How did Tri-Cities go from proud of a guy in a dress to threatening drag shows? | Opinion

When Richland High graduate Santino Fontana won a Tony Award in 2019 for his leading role in “Tootsie,” Tri-Citians were delighted.

One of our own had made it big.

The Broadway show required Fontana to pretend to be a woman for much of his time on stage — complete with wig, high heels and form-fitting dresses.

The costumes were part of the comedy. Fontana’s amazing voice and acting chops wowed audiences night after night, and when he was named best lead actor in a musical, our community was proud of his success.

Now, just four years later, the idea of men dressing up and performing as women is causing anger, fear, protests and even death threats.

There are certainly differences between a hit show like “Tootsie” and drag events at local venues, but fundamentally both are meant to be entertaining.

Those involved in drag say it’s an art form — and it’s been around for centuries. In Shakespeare’s time women weren’t allowed to perform on stage so men routinely played female roles.

But as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric continues to be unleashed nationwide, these entertainers and the venue owners hosting their shows are being targeted with intimidation and threats, even though drag queens are not transgender.

Sadly, we’ve now witnessed unwarranted drag show panic in our own community.

In Richland, the Emerald of Siam restaurant received a letter in the U.S. mail a day after hosting an all-ages drag brunch on Easter Sunday, and the threat is so frightening the police and FBI are now involved.

The restaurant manager said he doesn’t want to reveal what the letter says because he doesn’t want to put people in danger.

This is beyond alarming.

The restaurant has hosted all-age drag shows monthly for six years without controversy, but recently workers were getting harassing phone calls and messages.

This didn’t happen out of nowhere. Nationwide, drag shows have become the latest target of intolerance that’s splitting the country. It was only a matter of time before the Tri-Cities was caught up in this vile political storm.

At the Emerald of Siam the intimidation became so concerning that manager Tim Thornton went to a city council meeting seeking support.

Instead, he found out that Mayor Pro Tem Theresa Richardson, who opposed the drag show, encouraged people to send a “polite note” to the restaurant expressing their concerns.

Unfortunately, and predictably, many people were anything but polite.

Richardson told the Herald she never promoted hate speech or harassment, but still, it’s a shame the restaurant did not get the support it sought from the city’s elected leaders. And Richardson, in turn, has gotten ugly comments, she says.

In the early morning hours before the Sunday show, vandals can be seen on a security camera wearing masks and hoodies. They glued hateful posters to the windows of the restaurant that carried phrases like, “Groomers are not welcome in Richland” and “Enough is Enough. The transgender experiment has failed.”

Owner Dara Quinn, whose mother started the restaurant 40 years ago, told the Herald it took six people three hours to clean up the mess.

In the end, the attempt to intimidate failed. Protesters and supporters showed up the day of the event, demonstrated peacefully and the show went on.

But that doesn’t mean the danger is over — especially now that the restaurant has received a serious threat in the mail.

Far-right conservatives say drag shows groom kids for sexually deviant behavior. Some also incorrectly say that drag queens are pedophiles.

The reality is drag queens are entertainers, and people accused of sexually abusing kids are usually family members, trusted friends or members of the community.

And pedophiles act in secret, not on stage.

Besides, kids aren’t going to attend drag shows unless their parents take them. Also, it’s a good bet that the people opposed to drag shows probably have never watched one.

“I think that they are misled and misinformed about what happens at these (shows),” Quinn told the Herald. “It is not a ‘gay recruitment.’ It is not recruiting for anything, it is a family-friendly event for those who care to participate. If they don’t like it, just don’t come to it.”

Apparently, though, protesters don’t want anyone to attend something they have a distorted view of.

On a positive note, numerous people have rallied to support the Richland restaurant, as well as the Out and About gay club in Pasco, which also was targeted by protesters.

Drag shows at both venues reportedly were well attended by hundreds, despite the uproar.

Men have performed as women for years and no one cared until recently when drag shows became a political lightning rod.

“Tootsie” isn’t a drag show, but it does feature a man dressed as a woman and there was a time that didn’t bother Tri-Citians at all.

We can’t help but wonder, in light of recent events, if that’s still the case. Or are we really that far gone?