That’s Not A #FreeSpeechBus, It’s A #HateSpeechConveyance And It’s Coming Here

Image: The National Organization for Marriage

A partnership between the conservative-bordering-on-pathological groups The National Organization for Marriage, the International Organization for the Family and CitizenGo, the #FreeSpeechBus is a kind of travelling Philly.com comments section. The bus has, at this point, travelled internationally, spreading its Pence-like dark gospel of intolerance, and in fact will be in Philly next Wednesday, March 29th. (Location TBA, but wherever it is, there's already a Facebook invite for the attendant protest, natch.) The messaging on the side of said orange gas-waster is an infuriating lesson in cognitive dissonance. It reads:

It’s Biology:
Boys are boys… and always will be.
Girls are girls… and always will be.
You can’t change sex. Respect all.

Now, there’s a lot to unpack here but we’ll be quick about it: A) That’s not actually biology. Biology — to say nothing of modern medicine, psychology and plain old beautiful humanity — allow, and have always allowed for a broad range of gender identities. This is not new stuff, Orange Duh Bus. And B) In point of fact, people can and do change sex all the time. We know you know this. Finally, C) That “respect all” bit at the end is kind of like saying, oh, I don’t know, “People with blonde hair don’t deserve to live. Respect everybody, you meanies!” C’mon.

As a result of this dimwitted form of mobile subtweeting of the facts of life, the bus has been trolled so hard that its website was at one point shut down by Anonymous and its organizers are openly worried about having its mission subverted completely by LGBTQ-friendly protestors who appear in its wake. Wouldn’t it be something if an extra special Philly version of that happened next week?