“A Message From the Gay Community,” performed by the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus (YouTube)
A gay men’s chorus released a hilarious video about “converting your children,” and conservatives lost their minds because they couldn’t comprehend the concept of satire.
“A Message From the Gay Community” performed by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) has sent right-wing pundits into a tailspin over its tongue-in-cheek lyrics parodying the age-old anti-gay narrative.
The song’s soloists defiantly taunt the homophobes right from the opening verse “You think that we’ll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked… Funny, just this once, you’re correct.”
They go on to gleefully poke fun at the bigots by teasing that LGBT+ people will indeed “convert your children,” but not in the way they might think.
It’ll happen “bit by bit, quietly and subtly and you will barely notice it,” but like it or not, “we’ll make them tolerant and fair”.
“There’s really no escaping it, ’cause even grandma likes RuPaul… we’ll convert your children, someone’s gotta teach them not to hate,” the chorists sing.
Hilarious as it was, the joke soared straight over the heads of conservatives and they predictably responded with a torrent of confused fury.
The idea of children being turned into accepting, caring people was horrifying to the likes of Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who hit back with a vitriolic video that made the song go viral in all the worst parts of the internet.
“The song is not shy about what the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus hopes to accomplish, repeatedly singing, ‘We’re coming for them, we’re coming for your children.’ That’s not creepy or paedophilic at all…” he said.
Gay Men’s Chorus sent death threats online
Things got out of control as hate groups “literally twisted the meaning and the satire of the song”, SFGMC’s executive director Chris Verdugo told the Advocate. “In fact, some actually spliced the video to make it sound and look more threatening.
“This is how they spread their message of fear and revulsion from a song that speaks to tolerance and acceptance? They need a lesson in satire.”
But as the singers started getting death threats, the leaders of the choir were prompted to release a statement to explicitly confirm that the song was a joke.
“The far-right conservative media found our ‘Message…’ video and have taken it as their cause. This has all happened in the last 24 hours and it continues to pick up steam,” the statement read.
“They have taken the lyrics out of context to support a narrative that suits their intolerant and hateful needs. It is obvious the tongue-in-cheek humour is lost on many.
“As a result, we have seen the user comments on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram become increasingly alarming. Emails to individuals and the chorus office are vitriolic – including threats of harm.”
They added that the threatening response to the video “proves that our message is critically necessary in today’s world… we will continue to counter the message of hate by teaching young people to be tolerant and fair.”
This last line baffled the right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro, admittedly something that is not hard to do.
“What exactly is it a parody of?” he pleaded in an incensed reaction video, seemingly unaware that he was answering his own question.
“They said it was tongue-in-cheek humour, but the problem is that the statement they released doesn’t really suggest that it is tongue-in-cheek,” he said.
He saw the group’s words as “pretty solid evidence” that the so-called “indoctrination of kids” is indeed the intent of the radical left, as he’s long been complaining about, if anyone is still listening.
“So basically, what you’re saying is the song is not actually a parody?” he asked.
“What you’re actually suggesting is that while the song is done in the mode of parody, the underlying message – that we wish to teach your children our values – that part is correct? We’re making your kids more tolerant and fair by teaching what we want to teach them in schools?”
The horror!
Reflecting on the backlash, Verdugo said he stood by the song, saying it had been performed to friendly audiences for years. He insisted the group had not set out to poke the bear.
“We’ve certainly learned a lesson, but we plan to fight their hate through the media, mobilising our singers and supporters with messaging, and undertaking a grassroots effort to get the truth out there to counteract this malevolent narrative,” he told the Advocate.