"...Right-wingers' effort to scapegoat furries next have taken a turn:
Video of middle schoolers walking out of a Nebo School District school in Payson on Wednesday quickly spread in conservative social media circles, with posts claiming the students were protesting because the district was allowing student “furries” to “terrorize” other students.
Conservative radio host Adam Bartholomew, who shared video of the walkout to X, wrote in a post that the student who organized the protest told him student “furries” were biting, scratching and spraying “human repellent” at other students, “and when a student retaliates they are the one who gets suspended.”
Nebo School District spokesperson Seth Sorenson said that claim was false. He also said students at the middle school are not wearing full-body animal costumes to class, as “furries” — part of a subculture of people who sometimes dress up like animal characters but act like humans — are known to do.
But by about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Bartholomew’s video and claims had been picked up and spread by Libs of TikTok, an account on X that shares anti-LGBTQ posts and other clips geared at generating right-wing outrage. Bartholomew is married to Cari Bartholomew, who is running as a far-right candidate for the Utah State Board of Education in District 13.
“Students claim that the furries bite them, bark at them, and pounce on them without repercussion,” the Libs of TikTok post read. “However, if they defend themselves in any way, they get in trouble.”
Dismissing those claims, Sorenson said the Wednesday protest seemed to be organized after a message the school sent to families last week was misinterpreted.
So, how did the snowball start?
Why, by bullies being unhappy about not getting to bully, of course:
The message was sent after a group of students had been targeting another group of students, saying things “that were overheard by others that the administration felt were inappropriate and shouldn’t be said,” Sorenson said.
The group of students being targeted, he added, were students who sometimes come to school wearing headbands “that may have ears on them.” He said doesn’t think the targeted students necessarily refer to themselves as “furries.”
“These are pretty young kids,” he said. “You’ll have students that show up with headbands and giant bows; you’ll have students that show up dressed as their favorite basketball player, or baseball player. That’s just what kids this age do.”
In one specific instance, the targeted students “were sitting in a corner of the lunchroom, eating as a group of friends” when others began calling them names and throwing food at them “because they were dressed differently,” Sorenson told The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday, providing more details about the situation.
(Source:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2024/04/17/fact-check-nebo-school-district/.)
Once Fibs of TikTok made themselves involved, the obligatory bomb threats soon followed:
Mt. Nebo Middle School in Payson has been cleared by police after multiple threats were made toward the school in response to a video that went viral on social media this week showing students protesting “furries” in the school.
Nebo School District spokesperson Seth Sorensen confirmed the threats and said police had done a thorough search of the school and didn’t find anything to support the threats. He added the threats also targeted school and district staff members and were sent via email and social media.
(Source:
https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/2024/apr/19/payson-middle-school-receives-bomb-threats-after-viral-furry-protest-no-device-found/.)
To recap: once the War On Trans will inevitably fail, the GOPsters reckon that furries and librarians will be a next weaker target to bully for political gains..."
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