisa Ruth who with her husband runs the Bruster's Real Ice Cream franchise in Annapolis. After the George Floyd killing, Ruth's husband posted on social media: "If u act like an animal.. u get treated like an animal" followed later by "#WhatLivesMatter." Bruster's issued a statement that said "On behalf of Bruster’s Corporate and the entire franchise community, we do not share the views of this individual franchisee..." The Capital Gazette wrote that Lisa and her husband "have posted [online content] in the past critical of national Democratic figures, President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton." So, yeah, another expert on gender identity.

Finally, the headliner will be Brandon Showalter, described by the Daily Wire as "a senior investigative reporter on sexual ethics and the trans movement at The Christian Post." He is a professional hater who can tell you hundreds of reasons why transgender people are evil. There is a long interview with him HERE, if you have the stomach for it.

To people like Brandon: you can believe whatever you want to believe about anybody you want. But transgender people have not asked you for advice, and their choices about how to live are none of your business. That's all. If for some reason you can't stand it when someone is happy in a way that is different from you, that is not their problem, it's you. You can believe stupid things but our community will not allow you to actively make life miserable for our neighbors and friends. It doesn't matter what you believe, just mind your own business.

A quick look at Google shows That's Amore has hosted events for Reardon Sullivan, Republican candidate for County Executive; Jonathan Jenkins, Republican candidate for Congress; Dan Cox, Republican candidate for governor; and held the only Republican forum for Maryland Attorney General, as well as a previous UARE "racism event." I could not find mention of any Democratic groups meeting there, ever. They decide how to run their own business, but this is not doing anything for my appetite, if you know what I mean.

Gender identity is a matter of normal variation in the population. Everybody's got some yin and yang in them, sometimes more of one than the other. If you are transgender then you have given some careful thought to questions of gender and self-presentation, including questions about having to deal with ignorant people, and you are making personal decisions that make your life better. If you are not transgender then it is just not your business. Does it make you uneasy? Is it hard for you to understand? Nobody cares. Just go away and mind your own business.

"Transgenderism" is not an ideology, not an ism, it is not even a word. Sometimes the gender that the doctor wrote on a birth certificate when a baby first popped out was wrong. This incorrect assignment can happen a lot of ways, it doesn't matter, the correction is to change the assignment and help the person adjust where their physiology is out of whack, not to shame the person into living a lie.

The UARE Anti-Trans meeting, promoted by the Montgomery County Republican Party, will be held 6:30-8:30PM, Wednesday, October 19th, at That's Amore, 15201 Shady Grove Road, Rockville. They have the right to express their beliefs, but the rest of us have a right to protect our community from this sort of poison.