Tiny protest against Drag Queen event brings hundreds to support in Royal Oak
The nation’s culture war visited downtown Royal Oak with a peaceable skirmish Saturday afternoon when anti-gay protesters were outnumbered by pro-gay protesters by seemingly 100 to one.
A crowd that police estimated reached 1,000 jammed sidewalks while, buried within it, only about a dozen people brandished bibles and held signs that proclaimed their opposition to LGBTQ lifestyles. The protesters said they especially objected to an activity going on inside the downtown's 10-month-old Sidetrack Bookshop.
From 2-3 p.m., the store’s lesbian co-owners were hosting metro Detroit’s latest site of the quirky and sometimes controversial event known as Drag Queen Story Time. The vast majority of those who gathered voiced support for both the store’s event and for LGBTQ values. They held signs that said “Good Parents Teach Love, Not Hate” and “Hate is a Drag." At times, the throngs chanted “Bigots go home!”
That led 8-year-old Amelia Branch, of Berkley, to ask her mother, as they stood at a curbside, “What are bigots?” Her mother, Lori Branch, replied, “Bigots are small-minded people who allow their fear of anything different to dominate their thoughts and actions.”
At the corner closest to the bookstore, two protesters stood a few steps from the store’s entrance. No one was allowed inside without advance registration. The store billed the event on its website as its second Drag Time Story Time, this one with "artists Sirinity Sapphire and Rose Ritz" reading books "highlighting inclusion and acceptance." Several police officers stood nearby as Jason Frantjeskos, of Westland, shouted “You must repent and turn to Jesus Christ.” Between shouts, Frantjeskos told a reporter, “I’m here to preach the word of God.” He said he’d worked for a tree service for 23 years and that in his spare time, “I’m a street preacher.” With him was Noble D’Angelo, also of Westland, who held a large elaborate sign that displayed a list of sins, from “Porn watchers” and “Liars” to “Sex Freaks” and “LGBT.”
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Neither said he had had any direct connection to the Oakland County Republican Party, which sent a news release Friday urging members to appear at the protest. The release said in part, “Drag queens are traditionally adult entertainers, primarily men, dressed up in exaggerated hair and makeup, with sexually provocative clothing. … Drag queen story time is an exercise in normalizing what is not normal, and it can be upsetting, scary and confusing to young children.” Counter-protesters said it should be up to parents, not political activists, whether drag queen story hour is appropriate for a family’s children.
“I don’t stand outside a church and tell parents they can’t go inside and tell their child about God,” said Dustin James, 32, of Ferndale. “I don’t see why people can’t be allowed to make up their own minds about Drag Queen Story Hour.”
Spotted in the crowd was former Royal Oak mayor and former state representative Jim Ellison, recently appointed by Oakland County to a new job as chief of older adult services. “I’m proud of the residents of Royal Oak, coming out to support the new bookstore. The owners are trying to promote themselves and doing something perfectly legal,” Ellison said, as his wife, Jody Ellison, nodded and smiled.
“I’ve been a supporter of drag queens for years. I fail to see the evil in it,” Ellison added.
The crowd cheered periodically, as when drag queens — often in brightly dyed hair and flowing, sequined outfits — would stroll across the intersection. They booed loudly each time the protesters drove by in two trucks with rear-mounted electronic sign boards, displaying such slogans as “Save Your Soul” and “Sex Predators Groom Children.”
Drag Queen Story Hour began decades ago in New York City and San Francisco, then spread nationwide in an effort by organizers to demonstrate gender diversity to children accompanied by parents in safe and entertaining situations, according to a website for the events. Critics have said that by showcasing drag queens — generally thought to be gay men dressed as women — the story hour events make extreme examples of gay lifestyles seem normal and fun. Counter-critics say that many video games make gun violence and disdain for women seem normal and fun.
The bookstore ended its story hour at 2 p.m., after which the crowd slowly began dispersing under bright sunshine. On one corner of West Fourth Street and South Washington, catty-corner from the bookstore, Leslie Jones, 49, of Detroit, was holding forth — and holding a very large bible.
“I’m not a homophobe. You guys are biblephobes,” Jones said, adding: “You’re going to hell, man.”
Answering with a smile and a quip — “Oh, fine. I’m from Alabama and I love the heat,” was Shane Robertson, 52, of Royal Oak, who said he was openly gay.
“I respect you as long as you respect me. I’m not trying to argue. But I guarantee you, 95% of the people here support this,” Robertson said.
Jones chimed in, “I never want my kids indoctrinated,” to which Robertson replied: “Did you force your kids to go to church? That’s indoctrinating.”
Jones said, “When they grew up, they got to make their own minds up about church.” The two shook hands, and shook hands with a reporter, before parting ways.
Contact Bill Laytner: blaitner@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tiny protest of Drag Queen event draws LGBTQ allies to Royal Oak
