JimmieJoe / KC6YRU

The Internet meme definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. I’m beginning to think it might be slightly insane to expect Porterville to ever join the rest of us in the 21st century. Here we go, again.

My previous blogs about Porterville and it’s LGBTQ+ community can be found at these links:

Hate In A Small Town (1) – where a Mayoral Proclamation proclaiming June 2013 as LGBT Month in Porterville is trashed by the rest of the Council and results in the Mayor and Vice-Mayor being removed from their ceremonial offices, the proclamation rescinded (a first anywhere, as far as I could find), and a bland replacement proclamation designating June 2013 as “a month of community charity and goodwill to all in Porterville”. They also changed the rules so that a vote of the Council would be required to issue a proclamation, rather than leave it as a function of the Mayor alone.

Hate In A Small Town 2 – Does Your God Hate? – One the one year anniversary of the Pride Proclamation, the LGBTQ+ community held a rally across from City Hall. Some haters joined in proclaiming the hate of God towards gay folk.

Porterville City Council Still Snubbing LGBTQ Community – (3) the same council as above refuses a Coming Out Day proclamation request.

Fast forward to 2019, and a different City Council.

We thought Porterville was finally growing and becoming a loving place. On May 21, 2019, a proclamation was issued by the City Council (a different council than the first mentioned above, and different from the current one), recognizing Harvey Milk Day In Porterville. On Tuesday, October 15, 2019, by a three to two vote, Porterville’s City Council declared October 11, 2019 as National Coming Out Day in the city. Things were looking up.

We should have known better.

Hate In A Small Town 4 –

The current city council of Porterville, California (ironically enough, an “All American City”).

The Mayor and Vice-Mayor have teamed up to introduce anti-trans resolutions in Porterville. One would ban trans women and girls from bathrooms, locker rooms, and team sports. The other would require schools in the city to report to parents any requests by students to use names, pronouns, restroom facilities, or play on team sports that do not match their birth sex. (This would violate California state law, but that doesn’t seem to faze this council. They know about it, but are trying to find a way around that messy problem.)

From the March 4 agenda:

24: Consideration of Proposed Establishment of Ordinance to Protect Women’s Safe Spaces

Re: Council direction on the proposed establishment of an Ordinance to Protect Women’s Safe Spaces.

From the March 18 agenda:

21: Consideration of Proposed Establishment of Ordinance Safeguarding Parental Rights in Education and Child Upbringing

Re: Council to provide direction on the proposed establishment of an Ordinance

If you want to find these documents online, go to this page, and select the appropriate date.

A lot of people spoke during “oral communications” (they really need to change that name. ‘Public Comments’ seems much more appropriate). You can see the You Tube video here, but the whole show is almost six hours long! (they love to talk, and talk, and talk. It’s important that they express how MAGA they are) Most comments by the public were against the proposed actions.

Dr. Kathryn Hall, M.D., a long-time pediatrician in the area, who has treated many from Porterville over the years, spoke.

I said a few words, too.

The MAGA runs deep in this council. The Mayor and Vice-Mayor, at least in the two meetings I attended, tried very diligently to out-MAGA each other. Go watch some of their meeting video, if you have the stomach for it.

The Vice-Mayor doesn’t like being challenged on his ignorance. He takes it personally. He views folks who oppose these hate proposals as “triggered activists”. And after I spoke, he amended it to “triggered activists, from out of town”. He said he would not “participate in their psychosis”, referring to anyone who believes differently from him. The Vice-Mayor spoke disparagingly of the local LGBT+ center, essentially blaming it for gains made by the LGBT+ community in Tulare County. He was annoyed that anyone would speak confrontationally, and not grovel or kiss his ring. He condemned speakers for (paraphrasing, I’m not going back and try to find the exact words he used) yelling at them, rather than having a ‘conversation’. He seemed to forget that during ‘oral communications’, the public can only speak, and the council can only listen. There is no ‘conversation’ allowed by the Brown Act. He chastised speakers for being condescending towards the council, when most of his remarks on the issue were truly condescending of the public. I tell ‘ya, it’s all projection with these guys.

I did invite the council to contact The Source LGBT+ Center, and educate themselves with factual information on transgender issues. I’m not holding my breath on that.

Hate in a small town. It hasn’t been rooted out yet. It’s discouraging, but like I said during my comments, “we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going away”.