Seattle Times and it's "Dueling Rallies" Story

The Seattle Times began on Saturday with this: "Protesters clashed with police at dueling rallies Saturday in Cal Anderson Park in Seattle."

The Times continued: "A crowd waving transgender pride flags and signs denouncing the 'Trump Fascist Regime' gathered around 1 p.m. in protest of a 'Mayday USA' event — the fourth of five stops on a conservative Christian group’s national tour, under the banner #DontMessWithOurKids."

Then the Seattle Times said this: "By Saturday night, Seattle police had made 23 arrests on various charges. Eleven of the arrests came during an 'initial scuffle,' police wrote."

And this: "Protesters had aimed to counter the 'well-funded anti-trans, anti-queer event that is led by far-right Christian activists. The Mayday USA rally in Seattle is provocatively being held in the heart of the Queer community,” according to organizers."

It was not an "anti-trans, anti-queer" event.

There is a very different view of the event than that portrayed by the left-leaning Seattle Times reporters and the mayor.

Be informed, not misled.

A couple of things right up front.

The Christians didn't "choose" Cal Anderson Park for their event. They chose a different venue, which the City declined, which in turn gave them approval to hold their rally at Cal Anderson.

You may remember a few years ago, Cal Anderson Park became ground zero for a far Leftist "occupation" in Seattle, by folks who actually claimed the area as a place outside the authority of local and federal authorities.

The nation shook its collective head, while the mayor at the time laughed and called the event that was first called CHOP and later CHAZ a "summer of love."

After people were murdered, the mayor decided to take action to shut down the area.

This park was not the Christians' first choice for their prayer and praise rally.

That fact was finally mentioned in an updated version of the Times story, buried deeply inside the Seattle Times story.

Mayor Bruce Harrell's concerning statements

Apparently, the mayor was not well informed, or his bias was on full display. 

Mayor Harrell says he directed Seattle Parks and Recreation to review whether there were “legal location alternatives or other adjustments that could have been pursued” when permitting the event.

He also put out a very revealing, biased public statement. 

Red State, a national news group, had a different view of what happened in Seattle. So do I.

The conservative news site said, "One of the pastors behind the event gave some commentary on their motives, though I'll note that's irrelevant when talking about the free exercise of religion and speech. Christians have just as much of a right to exist in public as anyone waving a 'transgender' flag while shouting obscenities at people they disagree with."

REPORTER: What do you want to say to the rest of the country watching this nationally? A lot of people don't believe this kind of far-left violence and militant behavior is happening in a place like Seattle.

PASTOR: I think it's because of the silence of the church. So my message to the rest of the country is, we've got to stop being silent. Stop being inside the four walls of church. Step outside the four walls of the church, and bring the love of Jesus Christ to the most dark places we see.

Mayor Harrell obviously does not see Christians as people wanting to "bring the love of Jesus Christ to the most dark places we see."

In his public statement, Mayor Harrell said this:

Seattle is proud of our reputation as a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ+ communities, and we stand with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice. Today’s far-right rally was held here for this very reason – to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city’s values, in the heart of Seattle’s most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood.

When the humanity of trans people and those who have been historically marginalized is questioned, we triumph by demonstrating our values through our words and peaceful protest – we lose our voice when this is disrupted by violence, chaos, and confusion.

Red State says, "Let me help Harrell out here. A city does not have 'values.' A city in America is a conglomeration of people who are all free to express their beliefs, including religious beliefs, in whatever legal way they see fit. If someone is 'provoked' to violence and hatred by the singing of worship songs, then that's a symptom of their own depravity."

But the "trans community," Red State says, "is nothing if it isn't a deranged cult, dead-set on bending everyone to its will by any means necessary. Pay attention to the words Harrell uses. He's essentially saying that being 'LGBTQ+' in Seattle gives one veto power over the rights of others."

Harrell went on to blame "anarchists" who "infiltrated" the counter-protest for the violence instead of just admitting that the counter-protesters were the anarchists. He then directed the city's parks department to investigate the application submitted by the Christians for their worship service, suggesting they should not have been allowed to be there.

While there are broad First Amendment requirements around permitting events under free speech protections, I am directing the Parks Department to review all of the circumstances of this application to understand whether there were legal location alternatives or other adjustments that could have been pursued. The Police Department will complete an after-action report of this event, including understanding preparation, crowd management tactics, and review of arrests and citations.

Takeaway

Red State says, "You see, it's not the fault of the left-wing crazies who showed up and injured police officers. It's the fault of the Christians for simply existing. Had they not dared to exercise their rights to free assembly and expression through the legal permitting process, none of this would have happened. That's Harrell's argument." 

In the end, it doesn't matter whether someone believes these Christians were too "in your face" with this event. I'm sure some will try to make that argument, but again, Christians are allowed to exist in whatever capacity they see fit within the bounds of the law. Mentally-ill individuals do not get to strip them of their rights because they don't like the lyrics of a song or the words on a banner. 

I can only imagine how the rank-and-file of the Seattle PD must feel after they had to battle these violent left-wing agitators, only to see said agitators absolved of all wrongdoing by the mayor of their city. You can bet those arrested will be released and not face real repercussions.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.