A bit of a brouhaha is bubbling over a photo Premier Danielle Smith took with a man wearing a T-shirt supporting Straight Pride..It’s a manufactured controversy by those ever on the prowl to pin something, anything nasty, on Smith. .Oh well, just another hit job in a day of the life of Alberta’s premier..Unfortunately, the premier’s office jumped into the trap set with both feet first. Distancing her, apologizing, professing innocence about this and that. .Will the needless apology tour never end?.A picture from the Calgary Stampede on social media shows Smith standing with a man wearing a shirt that read: “Thank a straight person today for your existence.”.Buddy, how low can you go? .Such a hateful, awful, terrible slap in the face to ‘birthing persons,’ guys who menstruate and breastfeeding transgender men! .And what exactly is this outrageous claim plastered on that ‘offensive’ T-Shirt based on? The science?.It gets worse. Brace yourselves. The shirt had a symbol of a man and woman holding hands and said ‘Straight Pride.’.The back of the shirt read: ‘Good people disobey bad laws.’.That’s ambiguous but is said to be a statement meaning laws passed aren’t always morally just. .“The premier didn't read his shirt and obviously doesn't agree with its message,” the premier’s press secretary Sam Blackett told the Western Standard on Monday..Which part? All of it? Even the man/woman symbol?.“She has always been clear that she supports the LGBTQ+ community and will continue our work to make sure they feel safe in our province.”.No one ever explained what safety threat T-shirt man posed..Reacting to this nonsense simply fed the frenzy..But mission accomplished..The premier’s office buckled. Message sent loud and clear. Whoever is offended and yelps the loudest can dictate to the premier which Albertans she isn’t allowed to speak with or stand beside..One pundit a media outlet predictably trotted out was aghast that Smith stood so “close” to the guy. Like he’s a leper..Another tsked tsked her handlers for allowing this “unconscionable” staff “breakdown.”.What should they have done if they noticed the wording on the shirt? Go all Secret Service and pile on Smith to shield her from smiling T-shirt man?.Had Smith read the T-shirt, what was she supposed to do? Pull a Pride flag out of her pocket and wave it wildly in his face? Run away fast? Get over the silly notion that it is her duty to represent all Albertans, no matter what views they hold? .Smith’s government has indeed made it repeatedly, abundantly, clear that it will protect gay rights and Gay Pride. .After this distancing act, it’s not so clear that the same support will be afforded to supporters of Straight Pride. .Here’s the thing. It is unknown if the guy wearing the T-Shirt merely celebrates his choice in life. Or if he’s a homophobic, nasty, hate-filled fellow..No one talked to him before piling on..But the alleged champions of fighting unfair stereotyping didn’t hesitate to plug him into a hole they figured he fits into and launch the indignant attack..Stereotypes. .You know, like anyone who wears a hijab or turban is a terrorist. .That person with a certain skin colour is a criminal. .The one staggering in a drunken stupor…..Anyone who supports Straight Pride is homophobic and seething with hate..There are haters within both the gay and straight community. But not everyone in either community hates or is on a mission to spread hate..Everyone in both communities has the right to peacefully express their views. .The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms says so. There’s no clause that says ‘except Straight Pride’ supporters who must shut up..Gay Pride and Straight Pride groups have clashed in protests here and there. .But there were no reports of T-Shirt man looking to pick a fight. .But, of course, the commie-infiltrated NDP gleefully pounced..Yes, this would be the same party that fielded candidates and have MLAs who sing praises and pledge allegiance to the memory of Argentine Marxist Che Guevara who sent homosexuals to inhumane labour camps. .Anyway, Lizette Tejada, NDP Critic for Anti-Racism, Diversity and 2SLGBTQ+, issued a really, very terse statement accusing Smith of intolerance and approving hate messages, and yada yada. .“Danielle Smith clearly had no problem with the hateful message she posed with,” it read..Clear to who Lizzy?.“I call on Danielle Smith to offer a real apology to the 2SLGBTQ+ community and a commitment to defend those in the community against the attacks they are facing.”.Those NDPers sure pride themselves on fighting for rights, standing up to intolerance, allegedly gathering everyone into their loving fold, and pointing accusing fingers at Smith based on made up stuff..Quick question. When’s the last time the ‘equality-motivated’ NDP championed the rights of anyone who peacefully professed Straight Pride values? Waiting ….The NDP-affiliated Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) just had to jump in. .“We're not saying Danielle Smith is hateful. But hateful people think she is,” CUPE Alberta stated on Twitter..That’s a back-handed, sly, cheap way of attacking Smith’s credibility..Even worse, it lumps a good many of the 40,000 members it represents into the ‘hateful’ crowd it alleges exists..The entire reaction to this manufactured controversy is also an affront to the majority of non-militant members of the sexual minorities community — people who happen to believe everyone has a right to live their lives as they choose and the freedom to say so..They deserve more respect than being used as pawns in made up controversies for political purposes.
