Michael Collins (R) defended his son, drag queen Hannah Conda, against homophobic trolls. | Photo: Facebook
After his son was targeted by a notorious anti-LGBTI ‘mommy blogger’, this dad wrote the best possible response.
Over the Easter weekend, PoliticalPostingMumma (PPM) aka Marijke Rancie set her sights on Sydney drag queen, Hannah Conda.
PPM was not happy Hannah was part of a Sydney Drag Story Time event. It’s a Rainbow Families event where drag queens read books to children.
She posted about Hannah on her Facebook page, opening up Hannah to a torrent of homophobic abuse from her supporters.
Yesterday Hannah told Gay Star News the negative reactions had really upset her. They made her angry that PPM’s people were ‘ripping us (LGBTI people) to shreds’.
But just like PPM claims to be worried about children, so too is Michael Collins, the dad of Hannah Conda.
Just like any protective parent, ‘Papa Conda’, swooped in to defend Hannah after she faced days of abuse.
Collins tried to post a comment on PPM’s Facebook page but she deleted it and blocked him. So he posted on his own page anyway.
‘You really are a piece of work Political Posting Mumma, you continue to allow nasty and inflammatory posts that fuel hurtful commentary about an individual and a wonderful program within a community, a community that you really know nothing about,’ he wrote.
‘If I may refer to a saying my Grandmother used to say about people like you; “they’d cause trouble in an empty shithouse”.’
Come through Papa Conda!
In his long post, Collins speaks how proud he is of Hannah and how hard she has worked to become ‘one of Sydney’s top entertainers’.
‘I find it even more disgusting that the owner of this page, someone who professes and promotes Christian and family values do not act as such, opting to incite nasty and inflammatory diatribe to continue on at the expense of a group or individual,’ he wrote.
‘My son is Hannah Conda, a drag queen and a very good one at that.
‘He is a beautiful human being who has dedicated much of his life to his craft, his family and above all his community.’
Collins understands the fierce protectiveness that comes with having children. But he draws the line at being ‘demeaning and hateful’ just because ‘you have a dislike for a particular section of our community’.
‘I too will do whatever it takes Political Posting Mumma to protect my children, but my job as a parent is to give them a good grounding in their life and to be supportive of their endeavors, to lead by example, guide them to be becoming good citizens in our wider community,’ he wrote.
Papa Conda’s wise advice
Collins told PPM that parents must be great role models to their children. He urged parents to demonstrate love, and tolerance, ‘not bitterness, hatred, and disdain.
‘I have seen first hand and way too often, the terrible sadness that exists with young people who are not accepted by their own families because they are merely gay,’ he wrote.
‘If you really want to make a difference in the world we live in, start by being a nice person!’
Read Collins’ post in full here.
