Quite a ways south of our Susitna Valley digs, past Anchorage, past the Turnagain Arm, on the Kenai Peninsula, lies the little town of Soldotna, situated between Sterling and Kenai. This time of year it's pretty quiet in Soldotna; the summer tourists aren't there, and there's no skiing in the area. Like much of Alaska in winter, the community gets together for indoor activities. It's a bit surprising, though, to see a small Alaska town bit by the "drag queen bug." Locals did object, though, to a "Drag Queen Story Hour" to be held at the town's library, a venue where children would almost certainly be present.
There won’t be a drag queen story hour at the Soldotna Public Library on Saturday, after all.
The Soldotna Pride group scheduled a number of “Happy New Queer” events to start the new year, including karaoke and adult trivia nights at various venues on the Kenai Peninsula. But the using of public library facilities to promote drag queens to children was postponed because of public outcry against the using of taxpayer facilities to groom children into alternative sexualized lifestyles.
The outcry was justified; public venues where children are present have no place for things like this. In all-adult venues, fine, knock yourselves out. But, as Pink Floyd said, leave the kids alone. And while some of us may be surprised that a small Alaska town would countenance such a thing, it's important to note that nothing should come as a surprise in this topic anymore, when even churches are hosting "drag" events.
See Related: Christian Church Hosts 'Drag Sunday' to Honor Men Who Moonlight as Sodomizing Nuns
While the group organizing these events stated that the story hour was "postponed," it is more than likely postponed forever, despite the group insisting that they would be returning to the Kenai Peninsula in the future.
The group organizing these events posted a statement on Facebook that merits a comment or two:
“The Soldotna Pride Council strives to provide safe spaces for all people, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Freedom to assemble and express one’s self is guaranteed by the First Amendment, thus, everyone should feel safe, secure and comfortable being their authentic selves and not live in fear of attending a public event in our community. It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to postpone the Jan. 6 story time in the Community Room at the Soldotna Public Library. We believe in the freedom of expression, however, we are aware of the violent rhetoric on social media and elsewhere toward readers and participants who plan to attend story hour, and we are choosing to prioritize the safety of those children and families,” the group wrote on Facebook.
There is no evidence of any "violent rhetoric" by anyone in Soldotna who objected to men dressed as absurd caricatures of women reading stories to young children. None. This is pure histrionics, nothing but. And, just to establish just what kind of a group is organizing this, get a load of the name of one of the participants:
The group also laundered the graphic advertising the event and removed the name of drag performer “Ivanna Kischakok.”
It is unclear whether Ivanna Kischakok (sound it out - yes, it's as bad as it looks) was one of the group members slated to be reading to children and, if so, whether they would be introducing themselves by that name.
Note that the Soldontna Pride Council cited the First Amendment. They do, of course, have the same rights under the First Amendment as any citizen. They could dress up as absurd caricatures of women and read out books on street corners any time they like, but their right to speak freely does not obligate the town of Soldotna to provide them with a venue. That is precisely what has happened here; two of the events planned are in private businesses, and in that, the drag queens are welcome to cavort as they please, but the people of Soldotna, whose tax dollars pay for their library, objected to these people reading to their children.
That's civic discourse. Nobody was harmed. Nobody was threatened. The local businesses were left free to hold whatever events they liked. But the taxpaying residents of Soldotna, who in effect hold the library as public property, drew the line at that property being used in this manner.
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Alaskans are a pretty tolerant bunch, for the most part. A lot of us (like your humble correspondent) live here because we want to be left alone, mind our own business, and not be bothered. But Alaskans are also pretty protective of their kids and have some sense of what is and isn't appropriate fare for children. This Soldotna Pride Council should have anticipated that, and if they had exercised some common sense and restricted their shows to private venues, there would have been little or no objection.
But, seriously, Ivanna Kischakok? How old is this person? 12?
