25-06-2025
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.
