Save Anchorage member: Combo 'hissy fit' comment and limp wrist gesture not homophobic
At a September 29 meeting of the Anchorage Assembly, anti-mask activist Paul Kendall, who had previously unsuccessfully run for office numerous times, called Anchorage Assembly Vice Chair Christopher Constant, who is gay, a "cocksucker."
Kendall was escorted from the Assembly chambers that evening and later arrested for trespassing, even as his offensive comments were cheered by pro-Bronson supporters—some associated with the far-right Save Anchorage group whose members have called Assembly members pedophiles and accused them of grooming children.
Kendall had previously espoused homophobic remarks. During his 2009 run for mayor, he wrote a letter to Patrick Flynn, then a member of the Anchorage Assembly, titled "Acceptable speech in Homosexual, Queers, Fagots, Deviants."
In October, just weeks after uttering his homophobic slur, Kendall died of COVID-19.
Three gay individuals serve on the Anchorage Assembly: Austin Quinn-Davidson, Felix Rivera, and Vice-Chair Christopher Constant.
All three members have been subjected to hate speech since being elected—and, according to more social media posts than one can count, individuals who associate with the Alaska Watchman, Must Read Alaska, Save Anchorage, and its affiliated network of social media groups are often seen sowing such hate across Anchorage's social media landscape.
You're a Disgrace
Hate was on display again at Wednesday's special meeting of the Anchorage Assembly when Girdwood resident Erik Lambertsen, who, after having spoken numerous times that evening, made a limp wrist gesture directed towards Vice Chair Christopher Constant.
"You make a real good hissy fit when it comes time. Good for you," Lambertsen testified, pausing for a moment before adding, "kind of is the way you do things isn't it?" as he made the gesture.
Constant interrupted Lambertsen's testimony at that moment, calling a point of order, which Lambertsen ignored. He continued to shout over both Constant and Chair LaFrance, who found it necessary to cut Lambertsen's microphone.
"It's the gentleman's right to make his comments, but I want the record to reflect that he just made a very homophobic gesture across the dais at me," Constant said.
Lambertsen first responded that he "doubted" that was the case and said there was no "evidence" to back up Constant's claim, even though the gesture had just been televised to city residents across the meeting's Livestream.
Transphobic Assemblymember Jamie Allard, who said last year she believed all transgender people were mentally ill, was not physically present at the special meeting and appeared not to have seen the gesture made by her fellow Save Anchorage member. That didn't stop the Save Anchorage cheerleader from attempting to provide defense and cover for one of her own, saying on the record that Constant had accused Lambertsen of making a "slur" (not a gesture) and asked Lambertsen to clarify his comments (not the gesture). The interaction is below.
LaFrance, seeing that Lambertsen had answered Allard's clarifying question, attempted to bring an end to the back and forth, which predictably riled the often volatile and combative Allard — causing her to launch into a verbal tirade — accusing LaFrance of "cutting everybody off" if members of the public disagreed with her "agenda," including herself and Mayor Bronson.
"You're a disgrace," Eagle River's far-right fabricator and representative hissed at LaFrance.
In his closing comments, Constant said that he had worn a rainbow fist on his lapel that night to demonstrate that he was gay and a fighter.
"When a member of the public steps before me in a public forum and waves a limp wrist at me, I am here to stand for every LGBT person who's ever been bullied or beaten up or abused or thrown out of their home by people of very suspect morality. I am not going to bow down in the face of homophobia or personal attacks of that nature," Constant said before thoughtfully adding, "and QAnon is a lie."
Assembly member Austin Quinn-Davidson said in her closing comments that she had seen Lambertsen's gesture on the live feed and felt sorry for Constant.
Feeding Frenzy
Video clips of Lambertsen's testimony began circulating on social media which resulted in Allard sharing a post on her personal-but-not-personal Facebook account, claiming Anchorage resident Andrew Gray had "doxed" her fellow Save Anchorage member.
Gray, who has filed a public record request for an elusive message Allard says she received from Dick Traini that she used to disparage his public testimony at an earlier meeting, did not include an address, telephone number, email address, or other information not already publicly available.
Members of Allard's Save Anchorage political operation have been accused not only of doxing individuals they disagree with but have called for boycotts of businesses they deem leftist, such as those that require vaccines as conditions of employment and that require masks be worn on their premises.
It seems more likely that Allard's accusation against Gray served only to incite her rabid supporters, who miraculously appeared in the comments section of her Facebook post to save her—with a Save Anchorage moderator in tow.
The Ensuing Drama
Members of and those supportive of Anchorage's LGBT community felt Lambertsen's gesture was indeed homophobic, even in light of his assertions to the contrary. On Twitter, individuals who identify as gay thanked Vice Chair Constant for standing up to an individual they perceived as a bully. Others thanked Constant for not allowing Lambertsen's "egregious behavior" to go unchecked or unchallenged.
In Allard's Facebook post, Anchorage residents wrote that the video spoke for itself and told her that using the "limp wrist sign at someone can be offensive."
"Constant point[ed] that out in his point of order. Who are you to say what is offensive and a slur and what isn't?" Anchorage resident David Ferriera asked Allard. Others claimed in the same public post that the "pervs" had gotten too big for their britches and needed to take a step back, falsely asserting that there was porn in kindergarten libraries.
I reached out to Vice Chair Constant today and asked how he felt about the events of Wednesday and whether he still believed Lambertsen's gesture was indeed homophobic.
Constant responded, "It was 100% exactly what I said, and the video demonstrates that. I've faced these gestures all of my life. The video shows exactly what happened. Res ipsa loquitur."
Lambertsen has been insistent that the gesture was not intended to be homophobic—a belief shared by many Allard fetishizers. This viewpoint contradicts the statements made by Vice Chair Constant, a gay man, and members of the LGBT community who believe the gesture was intended as such, especially since the phrase "hissy fit" preceded the gesture itself.
A clip of Lambertsen's most recent testimony can be found below.
A full five-minute, ten-second video of his testimony and the resulting discussion can be found here.
"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." — George Orwell, 1984
