OPINION JOURNALISM: Radical left makes the argument that promoting gender-transition notions to students in schools is safer than parents who seek to preserve the innocence of their children. Cancel culture fails to cancel the event. Trans-species next?

A public event designed to inform parents of what is being taught to their children in schools when it comes to gender ideology turned into physical protest and a digital melee, as over-the-top activists and their allies in the left-wing media conspired to label the event organizers as “hateful and harmful”,  “transphobic”, and “horrible humans”.

The event, organized under the auspices of the nationally renowned Independent Women’s Network and its Ocean State chapter, was titled – “What Kids Learn About Gender in School” – with Chris Elston as the featured keynote speaker (aka Billboard Chris), was held last evening at the Cranston Public Library. Elston argued that in addition to encouraging gender nonconformity, children are taught in schools to embrace new gender identities, even to the point of physically mutilating their bodies.

The Boston Globe was the most extreme culprit in the media, going well-beyond its “anti-trans and anti-CRT” labels, with Amanda Milkovits mis-reporting that the local event organizer, Nicole Solas, has called for the banning of books. The mis-information continued on social media where even the editor of the Globe’s Rhode Island edition, Lylah Alphonse, joined in the attacks against participating parents.

The event organizers pushed back strongly against the “Anti-Transgender” characterization, also echoed by the Providence Journal; but the biased Alphonse responded by making the absurd claim that if someone in not “pro trans”, then they must be anti-transgender.

In an interesting twist, the RI Chapter of the ACLU sent a letter late yesterday afternoon to Cranston library officials, encouraging them not to bend to the demands of the left that they cancel the event. The letter supported the organizers’ First-Amendment rights to organize, while at the same time attacking the “discriminatory” content of the event, even though they had no idea what the presentation would actually entail.

The cancel culture that has pervaded government, the media, and our social institutions is not just about overtly ‘canceling’ social media accounts or public shaming, but may even be more prevalent in its more stealthy form – by ignoring common-sense opposing views … by what is not covered in media stories, by who is not invited to speak at events, or by what is not being taught at schools to students or by organizations to its employees or members.

On the political side, activists and elected officials added fuel to the fire exposing their anti-child sentiments. State Senator Tiara Mack, internationally embarrassed by her infamous bikini “twerking” video, was the most strident, by openly calling Solas a “horrible person” on social media. She continued with her non-sensical line of reasoning that is the radical-left’s transgender agenda that is actually providing safe-harbor for children, when she denied accusations of child grooming and promoted the teaching of age inappropriate sexualized teachings as a means of “protecting children from pedophiles”. She concluded one social-media discussion with an emphatic, “f#ck you” (edited for decency). Cranston state Representative Brandon Potter tweeted about the “hate” and “bigotry” of the event organizers.

Noted transgender and LGBTQ activist, Donnie Anderson, an elderly man who only recently believes he is now a woman, lamented at the protest that the Cranston library was no longer a “safe place” for children. Earlier, Wendy Becker, also a known gender-dysphoria activist, joined in the social-media fight by criticizing the “spewing of hateful, harmful rhetoric.” Activist Bill Bartholomew, who posts his own web-based content and is also producer for the Dan Yorke radio show, wrote that the library event was “intended to spread transphobic propaganda.”

Neither Mack, Potter, or Bartholomew accepted The Current’s invitation to be guests on its In The Dugout show to discuss and defend their views and accusations. The Boston Globe has since corrected some of the inaccurate reporting in its story, but has not backed away from its characterization of the event as “anti-trans”. Yesterday’s In The Dugout video coverage of this event can be viewed here, when Stenhouse interviews the national director of the Independent Women’s Network, Julie Gunlock. At 4:00 PM today, Mike Stenhouse will provide continuing post-event coverage and commentary at oceanstatecurrent.com/in-the-dugout-september-20-2022/.

The reality of the situation is that The Ocean State Current, which for years has conducted regular reporting on this issue via its popular In The Dugout with Mike Stenhouse video podcast, has not once documented any parent suggesting that anyone’s rights should be curtailed or that anyone should be treated with any level of contempt. The issue for parents is whether or not schools should be attempting to influence their children with radical gender ideologies that do not conform with their own families’ values.

There is genuine concern among parents and common-sense citizens about where the identity-politics agenda, including the push to encourage alternate gender identities, might negatively impact the mental health of our children. Case-in-point: the transgender craze has now morphed into something even more ludicrous and dangerous … a trans-species ideology … also known as “furries”, where it has been reported in Providence and North Kingstown that some students are now openly identifying as cats or racoons.

However, in a sign of the times, the event drew significantly more protesters and counter-protesters, numbering in the multiple hundreds outside of the library, while only a few dozen participants participated in the presentation inside of the library. Thankfully, no violence was reported.

it also appeared that many of the protesters did not exactly know why they were summoned to show up and protest. One of the sign-holding activists protesting, when asked, had no real idea why she was there: “We were told that there are extreme speakers inside who want to stop schools from teaching students about their racial and gender rights” … this was not what transpired inside. Further evidence that the protesters were woefully misinformed can be viewed in the Bessinger/Bostom video clip below.

WATCH the video clips below for reactions from both sides of the debate, as taped by Ocean State Current correspondent, Roland Lavallee: