“We came to a very Black, queer, trans, antifascist place with a reputation for beating up Nazis, that explicitly told us not to bring our hateful anti-Black, anti-queer, anti-trans, book-banning fascist rhetoric into their city… and they were mean to us!!!” https://t.co/9qozADdyWn
— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) July 4, 2023
But they’re concerned! And they’re mommies!
Moms for Liberty fucked around, and they found out what it looks like when you cross us and threaten our neighbors. That’s when the City of Brotherly Love turns into Hostile City—and you’re on your own there, bud.
My latest dispatch for @thenation: https://t.co/F0o5YmC8w0
— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) July 5, 2023
… Moms for Liberty, the far-right hate group that has pushed both book bans and their own anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric across the country while masquerading as a defender of “parental rights,” chose Philadelphia as the site of their annual “Joyful Warriors” summit this past week. And, with typical subtlety, they decided to hold their opening reception at the Museum of the American Revolution, in the heart of Old City, and booked the conference itself at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, just steps away from City Hall.
There was a certain logic behind choosing this particular city ahead of the Fourth of July holiday—we’re the birthplace of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, and all that jazz—but it was also a taunt, a challenge: This city, this country, belongs to us, not to you. So what are you going to do about it? …
Those appropriate measures started off on the morning of June 29 with a banner drop over I-95. Early birds were greeted with warnings that “Philly Protects Trans Kids” and “Bad Things Happen to Fascists in Philadelphia,” and that was only the beginning of a four-day-long protest that would bring hundreds, if not thousands, of people out into the streets. That evening, I watched as protesters encircled the Museum of the American Revolution. Armed with passionate speakers like ACT UP’s Jazmyn Henderson, a heavy-duty sound system, a fierce playlist, and hundreds of supporters, ACT UP and YCL members led the crowd in an hours-long queer dance party that doubled as an open roast of the Moms for Liberty attendees slinking in and out of the museum. “We lit out here. We not boring like these fucking people!” one speaker hollered as the sound system blared hip-hop. Another protester held up a sign reading, “Hey Moms for Liberty: if you’re scared of violent pornographic content near your kids, just wait until you read your Bible!” …
Late Night Open Thread: ‘Moms for Liberty’, a/k/a ‘Mary KayKayKay’Post + Comments (67)