LIE-Witness News: Local News Agencies Unanimously ‘Less-Than-Honest’ About Public Response to Drag Queen Story Hour

 

I once had a friend who never hesitated to describe to me his phenomenally-fantastic daily experiences, the dramatic fist fights he would get into (always as the victor), the beautiful women who wanted to date him (but were never around), and the wonderous plans and projects he had for the near future (but never accomplished them). At first, he seemed like an amazing and adventurous friend to have, but eventually I discovered that nothing actually happened the way he spun it. He was a compulsive liar, and I had been naïve and gullible. Upon discovering that the stories he told me were all lies, our friendship was immediately dissolved… and instantly, I felt a moment of freedom from the lies which kept my mind bound.

Being lied to by someone you’ve trusted for years is often very painful. The feelings of betrayal do not dissipate easily. And yet, our loyalty to those who we know are compulsively lying to us is like that of Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.”

We all know, or at least we should know, that the mainstream media is (and has been) bought-out by the extreme left (not even the moderate left) for decades and that the coverage of nearly every story aligns with agendas that oppose the very structure and fabric of this nation, but for some strange reason, we still naively consider them the most reliable sources of information.

We remain gullible to any reporting, no matter how biased, simply because these agencies have existed for decades as a common source of information. Would we do the same if we saw their work from the inside out? Would we dissolve our relationship with them if we found out they were deliberately lying to us? Would we still trust them if we discovered they’ve been pushing a biased agenda instead of objectively reporting the news? Would we stop doing the same thing over and over again, stop the insanity, and revoke our trust? That’s entirely up to you. Ask any former compulsive liar, a bad habit is hard to break, but it can be done.

Just to give a few snippets of local “news” reporting surrounding the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library’s plan to hold Drag Queen Story Hour on February 23rd of this year, the following should reveal the incredible fabrications and exaggerations of news sources we have trusted for years.

14 News – Reporter: Derick Brattain – Published: Jan. 10th – EVPL Board Meeting – Quote: “There was a packed house Thursday to discuss the Drag Queen Story Hour coming to Evansville. The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library board allowed time for a public forum on the event.”

The truth is that 14 News omitted one vital piece of information. Almost all of the “packed house” which filled every seat and lined each wall was there to oppose DQSH. There were a reported 200 to 250 people wearing “My Voice Matters” lapel stickers in the “packed house” who filled the room to capacity and overflowed into the hallway. On the other hand, as few as 10 to 20 supporters of DQSH attended the same meeting. – 14 News’ Derick Brattain omitted the truth and didn’t tell you the whole story. 44 News’ Joylyn Bukovac and Tristate Homepage’s Britney Taylor also failed to report the miniscule ratio of those for versus the overwhelming number of those against.

Courier & Press – Reporter: Segann March Published: Jan. 14th Updated” Jan. 17th – City Council Meeting – “Around 25 people stood in the cold outside with neon-colored signs that read “Stop targeting our children” or “You can’t catch the gay” at the Civic Center. About half came to protest the Drag Queen Story Hour, an event being held by the Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library scheduled for Feb. 23. The other half were there to support the library’s event.”

The truth is that at about 4pm on Jan. 14th, a reported twenty-six people stood in front of the Civic Center with signs opposing DQSH. At around 5pm, a family of six people (4 of which were children) arrived to protest against Councilman Justin Elpers and to support DQSH. Reportedly, two others joined that family for a total of 8 people, one of which was Wally Paynter, president of Tri-State Alliance, who gave an interview and left before the Council Meeting began. Another person who spoke out in an interview was Cameron Christy from Chase City, Virginia who had previously stated at the Jan. 10th EVPL Board meeting that 501 John St. (the address of Tri-State Alliance Headquarters) was his home address.

Tri-State Alliance is a (non-residential) local LGBT support group, which has recently been in the news for losing prominent board members due to misappropriation of funds.

At 5:30pm, when the Council meeting began, nearly every seat in the room (again, packed nearly to capacity) was filled with people who oppose DQSH. The original group of 26 had grown to nearly twice that amount by the start of the City Council Meeting, and the group of 8 who largely remained outside grew to around 10 adults and 5 children at last count.

The featured image on this story of the C&P was not that of the 26 people who stood opposing DQSH outside the Civic Center, but rather, the 8 people (again, half of which were children) who went out to support DQSH. The ratio of 26 to 8 omits the packed Council room and is hardly “half” …but that’s what the Courier and Press wants you to believe. – The Courier and Press lied to you.

44 News – Reporter: Megan Diventi Published Jan. 14th – City Council – “The Evansville City Council meeting was packed as the discussion gains momentum for the Drag Queen Story Hour. Community members showing support for Councilman Justin Elpers held signs outside the Civic Center prior to the meeting. Just feet away, other community members in support of the Drag Queen Story Hour shared their side.”

The truth is: that 44 News also stated that the meeting was “packed”, but also omitted that nearly all attendees supported Justin Elpers and opposed DQSH, while only one attendee spoke in favor of DQSH. – 44 News didn’t tell you the whole story.

14 News – Reporter: Matthew DeVault Jan. 14th – “Dozens showed up outside of City Hall to support and oppose the event coming to Evansville.”

The truth is: that again, the overwhelming ratio of those against DQSH to those in support of it is omitted, making it seem as if the City Council meeting was equally divided among both sides. And the featured photo used for this article? You guessed it, the 8 people who support DQSH and not the majority who oppose. – 14 News didn’t tell you the whole story.

Tristate Homepage – Reporter: Brandon Bartlett Jan. 14th – While Bartlett did not come straight out and lie about the event or infer that equal numbers of people with differing opinions were present, his article reads as a long, subtle insult to anyone who would stand against DQSH, painting each person as uneducated, out of touch, or even crazy. He was quick to quote the people that were the least eloquent but failed to publish anything from the more articulate speakers who spoke plainly, with very valid points as to why DQSH should not be permitted, and that Justin Elpers should not be demonized by those protesting against him for using his First Amendment rights. But we are not the only ones who noticed the slant of his story.

The VIP received a Letter to the Editor from one of our readers that describes the “spin” Brandon Bartlett put on this story:

“Bartlett approached a woman (who came out of nowhere, grabbed two signs, and wasn’t even a part of the actual group), and attempted to interview her, but when others of the group attempted to direct him to the spokesman of the group, he seized his opportunity to spin the story in a less-than-honest fashion.

The story was instantly that the group “silenced” the woman from speaking out.

Never mind that the “silenced lady” was shouting expletives against the LGBT community which is completely contrary to the nature and position of this group of concerned citizens. Never mind that the leaders of the group corrected her, saying, “We don’t do that here. We are to be respectful.” Never mind that any and all businesses that have ever dealt with the public have an official policy that states there are specific people who will handle the media. Many clubs and associations have this policy as well, so as to make certain that no one attempts to derail the overall message of the group or organization.

Mr. Bartlett, a member of the media, should know full well of this fact, and to spin his story in such a way so as to detract from the overall story of what is really going on, and to thus paint the Elpers supporters in a bad light is appalling, but right on par with how many Americans are viewing the mainstream media outlets.”

The Letter went on to imply that Bartlett’s stories are often re-published in the Tri-State Alliance Newsletter, but we have yet to officially confirm this claim. – Tristate Homepage spun the story in such a way as to incite a negative emotional response from viewers/readers toward one group, while appearing to strongly support the other.

Even WNIN and Reporter: Isaiah Seibert showed up at the Jan. 7th Tri-State Alliance protest outside of the EVSC School Board meeting to film and photograph the 5 total protestors (Wally Paynter being one of them), but failed to notice the 50+ citizens who went inside the meeting to speak out against DQSH.

Each news crew shows video or displays quotes of DQSH supporters expressing their talking points, while most of the very valid points of the opposing argument gets cut out and replaced with flubbed sentences, tabloid-style drama, religious rhetoric, and subtle satire.

Ultimately, every single news agency in every single event reported in such a way that favored DQSH supporters (the minority), but opposed those (the vast majority) against DQSH… every single time. It seems that there is a common theme here, and such a theme was revealed by one employee of one of the above news sources who said, “Every news crew wants Drag Queen Story Hour to take place. They eat this kind of stuff up.” The news source employee wishes to remain anonymous.

To recap the compilation of insult to injury; Tristate Homepage, 14 News, 44 News, WNIN, and the Courier & Press… the most trusted local news sources of our region, are either very, very bad at reporting news objectively… or they are deliberately omitting the truth, lying through their teeth, and/or giving us news that is biased, one-sided, and filled with an agenda that does not constitute reporting the news, but rather, influencing a society. Whatever the case may be, it is a wonder that anyone would continue to trust what they are told by these “news” sources in a time when #FakeNews is daily being exposed. Rest assured, The VIP will be here to balance their bias.

There’s a reason why the world is in the shape it’s in. We are consistently influenced by “trusted” news sources who desire to normalize things that oppose the very nature of our collective morality, our founding documents, our founding fathers, and our very freedoms. Perhaps it’s time to stop doing the same thing over and over again, turn off that idiot box, cancel our subscriptions, sever our relationships with compulsive liars, and stand up for the freedoms we have before the “spin doctors” with ulterior motives convince us to give those freedoms away.