Shop Life Special Edition: Faces of HATE in San Diego 2018

San Diego, Califiornia. (Coronado Bridge and Downtown Skyline)

San Diego, California- The city I was born, where I grew up and where I still live now.

I love this city. The weather is perfect, the people are diverse culturally, and the political climate is pretty liberal. Cannabis just became legal in California this year and the vibe has never been better...

Or so I thought...

Saturday, April 21, 2018- I had just gotten off my shift at the shop and was commuting home when I get this Facebook message from a friend:

Screenshot from My Facebook Messenger

Immediately, I'm like "Protesters?! What the fuck? Are you kidding me?"

So I dial the shop to TRY and give them a heads up but...I was too late! They were already there and I could hear them yelling in the background of the call with one of my newer coworkers. I could hear the total shock in his voice, poor kid.

Goddamn it!

About half an hour later, my friend posted a few videos of the protesters which I've got below for your viewing displeasure:


WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK?! 

These first videos were taken at Deja Vu Showgirls. Deja Vu also owns the store at which I'm employed, they are down the road a few blocks from us. The friend who shot these first videos was there enjoying the club as the customer, identifies as female and happens to be a lesbian with a cute short haircut. She's part of my Haunt Family and that means a lot to me, she didn't deserve to be personally attacked for:

A) Enjoying perfectly safe, legal, and consensual Adult Entertainment

or

B) Her (perceived) sexual orientation.

I also have friends that work at the club as Showgirls and they didn't deserve to be called "whores" and "sluts" because they definitely are NOT. They are putting on a performance in the nude, they aren't turning tricks or blowing guys in alleyways. They are choosing to do what they do as adults and they make pretty decent money, they are safe and have a lot of fun doing it. A few of the girls were, understandably upset afterwards.

Anyway, the bigots then made their way down to the store and that's when I was tagged in this next video by my coworker, Kay:


This is that same group a little while later. They are standing on the sidewalk on the other side of the dividing wall from our store parking lot, facing the front door. They seem to know at least some of their rights because there's nothing my coworkers or manager can do because technically they are standing on "public property". I believe that's a customer in the video trying to engage them as well. We lost a lot of revenue on what usually is one of our most busy nights of the week...

All because of these assholes who had nothing better to do on a Saturday night.

Don't get me wrong, I believe in Freedom Of Speech. I believe in people having Freedom of Religion but when those two subjects include DISGUSTING, HATEFUL, DEROGATORY verbal attacks on my friends and coworkers...That's where I draw the fucking line, San Diego!

I was so mad about this the entire rest of the evening as the comments from people I know just started stacking up as the evening went on. I wished I had been there for them...I went to bed thinking about it.

Balboa Park. One of many fountains. This one is the biggest.

Sunday, April 22, 2018- Every year, San Diego holds Earth Fair in Balboa Park in honor of Earth Day.

Earth Fair is a really fun, family friendly, park-wide event that is free to the public. Food, Vendors, Music, and Performances all with Peace, Unity, and Earth Conservation in mind.

If you grew up in San Diego then you know that Earth Fair has always low key been synonymous with hippie/stoners types and marijuana. Like I mentioned before, Marijuana just became legal for recreational use in California and so there was a section for people openly promoting those types of things.

Now, Balboa Park is HUGE (1,200 Acres, bigger than Central Park)...and it just so happens that Balboa Park extends into what I affectionately call our "gayborhood" Hillcrest, in which a majority of the residences and business are owned by people in the LGBTQ community.

And guess who showed up to nastily protest in front of peoples children and families?

Yep, you guessed it...

Photo Credit: Ruben V.

These ASSHOLES AGAIN!

Oh but wait, there's ANOTHER VIDEO:

Video Credit: Sarah B. combating hate with HUGS!

Usually, When a group protests something, they have a clear message. After watching all these videos and interviewing everyone present via Social Media...

I gathered that the group is AGAINST any person or thing that's NOT:

• WHITE
• MALE
• STRAIGHT
• CHRISTIAN
• PRO-LIFE

Oh, and they hate people who use marijuana too. We're all going to hell and the way they choose to get their message across is to yell negative shit at people just trying to enjoy their day. And I just want to ask them:

"Does this ever work for you?"

I bet $1,000,000 no one has ever dropped to their knees and magically changed their sexual orientation and/or identity, changed their ethnicity and/or skin color and pledged their life to your White Christian God. So...why the fuck do you do this?

Since they are being so out loud and proud with their hate by printing their website on the sign, I decided to investigate and see if I could find any answers...

When first typing in the web address you're greeted by this:

Um, What? LOL

I definitely don't want to "hear the message" and there's a bunch of things wrong with this, mainly who the fuck is their web designer and are they stuck in 1999?

Notice the trend of fat, old, bearded White Guys?

Anyone else hopes a car comes by and runs these (badly Photoshopped) guys in the middle of the road the fuck over? I do! Wow, they really hate the gays! But apparently at my store they are just protesting because they are "Unsatisfied Customers"? (See the video by my coworker, Kay. The loudmouth on the megaphone says that and that he wants to speak to a manager.)  Go figure.

They have a Bail Fund?!

I've heard of religious organizations having a Church Fund but a BAIL FUND?! Why the FUCK do you have a bail fund? Oh, is it maybe because you're actually a HATE GROUP posing as a religious ministry....

I had to scroll all the way down to get to our hate section.

And finally, the section where  they start in on me and my friends. I didn't click any of the individual propaganda links. I had enough by this point. I closed the web page with more questions than answers but one thing I know for sure:

OFFICIAL STREET PREACHERS IS 100% A FUCKING HATE GROUP!

These are the faces of hate in my beloved San Diego in 2018. It makes me incredibly sad and angry that my friends were subjected to this abuse, that our businesses were affected, and that there's nothing we can do as long as they don't step outside the boundaries of the law.

So I did the only thing I could do: I came here to expose their petty, hateful bullshit. There's so few of them and so many of us. They get loud and we can get louder and more creative.

If they haven't been classified as an official hate group in San Diego. Then they should be. This is all the evidence you need.

Please Like and Share this post. Spread the word about these jerks! And if you live in my hometoen and see this guys out at events this Spring/Summer don't let them back you down. SPEAK UP and CLAP back at them with love and positivity!

They are so angry because the world has become bigger and wider and more diverse. Now THEY are the minority and we can't let them win.

Be you, without apologies, always and keep letting your Freak Flag fly!