Drag queen story hours – events where drag performers read to children – are moving out of the big cities and coming to conservative southern US states.

A group of drag queens stand in a small room at the back of a public library in South Carolina, their bright outfits in contrast with the beige walls.

Children file in and quickly scan the larger-than-life characters before turning their attention to running around and playing.

“There are five drag queens walking around this room and not one kid has walked up to us and said ‘you’re so weird’,” says drag queen Rylee Hunty. “Kids exist in their own fantasy world and we fit into that.”

The children assemble on the floor in front of Rylee as she starts to read. After a page or so, she is interrupted by a young girl who stands up and offers Rylee her bracelet because she’s “a princess”.

Outside the library, armed police watch over groups of protesters and counter-protesters chanting at each other in the rain. Each side representing a different view of the future of the American South.

Rylee Hunty helped organize the story time event

Drag Queen Story Hour was established in San Francisco in 2015, and has since spread across the US and around the world.

While the Greenville story hour is not officially linked to the organisation, it is part of a growing movement to bring these events to Middle America.

Jonathan Hamilt, a co-founder of Drag Queen Story Hour in New York, told the BBC they have seen “an exponential growth in the number of events in more conservative, rural and southern states over the last year”.

“We have chapters in Nebraska, Indiana and Alabama. I think it is partly a reaction to the political landscape of the US right now and a need for more queer programming for children.”

Mr Hamilt says events in rural areas “definitely see more protests”.

“When you leave big liberal areas, people tend to be more conservative. Their fear can come out as anger.”

Rylee says she is keen to show the children at the event that diversity exists in Greenville.

“I knew from a young age I was different. If I had this when I was younger, maybe I would have had a happier high school experience rather than being confused and sad and having anxiety,” Rylee reflects.

“I felt like a bad person. You’re in the South – [people think] if you’re gay or different you’re going to hell.”

This sentiment is shared by Princess Mocha, another drag queen reading at the event.

She strides up and down in front of the children in a fuchsia jumpsuit and towering high heels, canvassing opinion on whether giraffes or elephants are the group’s preferred animal.

The children’s eyes follow her back and forth as she reads.

“You’ll move mountains, kid”, Princess Mocha reads from her chosen book, before pausing and turning to the crowd. “You really will,” she adds.

On the day of the event, the roads around the library are closed, and security is tight after threats of violence were made against those attending the story hour.

Amanda Osborne, one of the event organizers, told the BBC that “veiled or direct threats to attendees and the drag queens has been the scariest part”.

“There has been an armed guard posted in our local library every day for the last week. That’s where we are in our community right now.”

The opposition to the story hour was spearheaded by the Facebook groups “GOP Politics of South Carolina” and “Greenville Tea Party” who organised a “pro-family community gathering” to coincide with the event.

“I just disagree with targeting children,” says protester Jan standing outside the library. “They are actively promoting sin and wrongdoing and they are doing this to children.

“What they do in their own home or at some nightclub amongst consenting adults – have at it. But don’t involve children.”

The library, being a public institution, is bound by the First Amendment of the US Constitution which enshrines the right to free speech in law.

In a statement, library officials told local media that “meeting spaces are available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of the individuals or groups requesting their use”.

Jan says that she thinks “that’s a cop-out”.

“There should be a set of community standards for decency,” Jan says. “If a group doesn’t follow that, then they cannot hold their meetings in the library.”

Jan links the event to a wider trend she perceives in the US.

“I don’t see why their rights should trump ours. It always seems in society today that’s what happens. They want to be considered the victim, they want to have special rights.”

In response to the controversy surrounding the event, many counter-protesters assembled at the library.

Natalie Shaik, one of the event organizers, told the BBC it was a “big deal” that so many people in Greenville came to support them.

Despite, or perhaps because of the controversy, the event is well attended and additional readings are laid on for the queue of children waiting.

Story hour protests nothing new

Wayne Wiegan, professor of library sciences at Florida State University

The tradition of story hours in America began in the late 1800s in Hartford, Connecticut. Caroline Hewins created a read-aloud programme and by the end of the 19th Century the events were commonplace across the country.

Public librarians have done a good job of convincing the public that they are neutral, but through history they have had an inconsistent response to First Amendment issues.

In the early 20th Century, socialists and communists were often allowed to meet in libraries, for example. By the time the Cold War started, that was no longer the case.

During the Civil Rights movement there were open protests by black families against “Little Black Sambo” being read at story hours. The book was accused of being racist and many libraries took it off their shelves.

The passage of time has a tendency to change local moral horizons.

Amanda Garrett has lived in the South her entire life.

“It bothers me so much when people try to claim that they know what southern morals are, or that they own the values of our community.

“That gets me at a very personal level.”

Ms Garrett’s son Alex spent the afternoon listening to the drag queens reading and making a crown with pipe cleaners.

“The drag queens are dressing up, having a great time and confident about who they are,” Ms Garret says. “That’s something Alex can be too if he wants.”

Christia Spears Brown is a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky who studies gender development in children.

She told the BBC that while these events can seem “silly and frivolous” they could lead to “positive outcomes for young children if they feel able to express themselves”.

“Conversely we know that there are negative outcomes for children who feel pressure to conform,” Prof Brown said. “Those children are not as psychologically stable.”

Prof Brown told the BBC: “Culture can support, or not, a child’s gender identity but it can’t create it.

“To be clear, you can’t make kids gay or transgender. Think of it this way – the vast majority of LGBTQ people saw predominantly cisgender and straight role models growing up.

“The frequency with which traditional gender stereotypes are reinforced – every time a child uses a gendered bathroom or is called a good boy or girl – far outnumber the instances that gender is questioned, for example being read to by a drag queen.”

Source: https://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/wp-admin/post-new.php

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BLADENBORO, N.C. — Ten days after Hurricane Florence came ashore, the storm caused fresh chaos Monday across the Carolinas, where rivers kept rising and thousands more people were told to be ready to evacuate.

Authorities urged up to 8,000 people in Georgetown County, on the South Carolina coast, to be prepared to flee from potential flood zones. A “record event” of up to 10 feet of flooding was expected to begin Tuesday near parts of the Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers, county spokeswoman Jackie Broach-Akers said.

Residents along the Waccamaw braced for water predicted to peak Wednesday at 22 feet near Conway. That’s twice the normal flood stage and far higher than the previous record of 17.9 feet, according to charts published Monday by the National Weather Service.

Pastor Willie Lowrimore and several members of his church spent Saturday sandbagging and spreading plastic sheets around the sanctuary of The Fellowship With Jesus Ministries church on the banks of the Waccamaw in Yauhannah, South Carolina, about 20 miles south of Myrtle Beach.

The nearly black, reeking water seeped around and over the sandbags around 2 a.m. Monday. By noon, it was several inches deep.

With the church pews moved to a flatbed trailer on higher ground, Lowrimore sat in a rocking chair listening to the normally calm river rush by, ruining the church he built almost 20 years ago.

“I’m going to go one day at a time. Put it in the Lord’s hands. My hands aren’t big enough,” he said.

In North Carolina, the Cape Fear and Neuse rivers remained swollen and were not expected to return to normal levels until October, the charts show.

“Florence continues to bring misery to North Carolina,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday evening in a statement.

Most of the Carolinas have seen the worst of the flooding, but people need to remain cautious, said Todd Hamill, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service’s Southeast River Forecast Center. With most rivers having crested, that water is moving toward the coast, he said.

Parts of Interstate 40 are expected to remain underwater for another week or more, and hundreds of smaller roads remain impassable. But there was some good news: Interstate 95 was reopened to all traffic Sunday night for the first time since the floods.

Floodwaters already receding on one stretch of Interstate 40 left thousands of rotting fish on the pavement for firefighters to clean up.

Crews conducted about 350 rescues over the weekend, and travel remains treacherous in the southeastern area of the state, the governor added. National Guard members would be shifting to more door-to-door and air-search checks on people in still-flooded areas.

The storm has claimed at least 43 lives since slamming into the coast Sept. 14.

On Monday, Republican education leaders in North Carolina announced planned legislation to assure teachers at still-shuttered schools that they will get paid without using vacation time. The proposal was part of broader disaster funding that the General Assembly will consider in an anticipated special session.

In Washington, lawmakers considered almost $1.7 billion in new money for disaster relief and recovery, even as they face a deadline this week to fund the government before the Oct. 1 start of the new budget year.

The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said the money would be available as grants to states to help rebuild housing and public works, as well as assist businesses. GOP Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey called it “a first round” and said lawmakers are ready to act quickly if the federal disaster relief agency also needs more money.

The economic research firm Moody’s Analytics estimated that Florence has caused around $44 billion in damage and lost output, which would make it one of the 10 costliest U.S. hurricanes. The worst disaster, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, cost $192.2 billion in today’s dollars. Last year’s Hurricane Harvey cost $133.5 billion.

Associated Press writers Jeffrey Collins in Yauhannah, South Carolina; Meg Kinnard in Galivants Ferry, South Carolina; Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama and Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report.

MORE

• Hurricane Florence strengthens as experts warn of ‘large-scale disaster’
• Carolinas brace for extremely dangerous Hurricane Florence
• Washington, DC, declares state of emergency head of Hurricane Florence
• ‘Big and vicious’: Hurricane Florence closes in on Carolinas
• Hurricane Florence could flood many waste sites, creating toxic brew
• Slaves’ descendants have long history of enduring hurricanes
• Hurricane Florence: 10 million in crosshairs of storm’s uncertain track
• EDITORIAL: Hurricane Florence and Trump’s tweets really have us worried
• Florence’s flooding claims 3.4 million poultry, 5,500 hogs
• Trump arrives in North Carolina to survey Florence damage
• New evacuations ordered because of Florence flooding
• Carolinas farms could take billions in losses from Hurricane Florence

Source: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/hurricane-florence-carolinas-flood-zones-warning-rising-rivers/

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(Photo: Alexander Gerst/ESA/NASA via AP)

Even before Hurricane Florence made landfall somewhere near the border of North and South Carolina, predicted damage from potentially catastrophic flooding from the storm was already being blamed on global warming.

Writing for NBC News, Kristina Dahl contended, “With each new storm, we are forced to question whether this is our new, climate change-fueled reality, and to ask ourselves what we can do to minimize the toll from supercharged storms.”

The theory is that tropical cyclones have slowed down in their speed by about 10 percent over the past 70 years due to a retreat of the jet stream farther north, depriving storms of steering currents and making them stall and keep raining in one location. This is what happened with Hurricane Harvey in Houston last year.

But like most claims regarding global warming, the real effect is small, probably temporary, and most likely due to natural weather patterns. Any changes in hurricanes over 70 years, even if real, can easily be part of natural cycles — or incomplete data. Coastal lake sediments along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline from 1,000 to 2,000 years ago suggest more frequent and intense hurricanes than occur today. Why? No one knows.

Unusual things happen in nature sometimes

The Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 experienced a Category 3 or 4 storm, with up to a 20-foot storm surge. While such a storm does not happen in New England anymore, it happened again there in 1675, with elderly eyewitnesses comparing it to the 1635 storm.

Until 2017, the United States went 11 years without a major hurricane strike — something that is statistically very improbable. Nine years into that 11-year hurricane drought, a NASA scientist computed it as a 1-in-177-year event.

My point is that nature varies, and unusual things happen sometimes.

More: Is Trump some semi-God who conjured extreme weather?

Uncontrolled climate change could result in disaster for our kids. Will we do something?

We’re keeping our Paris climate change commitments and our economies are booming: Governors

Now it’s fashionable to blame stalling hurricanes on global warming. In the case of Florence, the jet stream is indeed pushed farther north. But examination of a weather map of the atmospheric flow at an altitude of 18,000 feet shows the jet stream is pushed farther south over western North America. This kind of natural variation in atmospheric flow is called weather, not climate change. It’s just a roll of the dice. Hurricane-steering currents are subject to whatever the weather happens to be when they arrive at the U.S. coast.

No one should dismiss or minimize the damage that Florence will likely do. Hurricanes can be deadly. I completely agree with Ms. Dahl’s NBC News piece that “right now, ournumber one priority has to be ensuring the safety of those in Florence’s evolving path, as well as the first responders helping them.”

The cost of storms has risen, not their severity

But a major hurricane hits North Carolina on average once every 20 years or so. The last was Fran in 1996, which is 22 years ago. Coastal residents know they live under a yearly threat of hurricanes, and sometimes (though relatively rarely), one of those hurricanes will be very strong.

Well, aren’t we being told these storms are getting stronger on average? The answer is no. The 30 most costly hurricanes in U.S. history (according to federal data from January) show no increase in intensity over time. The monetary cost of damages has increased dramatically in recent decades, but that is due to increasing population, wealth and the amount of vulnerable infrastructure. It’s not due to stronger storms.

If humans have any influence on hurricanes at all, it probably won’t be evident for many decades to come. Natural variability is simply too large. This should not be surprising given that humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions have caused only a1 percent change in the natural energy flows coursing through the climate system.

Roy W. Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, is author of the Kindle e-books “Inevitable Disaster: Why Hurricanes Can’t Be Blamed on Global Warming” and “Global Warming Skepticism for Busy People.” Follow him on Twitter:@RoyWSpencer 

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Florence will slowly move westward this weekend bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds to the Carolinas, producing catastrophic inland flooding before kicking off an agonizing crawl through the Southeast and Appalachia into early next week,

Happening Now

Rainfall amounts have totaled 15 to 25 inches in many locations in eastern North Carolina through early Saturday. Local roadways are impassable and are closed in numerous locations, which has isolated residents.

As a result, several flash flood emergencies remain in effect Saturday morning in eastern North Carolina due to these conditions and additional rainfall:

• Southeastern Jones, southeastern Craven, Carteret and Pamlico counties, including New Bern, Morehead City, Newport
• Jones, southwestern Lenoir, northeastern Onslow and northeastern Duplin counties, including Jacksonville, Kinston and Swansboro
• Southwestern Onslow and Duplin counties, including North Topsail Beach and Mount Olive

Florence is located about 35 miles west of Myrtle Beach, North Carolina or 45 miles south-southeast of Florence, North Carolina, as of early Saturday morning.

It will continue to move slowly this weekend and a turn toward the west and northwest is anticipated later Saturday and Sunday.

Two spots are aiming to take down North Carolina’s tropical cyclone rainfall record: Newport with 23.75 inches of rainfall and Morehead City with just over 23 inches so far. The previous record is 24.06 inches from Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

As of Saturday morning, winds continue to gust higher than 50 mph at times. A sustained wind of 48 mph with a gust to 57 mph was recently reported at Mercer Pier, North Carolina.

For additional rain, wind and storm surge reports, see the bottom of this article.

Tropical storm warnings remain posted near and inland from the coasts of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Steering currents have fallen apart allowing Florence to slow down tremendously as it drifts in eastern South Carolina.

Gradual weakening of winds is expected over the weekend as it moves farther inland, but extremely heavy rainfall will increase flooding potential.

Florence will move through the southern and central Appalachians this weekend into early next week.

By early to mid next week, whatever is left of Florence will swing northeastward across the northern Appalachians and into the Northeast.

(Florence’s Final Chapter: The Northeast Forecast)

Forecast Impacts

– High-Impact Rainfall: Florence will produce high-end flash flooding between Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Morehead City, North Carolina.

The National Hurricane Center noted that “life-threatening, catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding are likely over portions of the Carolinas and the southern and central Appalachians late this week into early next week.”

That heavy rain threat may last for days into early next week in some areas, given Florence’s slow movement. Returning evacuees should be aware that flooding may last in the eastern Carolinas well into next week, including flooding across roadways and into homes.

Disastrous flooding is expected in some areas, not simply near the coastal Carolinas where the heaviest rain totals are forecast, but also in the Appalachians where heavy rain over mountainous terrain is likely to trigger mudslides and rockslides. See the link below for more information.

(MORE: Potentially Catastrophic Inland Flooding Possible)

According to the National Hurricane Center, Florence is expected to produce the following rainfall totals:

• Southern and central portions of North Carolina into far northeastern South Carolina: an additional 10 to 15 inches, with isolated totals up to 40 inches
• Rest of South Carolina and North Carolina into southwestern Virginia: 5 to 10 inches, with isolated totals up to 15 inches
• West-central Virginia into far eastern West Virginia: 3 to 6 inches, with isolated totals of 8 inches.

The runoff from these incredible rainfall totals will continue for days, and then will enter the riverways of the Carolinas. Flooding may swell these watersheds for weeks, if not months.

– Storm-Surge Impact: A destructive storm surge accompanied the eye coming ashore Friday, and coastal flooding may persist through multiple high-tide cycles into this weekend. The next high tide for Wilmington and Hatteras will be early this afternoon.

Significant beach erosion is also likely on the southeastern U.S. coast. Elevated water levels may persist for some time after landfall in areas where onshore winds persist.

(MAPS: NHC Potential Peak Storm Surge Inundation Interactive Maps)

Here are the latest storm-surge inundation forecasts from the National Hurricane Center at high tide:

– Along the Neuse, Pamlico, Pungo and Bay rivers: 3 to 5 feet
– Ocracoke Inlet to Cape Lookout, North Carolina: 2 to 4 feet
– Cape Fear to Cape Lookout, North Carolina: 3 to 5 feet
– Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Cape Fear, North Carolina: 2 to 4 feet

These water levels will be on top of already high tides caused by the new moon.

Battering waves will ride atop the storm surge, inflicting more damage to structures near the water as the hurricane arrives.

– Wind Impact: Tropical-storm-force winds (39-plus mph) are expected to continue across much of eastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina through Saturday.

Numerous downed trees and long-lasting power outages are expected.

– Tornadoes: A few tornadoes are possible in eastern and southeastern North Carolina on Saturday. These tornadoes should be weak and short-lived but could add to damage caused by rainfall or straight-line hurricane winds.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has issued a tornado watch for portions of southern North Carolina through 7 a.m. EDT.

Florence’s Storm Reports

Florence made landfall near Wrightsville, North Carolina, at 7:15 a.m. EDT with maximum sustained winds around 90 mph.

Wind Reports

Wind gusts reached as high as 106 mph at Cape Lookout, North Carolina, late Thursday evening while a 105-mph gust was reported at Fort Macon, North Carolina.

Friday morning, Wilmington, North Carolina, recorded a wind gust to 105 mph, the second strongest wind on record here. A wind gust to 100 mph was reported at Cape Fear, North Carolina earlier Friday and a buoy about 50 miles to the east of the center of Florence’s eye reported a wind gust to 112 mph.

Winds were gusting as high as 99 mph at Fort Macon, North Carolina and sustained winds are blowing at 73 mph early Friday.

Sustained winds of 79 mph were reported in Davis, North Carolina, while a 77-mph sustained wind was recorded at Fort Macon, North Carolina.

A gust of 72 mph was reported at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina Friday evening.

Water Reports

Newport, North Carolina, has reported 23.75 inches of rainfall, while Morehead City, North Carolina, has recorded 23.04 inches as of early Saturday. Numerous locations have received more than a foot of rainfall so far and the rain continues to fall.

Overwash of the dunes at the “S” curves on Highway 12 near Rodanthe in the Outer Banks began on Thursday.

On Thursday night, a storm surge of 10 feet above normal levels was reported by the National Weather Service office in Morehead City, North Carolina, at the Cherry Branch Ferry Terminal on the Neuse River, courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

A gauge at Oriental, North Carolina, on the Neuse River recorded a water height of about 6 feet above normal tide levels late Thursday.

(MORE: North Carolina Meteorologists Forced Off-Air During Broadcast By Florence Flooding)

A record tide level was set at Beaufort, North Carolina, very early Friday, topping levels seen during Hazel (1954) and Floyd (1999), among others, with a reading of 7.28 feet.

(MORE: Florence Breaks Surge Records in Two Cities)

Water levels remain elevated in Pamlico Sound in North Carolina Friday evening and a gauge in Emerald Isle recorded a 7.0-foot surge Friday morning. A 10.1-foot storm surge was recorded very early Friday in New Bern.

Florence helped push water up against the coast as far north as the Chesapeake Bay Friday evening. Minor flooding has been reported in Maryland, which reported water levels 2.7 feet above normal.

Florence’s History

Tropical Depression Six formed late on Aug. 31, then was named Tropical Storm Florence the next day in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean.

On Sept. 5, Florence became a Category 4 hurricane after rapidly intensifying over the open Atlantic Ocean.

Wind shear then weakened Florence back to a tropical storm late on Sept. 6.

Florence underwent rapid intensification a second time Sunday into Monday, when its winds jumped up from 75 mph to 130 mph in just 25 hours ending 12 p.m. EDT Monday.

Source: https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2018-09-14-hurricane-florence-forecast-north-carolina-south-carolina-southeast

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