Anonymous submission to Unsalted Counter Info.
Community members in Sault Ste. Marie mobilized after an apparently small but far-right “Unity Centre” group publicized plans to protest a Drag Queen Story Hour event. The group’s founder, Steve Hunter, published the media release that repeated fearmongering over the existence of queer people, citing other far-right groups such as “500 Mom Strong” and “Action4Canada”, and declaring their intent to protest.
They were met by a much larger crowd of Drag Queen Story Time supporters who protested in front of the library, denying that space to the far right. Police would later separate the groups, having the smaller crowd of far-right protestors stand across the street. The event itself had no reported disruptions or other issues.
These attacks against the LGBTQI+ community are widespread, but so is their unpopularity. In most cases, the bigots are outnumbered by local supporters and the events continue without issue. As our societies have become more accepting of certain aspects of people who don’t conform to hetero-patriarchal standards, conservatives in general sense a threat to the dominance of their beliefs, and desperately lash out to undo these changes. Thankfully they don’t seem to have as much grassroots support as they imagine, but a continued strong rejection of their bigotry will be necessary. We keep us safe!
Local mainstream coverage can be found here:
https://www.sootoday.com/local-news/video-drag-story-time-brings-pride-and-protesters-6379349
https://www.sootoday.com/local-news/war-of-words-rages-on-as-drag-story-time-protest-looms-6358555