Racist Remarks at the Pathetic 'Hetero Awesome Fest'
The entire festival was laughable except for the blatantly racist remarks that were made during it.
So, the Hetero Awesome Fest took place this past weekend in Boise, Idaho. Purposely planned in opposition to LGBTQ+ Pride Month, the event received a lot of media coverage, was made fun of by The New Yorker and many others, and, I’m happy to say, flopped spectacularly. The following headline from KTVB7 perfectly (and hilariously) sums it up:
Not only was the festival sparsely attended, the founder of the fest, Mark Fitzpatrick, said that he had spent around $85,000 to throw the event but had only recouped about $20-25,000. My thoughts and prayers go out to Mark. After all, he is the guy who’s offering free “Beers for Breeders” at his bar during the month of June (Pride Month).
To say that the Hetero Awesome Fest was pathetic is a huge understatement. It featured a handful of people line dancing, ironically (but seemingly unbeknownst to them) in front of a “Don’t Be Sheeple” sign (watch the video):
It also featured some lame bouncy castles and slides, and these two dopes babbling about “traditional family values” and gender “confusion” and a lot of other nonsense:
While those ideas and statements are so absurd they’re laughable, what wasn’t funny at all was the blatant, casual racism on display at the Hetero Awesome Fest. While live-streaming at the event and discussing the benefits of living in Boise, Idaho, David J. Reilly, host of the self-described American Nationalist podcast The Backlash, bragged that, "There aren't any black people here." Here’s the video:
Seated next to David Reilly were co-host, Rebecca Hargraves, conservative podcaster, Ryan Matta, and Idaho bar owner Mark Fitzpatrick, founder of the Hetero Awesome Fest. None of them even flinched, and there were even some grins and laughs. These are the kind of people that Trump has emboldened.
What gives me some hope, though, is the following comparison:
Let’s keep calling out and pushing back against racism, hate, and Christian Nationalism.
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