By Keri Smith

There is No Excuse for a Public School to Instruct 10-13 Year Olds to Paint Sexualized & Ideological Symbology

I spoke last week at the Georgetown City Council about social justice and the Gender Ideology / Grooming Mural erected by Forbes Middle School, Georgetown ISD and the Arts and Culture Board. I was very nervous speaking here, whether it looks like it or not. If you feel compelled to say something about what is happening in your town or school, I encourage you to do so despite any fear or nerves you may have. Imagine the worst that can happen and then realize it’s not so bad and forge ahead. Is it worse that you look back later and regret not saying something when you could?

Hello, my name is Keri Smith; I’m the host of Deprogrammed – a podcast that deals with my old ideology, most often called Social Justice or Woke ideology – and I’m here today to speak about the problematic mural that was painted by Forbes Middle School Students at the behest of the Arts and Culture Board of Georgetown.

First – a little about my old belief system and why it’s related: Social Justice or Woke ideology is a mutated form of Marxism that centers Identity and Power, rather than Class and Wealth. Whereas the Marxism of the early twentieth century pushed the idea that the best way to look at the world was as a struggle between Class groups for Wealth, this mutated form of Marxism pushes the idea that the best way to look at the world is as a struggle between Identity groups for Power. People who subscribe to the Social Justice faith – or cult (and I do call it a cult, having spent 20 years in it) – obsessively divide the world into identity groups based on race, sex, sexuality, size, etc and then label all of these groups as either oppressor or oppressed (just like Marxists) or as privileged or marginalized. I was indoctrinated into this belief system over 20 years ago at Duke University, and in it I learned to judge people not as individuals, not by the content of their character, not by their behavior or the merit of their ideas. No – I learned to judge and treat people differently on the basis of their race, their sex their sexuality, their size and more. Looking back, I was fortunate that I didn’t encounter this cult of belief until college, as today it has spread to all of our public institutions, our political parties, our entertainment, our media, our corporations, some of our churches and yes – to our public schools K-12. Even here in Georgetown.

How does all of this relate to the “Be Your Own Person” mural disturbingly painted by Middle Schoolers? This mural, for any who aren’t familiar, includes the Pansexual, the Lesbian, the Transgender, the “Non-Binary,” and the Bisexual Flags. It is propaganda for a belief system that tells us we must put people into such sexual groups, make these groups their “identity,” and then judge and treat them differently based on their group status.

There are two immediate issues with such a mural. First – it is inappropriate for a public mural in the town square to contain ideological & sexualized messaging, at the behest of the Arts and Culture board, which is taxpayer funded. I am looking to the Georgetown City Council here to develop clear guidelines and procedures for approval of all publicly funded art going forward.

But secondly, and MOST importantly, of immediate concern is the question of who specifically at Forbes Middle School and Georgetown ISD felt it was appropriate to instruct 10-13 year olds to paint the Pansexual, Lesbian, Transgender, Non-Binary, and Bisexual Flags? Are 10 year olds capable of understanding & consenting to sexual and ideological indoctrination? Were their parents informed of the sexual symbology in this mural and asked if they consent?

Grooming is the deliberate act of bringing a child into a sexual, political or racial ideology, practice, cult or lifestyle without the knowledge or consent of his or her parent, for the aim of isolating them from their family so the external party can abuse and manipulate them. It is ABSOLUTELY Grooming for the government to sexually indoctrinate CHILDREN in public schools and to USE & exploit those children to paint ideological, political and sexualized symbology on our town square.

Forbes Middle School and Georgetown ISD should be ashamed of themselves. The Arts and Culture Board of Georgetown has some explaining to do as well. Government Employee Amanda Still insulted our intelligence and said these *very specific* flags were up for interpretation, implying that a reasonable person might believe a random assortment of colors just so happened to align in these 7 specific symbols.

Laura Sewell outright contradicted Ms. Still and claimed these flags for LGBT people in Georgetown. At least Sewell had the guts to admit what these symbols mean. What Sewell DIDN’T have the guts to do, in the midst of her political theater, was to provide ANY defense whatsoever for a government MIDDLE school using CHILDREN to paint such symbols. Instead she said she came here to “Call Out” Council Members for hatred and to speak for LGBT people.

Well I’m here to call you out Ms. Sewell. You DON’T speak for Gay people. You DON’T speak for Transgender people. If you don’t know ANY Gay or Trans people who disagree with Grooming Children then I’d suggest you diversify your social circle. As it is, you speak only for yourself, and for others who want to defend Grooming Children in our public schools.

The Church on the Square here in Georgetown, TX, was evicted from our meeting place at the Palace Theater following my pastor Brad Helgerson and two Mothers from our church speaking out against this Grooming Mural. That’s Ok. We don’t need a building to meet. All you’ve done, those who work in the shadows to obscure evil, is to push us out into the light of day for all to bear witness. Donna Bogert has stated that my Pastor and his “ilk” should be “run out of town with torches and pitchforks.” I’m well aware of those throughout history who would use torches and pitchforks to oppress, silence and terrorize people and force their will on others. I don’t recall them ever being on the right side of history.

The silent majority in Georgetown is becoming more vocal. We are liberals AND conservatives, People of Faith AND atheists, united against an illiberal, racist, collectivist and yes EVIL ideology that threatens the most vulnerable among us – the children of Georgetown. We intend to cut this social justice cancer out of Georgetown by the root – and that starts in our public schools. I urge all concerned parents to start attending School Board Meetings and to ask Forbes Middle School and Georgetown ISD to take responsibility for this Grooming Mural and to disclose what else they are pushing onto children in our public schools.

Thank you.