I must confess that when I first heard that ‘America Needs Fatima’ is coming to the Post Office Cabaret in PTown this Friday that it was a new drag act….. or God forbid …. a fab belly dancer. Turns out I was completely wrong. It is actually the name of a rather pernicious rabid right-wing advocacy cult that opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and socialism and who wants the good people of Ptown to stop having fun.
They are making the trek from Spring Grove Pennsylvania to our gay mecca on the tip of Cape Cod led by their leader Robert E. Ritchie (who pays himself a nice 5 figure salary). That in itself wouldn’t worry me though even though I know that the Archdiocese of Miami had the good sense to ban them, but it’s the fact that they have chosen World Aids Day to spread their message of pure hate.
This Day is not just about our community celebrating and honoring the lives of all those that we lost during the pandemic. It is also a day to advocate for AIDS awareness, dismantling stigmas, and advocating for the prevention and understanding of HIV/AIDS within the community.
The always helpful Google tells me that since 1994, the primary activity of America Needs Fatima has been the “Mary in Every Home” program. It consists of a Fatima custodian taking a four-foot tall statue of Our Lady of Fátima to a person’s home, with a crowning and enthronement ceremony, a short audio-visual about the story of Fátima, Portugal, and the praying of the rosary. We would welcome that even though most homes here already have a Mary or two.
America Needs Fatima is a campaign of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) …. which is a bit of a mouthful. They intend to stage a ‘peaceful’ protest outside the Post Office Cabaret this Friday Night, and the very least we could give them is a typical PTown welcome but just stabbing en masse in front of them to stop their view.
If we can learn one thing this week, its even here in our near-paradise of a town we cannot escape the scary political climate of rampant homophobia that is engulfing our country.
7 pm December 1st outside Post Office Cabaret
PS If you want to tell Fatima's friends how you really feel then you call them directly on 774 581 6726
or 844 830 3570 or/and email them [email protected]
P.S. Jack Kelly one. of the owners of Post Office Cabaret writes :
Labels: 2023, America Needs Fatima, anti drag, Post Office Cabaret, protest, Provincetown
