From the 1980s into the \u201990s, more than 12,000<\/a> accusations of satanic or ritual child abuse were lodged\u2014but not one was substantiated. The \u201cSatanic Panic\u201d revealed more about our capacity for fear than about actual abuse.<\/p>\n That history came to mind earlier this month at the Keller\u2013Southlake Pride Festival<\/a>, hosted by a local church. My wife and I went, unsure what to expect.<\/p>\n We found a warm community gathering\u2014food trucks, live music, local artisans, and booths from counseling agencies and support groups. I was surprised\u2014and pleased\u2014to see several churches there. A group of moms offered hugs and encouragement to anyone who needed it. The organizers said more than 1,000 people attended.<\/p>\n The only thing that felt out of place was the\u00a0protest\u00a0at the edge of the property. About a dozen people held signs accusing festival-goers of \u201csexual immorality\u201d and \u201cgrooming children.\u201d A protester with a megaphone shouted insults at families inside the church grounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n There were a few flamboyant characters\u2014bright costumes and glitter\u2014but I would judge the content far tamer than many primetime TV shows. And I\u2019m still not sure what kind of grooming could possibly occur at a neighborhood festival where toddlers and grandparents dance to a B-52s cover band.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n If the 1980s had its \u201cSatanic Panic,\u201d today\u2019s protests feel like a kind of \u201cRainbow Panic.\u201d LGBTQ+ people, drag performers, and even affirming parents are being accused of \u201cgrooming\u201d\u2014a claim that carries emotional weight but few facts. Children, it is said<\/a>, will be \u201csexualized\u201d and \u201cscarred for life.\u201d Yet PolitiFact<\/a> found no evidence that exposure to LGBTQ+ people or topics influences a child\u2019s sexual orientation or gender identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n What began as a cultural fear is now shaping public policy.\u00a0Texas recently passed a law restricting drag performances, though it is currently blocked by the courts.\u00a0And Governor Greg Abbott has directed cities to remove street markings deemed \u201cpolitical,\u201d prompting several to begin eliminating rainbow crosswalks. Both moves send the same message: that visibility itself is a threat.<\/p>\n I have no doubt that the lawmakers care about protecting children, but when fear drives the conversation, it drains energy from where it\u2019s needed most\u2014helping kids feel safe, seen, and supported. LGBTQ+ youth already experience much higher rates of bullying, depression, and suicide attempts than their peers, according to the Trevor Project<\/a>. Research from the American Psychological Association<\/a> shows that when LGBTQ+ young people feel accepted and supported at home, school, and in their communities, their mental health and suicide risk improve dramatically.<\/p>\n We humans are storytellers by nature. When our stories are driven by fear, we see monsters. When they are driven by love, we see neighbors.<\/p>\n The Satanic Panic ruined reputations and led to years of mistrust. Today\u2019s Rainbow Panic risks dehumanizing our neighbors and turning kindness into a political statement.<\/p>\n One woman\u2019s T-shirt at the Pride event summed up the spirit of the day:\u00a0\u201cY\u2019all Means All.\u201d\u00a0Fear can spread quickly, but love can move faster.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the end of the \u201cSatanic Panic\u201d of the 1980s, a man in my hometown was accused of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1183,430,6825,27,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-6897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-lgbtq","9":"tag-north-texas","10":"tag-pride","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-texas-headlines","13":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Membership-Banner-Aug-2024-Evergreen.png\")
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