it’s only okay when fascists do it?

A recent right-wing uproar over a viral list of businesses could be a taste of what’s to come.

Queering the Burbs is a regularly-published distillation of pop culture, politics and queerness written by Joe Erbentraut. If you like what you see, please consider subscribing (it’s free!), liking or sharing this piece. Order Joe’s new zine, Issue #01, here.

I cannot believe it is December 1. The past few weeks have swirled by like a dream—in ways good and bad—and now here we all find ourselves right in the midst of holiday season madness. In the words of Hurray for the Riff Raff, life’s funny that way.

A lot of people have asked me how I’m feeling since the November 5 election, and to be completely honest I haven’t really known how to answer that question. In some moments, I feel totally dispirited and deflated. In others, unsurprised and unmoved. But I really just don’t know. Two days after the election, we were on a plane to Washington DC to celebrate a close friend’s wedding. A few more days were spent at home and then we were off to Portland, Oregon to spend time with my best friend for her fortieth birthday. Somewhere in there, my cat had a UTI and was misgendered by our vet. We threw our artificial Christmas tree in the trash because we discovered a mouse nest inside of it. I released my first zine that somehow already sold out its first printing.

Life has gone on, revealing moments of pride, love, fear, and deep sadness, but above all, I still feel a bit numb to it all.

Photo: Moveable Feast/Facebook

The one time I’ve felt clearest in my feeling, however, was the pure red rage I felt when a local hate group unleashed their fury (and deranged legion of followers) on a local pro-LGBTQ+ activist just after the election.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll try to be as concise as possible with the chronology of events that led up to this:

• Wheaton (and formerly Geneva) restaurant Moveable Feast hung a banner reading “Jesus is my savior” and “Trump is my president” outside their business.

• The attention the Wheaton business attracted following their hanging of that banner led to the anonymous posting of a list of other local businesses with allegedly Trump-leaning politics in a private Facebook group of left-leaning folks in the Fox Valley area. The post was live briefly prior to being deleted by group admins.

• Prior to the post’s deletion, a screenshot of that post made its way to a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated, Naperville-based anti-government extremist hate group which has previously been tied to harassment campaigns targeting libraries, school districts, individual teachers, and pro-LGBTQ+ businesses. These campaigns have often coincided with or been followed by bomb threats and acts of vandalism involving their targets.

• The above group connected Geneva City Council member Martha Paschke, an admin on the Facebook group at the time of the post being screenshot, to the post and accused Paschke and the group of being woke “communists” in a social media campaign personally targeting Paschke and other admins of the group. (To be clear, Paschke has and had no connection to the list in question.)

• An ethics complaint was filed against Paschke and the Naperville group organized their supporters to come to a Geneva City Council meeting to call for Paschke to step down from her role or be investigated.

• The group has proceeded to create and share their own version of the same list of businesses and is urging their supporters to shop and eat at these businesses.

A few weeks have now passed since that City Council meeting and the Naperville group seems to have moved on to their next target (the Lurie Children’s Hospital and its gender development program) after their attempt to cause a lot of trouble for Paschke seems to have fizzled, but the hypocritical damage has already been done. Their failure, this case, remains a success.

Being the subject of a harassment campaign like what Paschke faced put the Geneva alderwoman (and her family) in legitimate danger. Even as groups like this move onto their next battle du jour, the result (and probably the goal) of these campaigns is to silence and instill fear in the hearts of those who hold a more inclusive view of the world. To make a pro-LGBTQ+ person less likely to speak out when hate rears its wrinkly head in their community, as it inevitably will.

This is what we’re up against in these next four years, and probably beyond. It doesn’t apparently matter that this particular group is now distributing the very same list they wanted to see a City Council member step down over. It doesn’t matter that their ilk have also directly protested a (since-shuttered) vegan bakery over having the audacity to (gasp) host a drag show. Or the fact that many of these businesses had already identified themselves as being aligned with “anti-woke” conservative politics on a platform of their own that dates back several years.

No, in their eyes it seems they are the only ones allowed to speak against a business they don’t personally agree with. Anyone else is just woke communist scum, apparently.

So, what do we do now? Like I said with the election question, I just don’t know yet. But we’re entering that time of year where many problems can start to become problems for another year. It’s a time where we should be spending time with our loved ones (whether we’re related to them through blood or not) and celebrating. Yes, I, too, am tired of being resilient. But what’s the alternative?

I refuse to mope, panic, or cower. That’s why I came out as queer decades ago now—and that’s exactly what they want. You know what I bet makes people like these Naperville folks most angry, besides a transgender librarian simply existing? It’s queer folks like you and me having joy despite their best efforts to stamp that out.

There will be a time for action in the years ahead. Probably in the very near future. But for now, let’s take a beat and bask in a little queer joy (as a treat). Take care of yourself and your people. Scream-sing to your favorite song. Do a face mask. Put up a Christmas tree, even if you hate Christmas. Paint your nails. Buy your bestie a cookie. Treat the queer artist or activist in your life to a coffee. Go to Chili’s. Give your pup an extra treat. Breathe. Laugh. Repeat. We’ve got this. They can’t stop us.

Order a copy of the zine Queering the Burbs, issue #01 here.

SONG OF THE RIGHT-NOW

This song from DC neo-soul singer Baby Rose and BADBADNOTGOOD just came up on a playlist and I’m truly fixated on it. Transport me immediately to this whole vibe please.