I've been working my way through social media posts this morning in an attempt to sort out a situation in southwest Iowa's Essex, where the mayor and city council reportedly have made clear that an entry from Shenandoah Pride, a regional organization of LGBTQ+ folks, will not be welcome in Monday's Labor Day parade.
Essex is a town of about 700 just up the road from Shenandoah, both in Page County --- southwest of Red Oak and southeast of the nearest metropolitan area, Omaha-Council Bluffs.
The little town is sponsoring what appears to be an amazing four-day Labor Day celebration; the Monday parade, a major part of it.
The e-mail at left reportedly was sent by the director of the Essex Community Club at the behest of the mayor and city council, who apparently participated in a face-to-face meeting with concerned citizens about the situation, too. The city officials said they had received "threats" related to the group's planned entry in the parade and the ban was a matter of public safety.
That planned entry, according to Shenandoah Pride members, consisted of a convertible, a banner and a couple of people (and their dogs) walking alongside.
One result of the situation has been a formal letter to the city from the Iowa branch of the American Civil Liberties Union reminding its officials that they really can't ban LGBTQ+ people legally from a parade just because they don't like us.
The whole business appears to be a classic example of the power of intimidation --- and the excuses to discriminate or damage that arise when misinformation, disinformation and unsourced threats are bundled.
We've seen the same dynamic at work recently in Iowa's public schools, scrambling without clear information or guidance to ban books and other information related to LGBTQ+ issues in order to avoid the wrath of our governor, state Legislature and Department of Education.
We do live in interesting times and I'll keep following the situation in Essex, looking for clarity.
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The Omaha World-Herald, reporting on this story after lunch Sunday, confirmed that the decision to ban Shenandoah Pride from Monday's parade was made by the Essex mayor and city council, ordinarily not involved in vetting parade entries. Shenandoah Pride had signed on to participate in the parade last June.
The Essex Community Club and others involved in planning the town's four-day Labor Day celebration were not involved.
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