John Sexton:
Last month a gay pride parade called the Dyke March became national news after organizers ejected three people carrying rainbow flags with the star of David on them. Now the reporter who broke that story has been demoted to working in the sales office. From the Times of Israel:
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Gretchen Rachel Hammond, an award-winning reporter for the Windy City Times, a Chicago LGBT newspaper, has been moved full-time to the paper’s sales desk as of Monday. Hammond was the first to report that three women were kicked out of the Chicago Dyke March, an LGBT parade on June 24, for carrying rainbow flags emblazoned with Jewish stars.
Hammond confirmed that she is no longer reporting for the paper, but declined to say whether she was moved because of her coverage of the Dyke March.
The story makes clear that this shift is not a temporary move. Hammond is done as a reporter at the Windy City Times. Hammond told the Times of Israel, “I’m still a part of the company, and it’s my only source of income. To keep what job I have, I can’t comment on it.” So it sounds as if, in addition to being demoted, Hammond has been told to remain silent. And if you think about it, that’s apparently what the paper wanted from her all along, i.e. to hush up the questionable decision of the organizers.
The paper itself initially updated the story with a statement from the organizers. Two days later, in response to the story being reported around the country, the organizers submitted another defensive statement which is nearly as long as the original article. A sample:
Chicago Dyke March Collective is a grassroots mobilization and celebration of dyke, queer, bisexual, and transgender resilience. Our priority is to ensure a safer space for those who are most marginalized. We welcome and include people of all identities, but not all ideologies. We believe in creating a space free from oppression, and that involves rejecting racist ideologies that support state violence. We welcome the support we have received from Jewish allies and marchers who are as invested in liberation as we are.
According to one of the women who was ejected, organizers approached her and claimed the flag was triggering people and making them feel unsafe:
Oh, the open minded tolerance of the radical left.
In other words, tyranny of the most infantile.
Follow that to its logical conclusion and, pretty soon, the left will be reduced to “rule by tantrum.”
I think we went past that point some time ago.