Over the last decade, a major strategy of the LGBT movement has been to hold prominent public “pride” events in predominantly Christian towns in “red” states. Oklahoma has been a big target. The purpose is to desensitize the citizens and to normalize bizarre LGBT behaviors. These events usually include garish drag queens performing before young children. They are held in public parks or similar open venues. LGBT activists from afar usually show up to make a larger crowd.
The event organizers are skilled at getting funding from leftist local businesses and “woke” corporations. And they find volunteers among local liberals and LGBT activists.
Large Annual Public “Pride” Event Comes to Conservative Oklahoma Town
Bartlesville is a conservative town in northeast Oklahoma (population 38,000). The LGBT movement got a foothold there in 2018 and again in 2019, holding an annual “pride picnic” in a park. But in 2022 it became a very large event in a public park, featuring outrageous drag queens cavorting among young children. It was quite offensive to the community, and some local conservatives came and protested.
The drag queen spectacle caused a lot of outrage – including debate in the Bartlesville City Council. To calm people down, in 2023 the Bartlesville Pride organizing group kept their drag queens from publicly “performing” at the pride event, though they were allowed to attend in costume.
But in 2024, the drag queens were back as performers. The pride group used a new strategy. They persuaded the City Council that “drag performance” is “art” – not perverted behavior – and that their “art” was being physically threatened by bigoted citizens.
Thus, the City Council assigned police as “security” for the event (at a cost of $30,000) and would not allow any protesters into the park. Protesters could only gather along the park perimeter.
Citizens Reach Out to MassResistance
In early March, a Bartlesville parent contacted MassResistance, seeking help in pushing back against this year’s annual “pride” event (scheduled for September 19), which would again target children. He said many people were upset that the City Council was supplying police for security, and it was being funded by local businesses.
We spoke with him about getting a team together. Word spread and the new Oklahoma MassResistance chapter attracted a sizable group of citizens, both in Bartlesville and across the state.
Shutting It Down in 2025
The Oklahoma MassResistance strategy this year was to start right away.
It included a campaign of education – of how the “pride” event, and especially the drag queens – promote sexual and emotional dysfunction, plus a range of other unhealthy behaviors, to vulnerable young children and the community in general.
That message was repeatedly presented to funders of the event, including a bank, an insurance broker, a credit union, a dentist’s office, a large national corporation, and others.
On July 31, the Bartlesville Equality organization (which puts on the annual event) published a lengthy Facebook post announcing that the September 2025 pride event would be “postponed,” but no date was given. All the local media understood that as a cancellation.
Why They Caved
LGBT activists are used to getting their way wherever they go, and are expert bullies. But when faced with real community pushback in Bartlesville, they collapsed.
Bartlesville Equality said they “faced a challenging financial climate” and were able to raise only a third of the money needed to put the event on. They also blamed the cancellation on a “heightened climate of hostility” in the local community and claimed they “cannot guarantee the safety” of participants. (This “safety” concern is a common LGBT talking point when met with conservative protest. But in our experience, it’s the LGBT activists who are likely to become violent in these situations, not regular citizens.)
Third, they blamed it on a lack of volunteers – including board members who had recently resigned. Apparently, the full board had again voted to appease the community by not allowing drag queens to be featured performers at this year’s event. Several board members then resigned in protest.
In an effort to placate the angry ex-board members, the group included this paragraph in the Facebook post. If anything, it further reveals their bizarre state of mind:
Let us be clear: We affirm that drag is a legitimate and powerful form of artistic and cultural expression, deeply rooted in 2SLGBTQIA+ [sic] history. Drag has played a vital role in pride celebrations across the world, and we believe it continues to deserve space, respect, and representation.
Since the cancellation announcement, one other LGBT group announced it was considering holding its own — very diminished — “pride” event indoors, outside town, for adults only. A clear victory.
The LGBT movement, like other radical leftist movements, is very intimidating if you allow it to be – and most conservatives unfortunately play into their hands. But in fact, it’s a house of cards and can be easily collapsed.
Copyright 2025, Mass Resistance. Reprinted by permission.
