The problem is they are not framing this for what it is: an extremist with no children in the schools here, connecting with other extremists like Proud Boys and January 6 insurgents to use our small, successful school district to raise his profile.
Vitanza added, “I find it incredibly frustrating that they don’t look at who’s behind it, just showing fighting in parking lots.”
She criticized a kind of “he said, she said” reporting that portrayed the two sides as equally legitimate voices on either side of the issue. For example, the
LA Times (
6/6/23) wrote: “GUSD Parents Voices, a conservative group, called for parents to attend Tuesday’s meeting, posting: ‘Join the fight against indoctrination in our schools.’” That sentence was followed by “LGBTQ+ advocacy organization glendaleOUT also urged supporters to attend Tuesday’s meeting.”
In fact, sources told FAIR, the Glendale community largely supports LGBTQ rights in schools, and many of the protesters against the school board were organized by the larger national right-wing push against LGBTQ inclusion.