Tutu Protests And Parties Break Out In Wyoming Over Senator's Remark (NPR News)

[Mountain Mule]

Tutu Protests And Parties Break Out In Wyoming Over Senator's Remark

Source:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/28/526073329/tutu-protests-and-parties-break-out-in-wyoming-over-senators-remark?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news


I love the following! Even conservative Wyoming (home state of Dick Cheney) is getting fed up! You go, my Wyoming neighbors! Maybe we Coloradans will put on some tutu's of our own and we'll all meet up for Rodeo Days in Cheyenne!

A week after Sen. Mike Enzi told high school students that a man who wears a tutu to a bar "kind of asks for" a fight, his constituents in Wyoming are wearing tutus to school and work — and, yes, to bars — on Friday. Enzi has apologized for his "poor choice of words."

Protest parties are also scheduled through the weekend, and on Friday, people have been using the #LiveandLetTutu hashtag to share images of themselves wearing tutus. One image posted today showed University of Wyoming student Tyler Wolfgang wearing a suit and a tutu, posing at a campus building that bears Enzi's name.

"Our hope with the state-wide [efforts] is that even in small communities we'll get a handful of people to share a photo of themselves in the bar wearing a tutu," one organizer, Patrick Harrington of Laramie, tells member station Wyoming Public Media, "so we can show Senator Enzi that he really is representing a large group of people and a really diverse group of people in Wyoming."

Those efforts include a "tutu family game night" at a church in Cheyenne. Pub crawls are planned in Laramie, Pinedale, and Sheridan; bars are offering discounts to anyone in a tutu, and at least one establishment is also contributing part of its proceeds to gay pride events.

Enzi has apologized for the remarks he made at Greybull High School, in which he told an unusual anecdote in response to a question about how he sees the LGBTQ community in Wyoming. As recounted by the Greybull Standard newspaper, Enzi said:

"I know a guy who wears a tutu and goes to bars on Friday night and is always surprised that he gets in fights. Well, he kind of asks for it. That's the way that he winds up with that kind of problem."

At the time, Enzi said his anecdote illustrated the need for civility and mutual respect, citing Wyoming's "live and let live mantra," as WPM reported. But he was quickly criticized for not succeeding in making that point — and for doing so in an inappropriate setting.

Wyoming Democrats Chairman Joe M. Barbuto said Enzi's comment "was ugly and indicative of a kind of backwards thinking that has no place in today's society."

On Tuesday, Enzi, 73, issued an apology, saying, "I regret a poor choice of words during part of my presentation."

He added, "None of us is infallible and I apologize to anyone who has taken offense. No offense was intended. Quite the opposite in fact, and so I ask for your understanding as well."

The plan for a tutu protest was met with enthusiasm in Wyoming, even prompting a tutorial on making one's own tutu in Laramie Thursday night.

Demonstrators were also urged to keep the issues of bullying and civil rights in mind, with Eliza Hanson urging her fellow protesters, "Wear your tutu's this weekend but please take it seriously. Some of us 'wear tutus' on a daily basis and I would really appreciate it if you didn't try and make a joke out of yourself while wearing one."

Hanson continued, "Respect the cause, respect the oppressed. Stand up for something, but be aware of yourself, and be aware of the image you will be branding us all as having. Most importantly, be safe. Much love to everyone."

[Wounded Bear]

1. K & R ......that's funny! nt

[2naSalit]

2. K&R

[Kittycow]

3. Haha

His little non-apology didn't get him too fat!



On a more serious note he probably thinks rape victims ask for it too.

[Mountain Mule]

6. I'm really pleased with the way his constituents responded!

Wyoming has had some pretty grim incidents when it comes to gays. I'm more pleased than I can say at how the younger folks up there are coming around. The University of Wyoming rocks!

[Kittycow]

17. That's right.

I just kinda glossed over the state when I first read it, and it's really cool it's Wyoming!

[jberryhill]

4. If he's sincere, he should don one and join in

That would be the way to do it.

[guillaumeb]

5. Tutu much.

[Initech]

7. Hey I'll join in the protest!

Now where to find a tutu in men's XXL...

[retrowire]

15. Ehhh, just wrap a curtain around ya, it'll be fine.

XD

[Initech]

18. Tinkerbell Halloween costume.

[msongs]

8. "I apologize for expressing my sincerely held religious beliefs...." nt

[Warren DeMontague]

9. Leaving everything else aside, this shitwit comes from the state where Matthew Shepard was killed.

You would think for that reason alone, he would realize how fucking awful and classless his words sound.

[Mountain Mule]

10. Yes - Exactly!

I remember listening to the news of what happened to Shepard with tears in my eyes. I felt like Wyoming had sort of shamed all the Rocky Mountain States. Simply unbelievable that a Wyoming Senator could make such a callus remark. Glad he got called on it and glad of the spirit of fun and ACCEPTANCE behind it all! Sometimes things actually do improve for the better.

[retrowire]

16. Thank you for mentioning a name.

I, as young as I am had never heard of Matthew's story and thanks to Wikipedia, I'm fully informed. God rest his soul.

[Warren DeMontague]

21. Oh, wow. Yeah, I remember that story like it was... well, not that long ago.

[Mountain Mule]

22. It was awful!

I remember it very well because I had just interviewed for a position with the U of Wyoming in Laramie at the time. No way did I want to move up there for that job after that happened. Turned them down without even thinking twice about it.

[tenorly]

11. Was Larry Craig there?

The tutu parties just aren't the same without him, I'm sure.

[Mountain Mule]

12. I'm putting on my tutu and drinking him a toast!

[zentrum]

13. Hate these phony apologies.

"If you get attacked, it's your fault." You know it's the tip of the iceberg of his real attitudes.

[bluedigger]

14. K&R!

[Amaryllis]

19. twitter photo

[Mountain Mule]

20. Thank You!

I wanted to include that in my post but the cyber gods were not very cooperative at the time.

[Amaryllis]

23. Picture is worth 1000 words! The cyber gods can be fickle.