Roy Exum: As Others See Us

  • Wednesday, October 5, 2022
  • Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Roy Exum

The picture shows a young blonde girl, her arm around her dad’s neck, as “she watches a man wearing a dog mask and (draped) in a flag that indicates he likes to pretend to be a dog at the Chattanooga Pride parade in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Oct. 2.”

No, I wasn’t there but The Epoch Times was, and on Tuesday there appeared on its website a story with the headline: ‘Corporate-Sponsored Chattanooga Pride Parade Displays Fetishes to Children’. As one who has a keen interest in how the national media portrays our city this story, to paraphrase Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly was so “interesting” you should read it.

If you take “pride” in Chattanooga, please refrain from going to theepocchtimes.com and reading the many comments because the great majority in the conservative publication are unflattering unless you think a comparison to Sodom & Gomorrah might heighten our tourist industry.

An example: “The wave of filth and evil that is possessing America like a cancerous, spreading tumor is getting worse and worse. We are beyond the days of Noah. Beyond the days of Sodom & Gomorrah. Keep strong and resist this evil!”

Another comment: “Let me get this straight (possibly a pun). If a straight male were to flash a child and rub against a child, he would be arrested and listed as a sex offender. But if a non-straight person does the same under the name of “Pride” it is okay. Everyone who brought their kids to that show should be arrested and their kids taken away. The “performers” should be arrested and charged with sex crimes.”

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CORPORATE-SPONSORED ‘CHATTANOOGA PRIDE PARADE’ DISLAYS FETISHES TO CHILDREN

Written by Jackson Elliott for The Epoch Times, October 3, 2022

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Hundreds of people gathered with their children to cheer on parade performers in drag and outfits suggesting sexual fetishes as they flung candy and gyrated along the street and across the stage at the 2022 Chattanooga Pride Parade on Oct. 2.

“We were able to adjust schedules for today and get people down here,” said David, an employee of Amazon, one of the event’s corporate sponsors. “The company also paid for all of our swag that we’re handing out and some of our costumes, too.”

Other sponsors included the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) electric company, the T-Mobile communications company, and the Chattanooga insurance provider Unum.

David was part of a parade of between 500 and 600 people, including many who graphically displayed their sexual tastes in front of children. But unlike many parade attendees who spoke to The Epoch Times, David opposes drag shows aimed at children, such as those that Chattanooga Pride has been organizing. The topic kicked up controversy when a viral video showed a young child at a drag show rubbing the crotch of a performer, who didn’t stop the youngster.

Destiny, a T-Mobile employee who said her company was a sponsor, attended with her child. She knew about the drag show where the controversial contact occurred between the child and the performer. “I think it’s appropriate for kids to express themselves however they feel is necessary,” she said. “I don’t think they should have stopped” the behavior.

Many parents brought their families to the parade. “Love is love, and you know, that’s their thing,” one mother said to her daughter. Many event attendees suggested that celebrating LGBT ideology should be a Southern cultural practice.

“Y’all’ means all,” some chanted.

“We are here, we are proud, and we ain’t going anywhere,” an announcer vowed.

LEASHES UNLEASHED

Some men at the parade wore zipped-shut leather dog-face masks, suits with leashes and tails, and other paraphernalia.

One man wore a bulletproof vest, carried a sword, and made it clear he was keeping a close watch on three counter-protestors to the event.

Another wore a dog-face mask and a flag indicating that he enjoyed a sexual fetish involving self-degradation.

Parade participants passed out candy to children along the route.

After the parade, event attendees partied on Chattanooga’s riverfront, where some local businesses sold wares from tents.

Some offered water bottles in the shape of a part of the male anatomy. Others offered free chest binders so girls could flatten their breasts to downplay their feminine form. Experts have said binders can cause skin damage, back pain, chest pain and shortness of breath.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY ENTERTAINMENT?

Men dressed as women and other costumer participants danced on stage in front of an audience that included young boys and girls.

One man in a leather chest harness and dramatic makeup snapped his rainbow suspenders provocatively as he writhed in front of children and teens.

One drag performer strutted up and down the catwalk. Another, Sweet Tooth Von Tataa, danced to the popular children’s song “Baby Shark” while wearing a shark onesie.

“What do you think is my best feature?” Chattanooga  Pride organizer Noach Corbin asked while performing in his drag persona, Hormona Lisa. He mentioned his nose job fund and said he wanted to change his profile.

“Who thinks I should keep my nose?” he asked the crowd, receiving cheers.

The event had the support of Chattanooga’s major Tim Kelly, who condemned rising local opposition to drag shows for children.

“It’s been an … interesting … week in Chattanooga, and it is really important to me, as the Mayor of Chattanooga, that our city remains a diverse and welcoming city forever,” Kelly said. “Chattanooga is a city that celebrates diversity, and we don’t care who you love.”

Progressive Congressman Ro Khanna (D- Calif.) also made a surprise appearance at the event.

“To innovate, you have to respect diversity,” he said from the stage.

Khanna suggested embracing diversity was crucial to keeping Chattanooga’s tech industries thriving. He urged Chattanooga to support the federal Equality Act.

SPONSORS ENTHUSIASTICALLY GOT BEHIND CHATTANOOGA’S PRIDE EVENT

“The TVA is extremely supportive of all its employee resource groups, and all of it’s employees, no matter what they belie, who they are, where they comefromt, their backgrounds their experiences I lif,” Megan Flynn, the TVA’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, told The Epoch Times.

The company’s LGBT resource group aims to sponsor LGBT activities in Chattanooga, she said. The TVA is a federally owned electric utility company and the United States’ sixth largest power company.

But when asked about the appropriateness of the event for children, sponsor representatives balked.

“I have no comment on that,” said Lis Ahmed, the executive vice president of people and communication at Unum. “We are just here to come and celebrate with our employees.

“If there are children at events, they have parents that are there and involved,” Flynn said. “They have to address those aspects."

The event attracted many local and national businesses, including Disney, Keller Williams, the AARP of Tennessee and The Democratic Party.

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royexum@aol.com

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