‘Intolerance has reached level 11 out of 10’
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A Calgary petting zoo and theme park received hate mail and threats online after announcing its planned drag night on social media.
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Cobb’s Adventure Park owner and president Mike Sheppard says the adults-only drag event, planned for Saturday night, has prompted multiple emails and comments from people accusing the business of “sexualizing children.” and affirm that they will no longer visit the park, some inflicting violence. in your messages.
A comment on the event on Facebook reads: “The only way anyone should go is if they can bring guns to the show.” Others called the event “disgusting” and “sparked stupidity”, among many other negative comments.
Sheppard noted that his business has long supported the LGBTQ2S+ community and this is the third year he has hosted a drag night, but this is the first time he has received such harsh disdain. Usually, she said the annual event would feature other performers like contortionists or hula-hoopers alongside the drag queens, but this year, they had to change some acts to tighten security. She also filed a police report.
“Those other artists that we had to cancel. We had a $1,000 budget for that, but now we’re putting that $1,000 into security guards because of that message,” she said.
One of the artists, Jesse post mailwho calls himself drag angelina starchild on stage, he said that the rhetoric is unfortunately nothing out of the ordinary.
“It’s really nothing new. It’s something that’s always been there and it’s just rotting away,” said Postma, who also hosts a weekly drag brunch at local gay bar Twisted Element every weekend.
“But with the end of (the peak of the) pandemic and the kind of restrictions that have been relaxed, I feel like everyone started to feel really brave. So I feel like it’s gotten a lot worse.”
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Postma said the messages make him a little uncomfortable, but he said he thinks the threats are empty and Sheppard’s promise of extra security puts him at ease.
“We shouldn’t have to be going through this; it’s 2022,” she said. “Part of me is a little nervous. But the other part of me is: I just want to go out there and do what I’ve been doing for the last decade.”
Both Sheppard and Postma said it seems that people seem to have been encouraged to show their bigotry more blatantly of late, especially under the veil of online anonymity.
“Everyone needs to relax a bit. Bigotry has reached level 11 out of 10,” Sheppard said.
“With everything that happens in the world, from inflation to employment; we just had over two years of COVID; I think people are afraid. I don’t know why that gives them power to hate, but it does.”
Despite the hate and threats of lost business, Sheppard said he’s not reconsidering hosting the drag night, saying it’s important to him, his staff and the 300 or so people who will attend the show, not to back down.
“Personally, it’s very important to us,” he said. “I also publicly believe that I think people have to stand up to it.
“If we’re going to lose some customers because of that, I’m fine with that.”
For more information on Cobbs Adventure Park and drag night this weekend, visit cobbsadventurepark.com.
Twitter: @miguelrdrguez
Grow up people it’s 2022 not 1822,all these hate messages are so little minded.
I’m not on gay, bi or trans but if you dislike this so much don’t go and find something constructive like a job.
These are the same simple minded people ( Hate to even call human) that protested vaccines etc.
Maybe every one of these geniuses should have there photos and info posted online so they can be exposed also.
With all that’s going on now and last 3 years of covid they need to ” shut the f**k up” and find something useful to protest.
How about poverty, homeless people,perhaps inflation out of control or OMG get a job ,how novel.