A ‘Hetero Awesome Fest' was an absolute flop. Good
Idaho's Hetero Awesome Fest turned out to be a dud. Videos, social media posts and news reports showed at most 'dozens' of people in attendance.
There were more people at President Trump's lame military parade last week.
Maybe the festival had such low turnout because people realize they don't need a special occasion to celebrate heterosexuality. Every day is Hetero Awesome Day. Every month is Hetero Pride Month. They have every benefit and right.
Just look around.
Movies, television shows, books and commercials celebrate heterosexuality all the time. Magazine ads and stores ooze heterosexual images and messages. Churches preach about the values of 'traditional' marriage and families all the time.
No, we don't need a special Hetero Awesome Fest. Our society still celebrates it every day in ways big and small.
But for some folks, like the organizers of the Hetero Awesomeness Fest, it's a zero-sum game. They irrationally feel threatened by any recognition or support of LGBTQ+ people and their continuous quest for civil rights. They think the world is falling into moral decay if they see a movie or TV show with gay characters. They want to defund public television over gay cartoon characters and shut down library districts that have books with LGBTQ+ characters.
They get triggered by a rainbow display at a department store or a flag. Their heads explode when a transgender woman drinks a beer. They send nasty messages to companies that post on social media supporting Pride Month, recognizing that their businesses perform better when their employees — all of their employees — can be their true selves at work, and feel protected and valued.
National anti-gay movement
Idaho's Hetero Awesome Fest, no matter its pathetic turnout, is part of a larger, national movement.
In the past couple of years, the anti-LGBTQ+ crowd has crawled out from the darkness, feeling as if they've been given permission once again to spew anti-LGBTQ rhetoric — well, at least on social media.
According to a new Gallup poll, Republican support for same-sex marriage as a legal right has dropped 14 percentage points in just the past three years, since 2022.
The percentage of Republicans who support same-sex marriage has fallen from 55% to 41%, well below the national average of 68% and well below the percentage of Democrats (88%) and independent voters (78%).
At the same time, the percentage of Republicans who say same-sex relationships are morally acceptable has fallen from 56% in 2022 to 38% in 2025.
This really is an anti-gay movement.
'Like-minded people'
The organizers of this weekend's Hetero Awesome Fest pretended that their message was just a celebration of heterosexuality, or 'God's design for sexuality,' but all they talk about is how wicked and evil they think the 'gay agenda' and 'Pride movement' are. They want to boycott businesses that support Pride and pressure companies to change their business practices.
In a podcast interview recorded live at the Hetero Awesome Fest, festival organizer and Old State Saloon owner Mark Fitzpatrick said that his business draws 'like-minded people.'
To show what kind of like-minded people come together, podcast host Dave Reilly said 'there are still very good bars, good food, there's the Basque district, again, it's clean,' and then he whispered into the microphone, 'there aren't any Black people here.'
The company you keep.
Maybe that's why no one showed up over the weekend at Cecil Andrus Park. It's easy to just spew hate and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric online; actually showing up in person in the name of hate is more difficult.
And that's the key difference between Hetero Fest and Pride Fest. Pride isn't about being anti-hetero. It's about loving and celebrating who you are, and not at the expense or degradation of another group.
As a heterosexual man, I've never been called a slur when kissing my wife in public or holding her hand while walking down the street. I've never been afraid to put a photo of my family on my desk at work. I've never had to conceal the identity of my spouse during a job interview for fear of being discriminated against. I've never been beaten up or killed because of my sexuality.
But gay and transgender people still face this discrimination today.
That's why we still need Pride Month.
That's why we never need a Hetero Awesome Festival.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
16 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump cancels U.S.-Canadian trade talks over tech taxes
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on May 6. Trump on Friday suspended trade talks due to Canada's new Digital Services Tax. File Photo by Francis Chung/UPI | License Photo June 28 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump cited potential Canadian taxes on U.S. tech companies as his reason for ending trade talks with Canada on Friday. The tech taxes on Amazon, Google, Meta and other U.S. tech firms are due on Monday, and Trump said it is a deal-breaker. "We have just been informed that Canada ... has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American technology companies," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday. He called the tax a "direct and blatant attack on our country" and accused Canada of "copying the European Union, which has done the same thing." "We are hereby terminating all discussions on trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said. His administration in the coming week will notify Canadian officials of the tariff that it will have to pay to do business in the United States, Trump added. Trump last week attended the G7 economic trade summit hosted by Canada and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and sought common ground on trade talks, The Washington Post reported. Officials at U.S. tech firms oppose the Canadian tax, the amount of which is based on the revenues generated by Canadians' use of e-commerce sites, social media and the sales of data. All tech companies that generate more than $14.59 million from such services would be subject to the new 3% Digital Services Tax. The tax is retroactive to 2022 and could cost U.S.-based tech firms up to $3 billion, NBC News reported. Upon learning of Trump halting trade talks, Canadian officials on Friday limited U.S. steel imports and placed a 50% surcharge on steel imports that surpass the quota. Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the surcharge will help to protect Canadian steel against what he called "unjust U.S. tariffs." He said the Canadian government is prepared to take additional actions, if necessary.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senators launch a weekend of work to meet Trump's deadline for passing his tax and spending cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is preparing for a key procedural vote Saturday as Republicans race to pass President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline. Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax breaks. Ahead of the expected roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it 'strongly supports passage' of the bill that 'implements critical aspects' of the president's agenda. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with GOP senators posting about it on social media. "It's time to get this legislation across the finish line," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., though the vote time was still uncertain. The 940-page bill was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through the days ahead with hours of potentially all-night debate and countless amendments. Senate passage could be days away, and the bill would need to return to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House. With the narrow Republicans majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board in the face of essentially unified opposition from Democrats. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, opened the day's session with an impassioned defense of the package that he said has been misrepresented by its critics. 'Read it for yourself,' he said. Make-or-break moment for GOP The weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump's party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up, even as he sometimes gives mixed signals, allowing for more time. At recent events at the White House, including Friday, Trump has admonished the 'grandstanders' among GOP holdouts to fall in line. 'We can get it done,' Trump said in a social media post. 'It will be a wonderful Celebration for our Country.' The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump's mass deportation agenda. But the spending cuts that Republicans are relying on to offset the lost tax revenues are causing dissent within the GOP ranks. Some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation's debt, are pushing for steeper cuts. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he remains concerned about the fundamentals of the package and will not support the procedural motion to begin debate. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has been opposed to the measure to raise the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion. And Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., pushing for deeper cuts, said he needed to see the final legislative text. After setbacks, Republicans revise some proposals The release of that draft had been delayed as the Senate parliamentarian reviewed the bill to ensure it complied with the chamber's strict 'Byrd Rule,' named for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, It largely bars policy matters from inclusion in budget bills unless a provision can get 60 votes to overcome objections. That would be a tall order in a Senate with a 53-47 GOP edge and Democrats unified against Trump's bill. Republicans suffered a series of setbacks after several proposals were determined to be out of compliance by the chief arbiter of the Senate's rules. One plan would have shifted some food stamp costs from the federal government to the states; a second would have gutted the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But over the past days, Republicans have quickly revised those proposals and reinstated them. The final text includes a proposal for cuts to a Medicaid provider tax that had run into parliamentary objections and opposition from several senators worried about the fate of rural hospitals. The new version extends the start date for those cuts and establishes a $25 billion fund to aid rural hospitals and providers. Most states impose the provider tax as a way to boost federal Medicaid reimbursements. Some Republicans argue that is a scam and should be abolished. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that under the House-passed version of the bill, some 10.9 million more people would go without health care and at least 3 million fewer would qualify for food aid. The CBO has not yet publicly assessed the Senate draft, which proposes steeper reductions. Top income-earners would see about a $12,000 tax cut under the House bill, while the package would cost the poorest Americans $1,600, the CBO said. SALT dispute shakes things up The Senate included a compromise over the so-called SALT provision, a deduction for state and local taxes that has been a top priority of lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, but the issue remains unsettled. The current SALT cap is $10,000 a year, and a handful of Republicans wanted to boost it to $40,000 a year. The final draft includes a $40,000 cap, but for five years instead of 10. Many Republican senators say that is still too generous. At least one House GOP holdout, Rep. Nick LaLota of New York, had said that would be insufficient. Trump's deadline nears Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans dropped the bill 'in the dead of night' and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what's in it. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent his colleagues home for the weekend with plans to be on call to return to Washington, had said they are 'very close' to finishing up. 'We would still like to meet that July Fourth, self-imposed deadline,' said Johnson, R-La. Johnson and Thune have stayed close to the White House, relying on Trump to pressure holdout lawmakers.
The Hill
25 minutes ago
- The Hill
Schumer to force reading of 1,000-page GOP mega bill, delaying it by half a day
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) told Democratic senators Saturday that he will force the clerks to read the 1,000-page Republican megabill on the Senate floor once Republicans vote to proceed to the legislation, a procedural act of defiance that will take an estimated 12 hours and delay final passage of President Trump's agenda by half a day — at least. Schumer told his caucus to prepare to force a full reading of the bill, according to a Democratic source familiar with the internal discussion over floor strategy. The question is whether Senate GOP leaders will force the clerks to read the bill late into Saturday night and early Sunday morning to complete the time-and energy-consuming task or whether staff will get some time to sleep before the Senate is expected to launch into a multi-hour series of votes known as a vote-a-rama. Senate Republicans were anticipating that Schumer might force a reading of the bill as an act of protest. This is a developing story.
