The Bloomsburg Fair is the biggest fair in Pennsylvania. Every September, people from all over flock to watch concerts, buy shitty souvenirs, and shave years off their lives by eating deep fried Oreos. It is an institution in Pennsylvania, especially in the middle of the state.
Believe it or not, even the Bloomsburg Fair has found itself in the middle of the social justice shitstorm.
Several local volunteer fire companies held a fundraiser at the fairgrounds. One aspect of the fundraiser was a dunk tank. The person in the dunk tank was dressed to resemble Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s health secretary. Levine became very well known during the China virus pandemic, routinely appearing at press conferences alongside Governor Tom Wolf. As it happens, Levine is a transgender woman who is a biological male.
In addition to the gentleman dressing as Levine, the Bloomsburg Fair posted this on its Facebook page:
This post has since been deleted.
As you would expect, the pitchforks and torches came out in full force.
Also, as you would expect, the apology came swiftly.
Here’s the deal: In today’s hypersensitive world, you have to expect that this will offend people. However, the pearl clutchers on social media go too far when they suggest that this was an act of “hatred”. It was simply an attempt to be funny that was funny for some people and offensive to others. If this is the standard, can you make any joke involving someone from one of the “protected groups without people whining about it being hateful? Is this the transgender version of blackface? Can we take a joke anymore?
As an advocate of never apologizing for offending people, I will make an exception. Apologizing directly to Dr. Levine is reasonable, but do not apologize to the mob. There are no exceptions to that.