Members of a local women’s country line dance team were reportedly forced to leave the Seattle area after organizers claimed their Stars and Stripes-themed shirts made some participants feel “agitated and unsafe.” He was reportedly kicked out of a dance convention.
The Borderline Dance Team was scheduled to perform at Seattle’s Emerald City Hoedown over the weekend, but organizers, the Rain Country Dance Association (LGBTQ+ dance community), asked them to perform in matching Stars and Stripes-themed costumes. Jason Lantz reported that he was essentially told he was not welcome because he was wearing a shirt. 770KTTH.
“Unfortunately, what our team encountered upon arrival was that the top of our flag was uncomfortable for some competition participants,” the dance group said. Post on Facebook.
“There was a small group that felt ‘triggered and unsafe.’
Co-captain Lindsey Stamp spoke with Lantz on The Jason Lantz Show and explained that their costumes have inspired a “small number” of accusers to bring up Israel’s war against Hamas and transgender issues.
“At first we were told that we would only be booed and yelled at and that many people would probably leave,” the group’s Facebook post said. “This did not deter us. But then we were given an ultimatum: either take off our national flag tops and perform in civilian clothes (most of us were traveling in uniform, so we had to bring our own). ), or they would give us the ECH shirts from years ago…or they would not perform at all, which was effectively asking us to leave. ”
“We don’t speak for the team, we speak for them, so the choice is theirs,” the post said. “We knew it was going to happen because we really didn’t have a choice in our minds, but it was a unanimous no.”
Stump told Lantz that team members were shocked because they had only been at the venue for 30 minutes before they started receiving complaints, adding that the team was patriotic but would not speak about politics. .
“My team doesn’t take a political stance. We came to dance,” she said. “We are a patriotic group. We support our military, veterans and first responders. We are a patriotic group.”
In a Facebook post, the group said they were not the only ones who received this treatment.
The same post said: “Our friends West Coast Country Heat, who were scheduled to perform at the competition that night, also did not perform because they proudly wear their country’s colors in the same spirit of patriotism as we do. It is written as “. “Both of our teams came together and put their actions into words.”
However, the group said it was a “superlative performance” to see the two teams come together.
“They are strong, resolute and unwaveringly patriotic,” the Borderline Dance Team said. “They are the families and friends of people who have gone through unimaginable suffering, and we all have our own opinions and can sleep soundly in our beds at night. That’s why we wear colors. Because while we may not necessarily agree with the status quo, we recognize that being an American means true freedom.”
“We all understand this, accept this, and walk away with class and dignity despite the discrimination we experienced,” the post added.
The Rain Country Dance Association did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but indirectly addressed the incident on Facebook.
“Hello everyone! After another great weekend of hoedowns, we know you have some questions about the lineup for Saturday night’s performance,” the post reads.
“We appreciate the time to clarify any misunderstandings and address the situation with those directly involved. We plan to issue a follow-up statement later this week once these conversations are available.”
Board president Ziady Kambia said in a Facebook comment that no members of the Borderline Dance Team were asked to leave.
“I will continue to stay in touch with the captain of the dance team who was scheduled to perform on Saturday,” she wrote.
“Just to be clear, this was not a competition, so no one was disqualified or asked to leave. We will be disabling comments. We will share more information later this week to clarify any misunderstandings.”
Ms. Stamp disagreed and told Ms. Lantz that she did not believe there was a miscommunication.
“Obviously to me, there’s always room for error in any situation, but I don’t think so,” she said.
“I would like to see more conversations open up about people accepting each other,” she added. “About being completely inclusive. Any group of people talks about being inclusive and accepting. And we’re inclusive, and we’re talking about being inclusive and accepting people who are outside of our immediate comfort zone. I think we need to work on accepting that. I would love to see that.”
