In previous reports, MassResistance documented our efforts
to confront and stop Drag Queen Story Hour in Georgia, Michigan, and other
parts of the country.
We had an incredible impact in Riverside, where one of our
activist mothers confronted and exposed a Drag Queen program in otherwise
conservative-leaning Riverside, California. Her efforts received national
attention, support, and even hatred from many LGBT activists and news sites.
However, MassResistance activists did not abandon their fight
to expose, denounce, and discourage this Drag Queen Program in the city. Our
activists informed the public and announced their opposition at the Riverside
County Board of Supervisors meeting in December, 2018.
Riverside, CA
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Arthur Schaper, our Organization Director, reached out to
residents in Riverside County to help combat the Drag Queen Story Hour program
at Cellar Door Books in Riverside, CA. Joining with fellow MassResistance
activists, Schaper attending the Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting
on December 11, 2018 to bring more awareness and concern about Cellar Door
Books and their promotion of adult entertainment for children.
Like many government board meetings, the Board provides a
general public comment portion for members of the public to speak on issues
which have not been placed on the Agenda. Most of the time, the members of the
board rarely pay attention, although once in a while they will ask a clarifying
question or make a remark of agreement.
During his public comments, first congratulated the newly
elected sheriff of Riverside County, Chad Bianco. A conservative insurgent who
toppled an unpopular liberal incumbent, Bianco had secured the support of many
conservative organizations, including the pro-Family Riverside Republican
Assembly.
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| For more information on this hateful smear, click here. |
Frankly, any sheriff’s candidate who stands strong for
pro-family values should be welcomed. Thankfully, Bianco won.
Arthur then talked about how the homosexual-transgender
agenda, and how it is affecting children as well as adults. He provided
pictures of the more revealing displays during a San Francisco Gay Pride
parade.
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| "Fairies" at the Gay Pride Parade |
He also pointed out that Assemblyman Evan Low of Cupertino
had introduced legislation that would ban the Bible, and more specifically
targeted reparative therapy for adults.
Before Arthur finished his comments, Arthur wanted to provide
copies of the MassResistance flyer to protest the Drag Queen Story Hour program
at Cellar Door Books.
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| Riverside County Board Chairman Chuck Washington |
While he referenced the Secretary for the Board of
Supervisors to pass the flyers to the members, Chuck Washington, the Chairman
of the Board, interrupted Arthur in an attempt to shame him. “She is not a
secretary. She is a highly-trained professional.” At this point, Arthur had not
finished with his public comments. He admonished the chairman to stop
interrupting him.
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| John Tavaglione (far left) started lecturing Arthur. His comments were out of order |
Then another member of the Board, John Tavaglione, shouted
at Arthur: “Now you listen! You speak before us at our pleasure …”
Mr. Tavaglione’s comments were completely inappropriate,
almost as though to shame Arthur and silence anything beyond completely
deference to the elected officials. However, California’s open meeting laws--otherwise
known as the Ralph M. Brown Act—explicitly protect the public’s right to speak
before any governing board. They do not need to earn the privilege of speaking
to a governing board. Arthur dutifully corrected Mr. Tavaglione, and members of
MassResistance also called out at the Board of Supervisors for their rude
remarks.
More Rebuttals
from the Left
While Arthur was speaking to the Board, two other members of
the audience had submitted their own comment cards. They were part of a
left-wing activist group, and they insisted on sharing their own opinions on
Arthur’s testimony.
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| Asher Jones, a female pretending to be a male, defended Drag Queen Story Hour |
The next speaker, Asher Jones, came to the podium was a
young lady dressed in men’s clothes. She then described herself as a
“Transgender male” and she (not “he”) stated that her preferred pronouns are
“he and his, they, them, and theirs.” She talked about Riverside, California as
city of inclusion, then listed a number of the gay bars in the city. She then
defended Cellar Door Books as a business that contributes to the inclusivity of
the city. One of the most jarring comments she made as “Our children sit at the
feet of drag performers … This ensures not only a fun environment, but a safe
environment.”
Let those comments sink in. She actually defended adult
homosexuals dressed as women reading to children—as safe!
Asher then labeled Arthur’s comments “hate speech” and welcomed
the board members to attend the “risqué” Drag Queen Story Hour event. Bear in
mind that this meeting took place in one of the more conservative sections of
California. Even there, young people and college students are falling for the
LGBT Agenda and turning into vocal advocates for their ideology.
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| This man, wearing a red star for communism, also condemned Arthur’s remarks |
Another man joined with the left-leaning activists at the
Board meeting took to the podium, as well. Wearing a yellow vest to show
solidarity with the Yellow Vest protesters in Europe, he also condemned Arthur’s
remarks on “conversion therapy”. He compared reparative therapy practice to the
Spanish Inquisition! He also compared the life-saving practice with female
genital mutilation. He also mentioned the Russian Legislature’s banning “gay
propaganda”, as though such criticism hurt Arthur’s presentation. The truth is
that the Communist gentleman’s remarks did not gain much support or regard from
the audience. Such remarks have become commonplace among pro-LGBT activists,
but those scare tactics no longer work.
Public Official
Attempts to Shame Public Speakers
The Board of Supervisors recessed for twenty minutes, then
returned with Tavaglione’s issuing a pointed statement to Arthur. His comments
then received additional support from the county attorney, who informed the
audience that the “right to criticize the board is not unlimited”. The attorney
listed that if members of the public go over their allotted speaking time or
willfully disrupt the meeting, they can be removed by the chairman of the
board.
Those limitations, however, did not apply to Arthur’s
situation at all. In fact, members of the board had interrupted
Arthur—twice!—and one of the members was entirely out of order when he had
stated they can speak only at “their pleasure.” The fact is that the board
members were seeking some means to admonish the crowd and help the board “save
face” to demonstrate their preeminence in the chambers.
More
MassResistance Members Challenge the Board
During another open hearing before the board two hours
later, other members of the audience admonished the Board of Supervisors for
interrupting Arthur Schaper earlier in the meeting. Supervisor Tavaglione
(after whom the building is named) refused to apologize. Other members of the
audience still admonished the board.
After the meeting adjourned, Arthur confronted Mr.
Tavaglione and rebuked him: “I do not speak at your pleasure.” Then, as Arthur
was exiting the building, the supervisor rushed up behind him “I am going to
speak with this guy (referring to another man), because he is reasonable.”
It was pretty shocking for Arthur, since the supervisor got
really close to him! Arthur then pursued him asking for him to explain his
behavior.
Check out this video for the entire exchange:
After the meeting adjourned, Arthur briefly confronted the
left-wing activists outside of the Board of Supervisors building. Arthur
derided the hateful smear below:
One of the woman in the group admonished Arthur to love
others. She quoted a Scripture to shame him, but Arthur refused to back away.
He actually confronted her and asked her to explain how he was being hateful.
She only referenced his “tone”, which is quite laughable.
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| The triggered woman pretending to be a man couldn’t stand to hear Arthur’s comments |
Tips for Conduct/Handling
Rude People in Public Meetings
In both meetings, notice that Arthur conducted himself
professionally. He addressed the different governing boards on substantive
issues relating to MassResistance and our organization’s goals. Not once did he
back down from stating our core mission while calling out the fundamental lies
of the LGBT Agenda.
If Arthur had not spoken out against the Drag Queen program
at Cellar Door Books, the public would have never heard from two of its
defenders. Strangely enough, their remarks solidified Arthur’s objections to
the whole program.
Notice also that Arthur did not permit the governing board
members to shame or silence him during his public comment period.
That kind of resolve pays off every time, and our activists
are stepping up to the challenge more and more—and are getting results!
Final Update
Because of our California activists’ efforts, the owner of
Cellar Door Books had to implement security measures and require people to pay
a “Donation” in order to enter the Drag Queen Program on December 15, 2018.
At the very least, we
wanted to warn and discourage others from attending the program.
One of our members, Mike from Riverside, gave us the
following report:
There was security
all over. You couldn't get in unless you were on a list or purchased a ticket.
I was asked to stop filming a couple of times. One man accused me of being
creepy for filming children. I had to remind three people that I was in a
public space and they had no expectation of privacy. There were about 75 people
in there, maybe 30 children. There were people taking my picture and following
me but I didn't confront any as I was, mostly, alone.
