The free-to-attend “Hetero Awesome Fest” will be hosted Friday and Saturday at Cecil D. Andrus park in downtown Boise. Right-wing commentators will be promoting “traditional family values."
Jon Lewis is a Research Fellow studying extremism at George Washington University.
“I've recently seen the mainstreaming of these really extreme hateful ideologies, really wrapped up in these sort of, neat, almost wholesome, appealing messages,” said Lewis
Hetero Awesome Fest creator Mark Fitzpatrick says he wants the event to be respectful to all.
“I'll say, hey, Pride movement is pushing, you know, gender affirming care drugs and surgeries on children and creating a world where that idea is affirmed. And I think that that's evil," said Fitzpatrick.
Lewis says events like the Hetero Awesome Fest practice extremism by blaming marginalized peoples for personal and systemic issues. He calls it an exclusionary movement.
“Only this specific in-group of patriotic white Christian men can thrive. When we look at the baseline definitions of extremism, in most cases for your group of chosen people to survive and thrive and succeed, that you have to oppress," he said.
These types of "straight pride" movements began in opposition to gay pride events around forty years ago. Lewis says today, social media helps the ideas spread faster.
