The Hate
Mark Robinson (R-NC), North Carolina’s Lieutenant Governor, is running for Governor of the state this year. Though two others are vying for the GOP nomination, Robinson is almost certain to win the state’s March 7 primary — a recent Meredith Poll showed him supported by 34 percent of Republican voters, with only 9 percent going his leading opponent.
Robinson has been exceedingly vocal with his anti-LGBTQ+ views. In a 2021 sermon in Winston-Salem, he called straight couples “superior” to gay couples because they can produce their own biological children together. He continued by calling LGBTQ+ people “filth,” and equated gay people with “maggots,” “flies,” and “what the cows leave behind.”
“Yes, I called it filth, and if you don’t like that I called it filth, come see me and I’ll explain it to you,” Robinson said.
In 2023, as he was gearing up for his gubernatorial bid, Robinson spoke to a church, saying “it makes me sick every time I see it — a church that flies a rainbox flag — which is a direct spit in the face of God almighty.”
Robinson also said “God formed me because he knew there was going to be a time when God’s learning was going to be intolerable to the wicked. When children were going to be dragged down to go see the drag show. When pornography was going to be presented to our children in schools.”
On the campaign trail this year, Robinson has taken his transphobic and homophobic rhetoric even further, including two campaign rallies on February 3 (in Greenville and Cary).
“If you’re a man on Friday night, and all of the sudden on Saturday you feel like a woman and want to go in the women’s bathroom in the mall, you will be arrested — or whatever we got to do to you,” Robinson said at the Cary rally.
He repeated this line at the Greenville rally, adding that “if you are confused, go find a corner outside, you know… we’re not tearing society apart because of this.”
In December, Donald Trump endorsed Robinson — the first Black lieutenant governor of the Tar Heel State — by calling him “better than Martin Luther King.”
The Irony
Obviously I’m not a huge fan of Mark Robinson — the things he says are absolutely vile, and have no place in public discourse.
The irony of the MLK comparison is hard to miss — not that it came from Trump, but that Robinson is calling for people to be arrested for using “the wrong” restroom.
How are Robinson’s words (and those of anti-LGBTQ+ Republicans across the nation) any different from the sentiments behind laws segregating Black people into separate bathrooms, schools, neighborhoods, and other public facilities in our country for 100 years following the abolition of slavery?
They aren’t. It’s the same hate.
The Protest
On Saturday, Evita Peroxide (who is also a board member for NOVA Pride) held her first Family Drag Lunch, a family-friendly event with storytime, fun activities, special guests, and dancing. The event, held at Clare and Don’s Beach Shack (130 N. Washington St., Falls Church) was well attended.
Across the street, a group of men gathered, wearing red sashes and holding signs that read “Drag Queen Story Time = Childhood’s End,” “Honk to Protect Our Children,” and “Praying Repentation for Drag Queen Story Hour.” The men were part of an independent group of Catholics that have separated from the church in the wake of the Pope’s inclusive stances. Families, guests, staff, and even a large delivery truck worked together to block the protesters from view and protect those inside.
“Yelling at families going to a story time is pretty pathetic.” said David Tax, who together with his sister owns Clare and Don’s. “People have a choice each day — to do something negative for society or to do something positive. The haters chose to be negative, and that’s unfortunate.”
Clare and Don’s will continue to welcome Miss Evita’s Family Drag Lunch every second Saturday of the month at 11:30 a.m.
The Future
Last week, four bright young students — fifth graders at Oak Street Elementary — interviewed me as part of their Primary Years Programme (PYP) Exhibition project. The topic the students selected was acceptance of the LGBTQIA++ youth community, with a main focus on gender identity.
Check out our School News & Notes section on page 16 for a picture of us all!
On March 7, all fifth grade student teams at OSE will present their PYP Exhibition projects at the 2024 PYP Exhibition Showcase, and community members are invited to attend the event, which takes place in the school at 5:00 p.m.
Thankfully for us all, young people — like the students who interviewed me last week at Oak Street Elementary — are the future. Their positive energy provided me with the fortitude necessary to encounter the hateful protest on N. Washington St. and read Mark Robinson’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. I personally can’t wait for the four students I met last week to start changing the world — and despite all the bad news lately, I’m more confident than ever that they will make the world a better, kinder place.