In the June 17 issue, a letter to the editor titled, “Pride Fest crosses a line” implies a nefarious interaction between a drag queen and a child based entirely on a photo run in this newspaper of an event that was taking place in public and attended by all kinds of people, including parents, children, and public officials. Additional photos of the same event, available on the website, illustrate a colorful, fun time being enjoyed by this large and varied group of people.
It is fairly clear even from the single photo in the newspaper that the money in question was being collected for some sort of charitable purpose. This is very common at Pride. I am baffled by what Marty Tellalian could be imagining is going on there, but the fact that their mind went immediately to something so inappropriate they had to write the newspaper tells me more about them than it does about Pride.
I’m also curious that the newspaper itself did not clarify in a note what the money was being collected for. It feels irresponsible in the current climate to allow one person’s hysterical overreaction to a photo to stand as an unchallenged accusation against the local Pride event.
Jennifer Ford