News/Commentary

Diverse group of parents block ‘Pickle’ the drag queen from entry: ‘Leave our kids alone!’

October 27, 2023 | | Print Article

There may be hope for America yet.

A diverse group of parents and protestors stood their ground at the San Fernando Library in Los Angeles County, preventing Pickle the Drag Queen from conducting a story time for children, chanting” Leave our kids alone!”

In what would prove to be remarkable if this was not California, the drag queen story hour was organized by County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office as part of a countywide program celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month, not to be confused with Pride Month, which is in June — the goal, according to The San Fernando Valley Sun, is to “promote diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The newspaper described the protesters as “a raucous group of at least 50 right-wing demonstrators” who “illegally blockaded the entrances to the library, preventing Pickle from entering which resulted in the cancellation of the event.”

To get a feel for Horvath’s values, upon defeating her male opponent she celebrated “maintaining the all-female board that we fought so hard to gain.” Then again, given all the problems LA County has, perhaps a few good men could prove to be beneficial. Horvath also co-authored a successful motion to improve the county’s gender-affirming healthcare services.

The Democrat was on hand Wednesday when Pickle was placed back in the jar.

“We’re here to give young people and everyone who wanted to participate in this conversation the opportunity to participate in drag story hour, to ask questions in a place where education and information would be readily provided,” said Horvath said, according to the Sun.

A true believer, the white liberal female also issued an apology on social media:

Alyssa Sonora, one of the protest organizers and co-founder of the San Fernando Valley Alliance community action group, took issue with children being exposed to confusing questions of gender norms and sexuality.

“Now we have to have these conversations with our kids at such a young age. It’s frustrating. We weren’t ready to have these conversations with them,” Sonora said.

Meanwhile, Pickle, aka Joseph Marcellus Faragher, was… well, pickled over the rejection.

“It is a person’s right to protest and demonstrate. It is not a person’s right to prevent public programming from occurring. It is not a person’s right to physically prevent a protected class of citizens from entering a public library,” Pickle told the Sun. “And it is the responsibility of the county, it is the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Department, to ensure that those freedoms are protected. That did not happen today.”

“Drag is an art form, like ballet or acting or singing – an art form that encourages expression. The work that I do is not only appropriate for children, but it is tailored to meet their educational goals to encourage them to read,” he added. “It sets a very dangerous precedent to imagine that a person should not be allowed to read stories because of the way they look.”

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from X:

Tom Tillison
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