Drag Storytime at the National Arts Centre

Welcome to Ottawa! You Are Not Welcome Here!

There have been several drag-related protests organized across Ontario since September 2022. I documented all but three major events, capturing protesters, counter protesters, antifaux, police, and performers on camera. My footage from Oakville, Hamilton, Brockville, and Peterborough made the news. Earlier this month I published an article which details a tense clash outside the Rec Room in Toronto: Freedom Fighters vs Antifaux: Not the Heroes We Need or Deserve.

Many people are confused about what I do, and why.

In a nutshell, I try my best to capture and showcase the spirit of the times. I bring discussion to incendiary topics, all the while experiencing my own traumas and losses. I ask questions without knowing the answers. I do not believe in normalizing language or behaviour that dehumanizes people or promotes violence. This cuts both ways, on all sides of the political spectrum.

*record scratch, freeze frame* Yep, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got here.

Drag Storytime (Mis)Adventures in Ottawa

It was Winterlude 2023 in the nation’s capital, and hotel prices were out of control. I stayed at the Econolodge, a few blocks from the neighbourhood where I used to live when I studied at the University of Ottawa. Like anyone returning to their old stomping grounds after many years, there was a sense of familiarity but also strangeness – things change, the world moves quickly. 

I was a bit anxious about attending drag storytime demonstrations at the National Arts Centre (NAC). In the days leading up to the show, I was made aware of local antifaux planning for my arrival. I received screenshots from the “Ottawa Activism” discord, as well as a Reddit thread, of conversations centered around me, rather than the drag protesters they were purportedly rallying against. I recognized some of the names and handles, but not others.

Caryma Sa'd - Lawyer + Political Satirist @CarymaRules

The Ottawa Activism discord is debating how to handle my presence at drag storytime, having concluded I am unwanted. But who says this group represents “the community” at large? I spent nearly a decade living in this city, and maintain strong ties. It is my right to be here.

Negative opinions are one thing, but these assumptions about me were based on falsehoods: that I am an agitator, that I align with the far-right, that my purpose was to cause trouble and doxx the identity of self-styled drag “defenders.”

It is always startling when discourse about me permeates to platforms I do not even use. Blocking or non-engagement on Twitter is not enough to curb harassment. The smear campaign has taken on a life of its own, and its perpetrators feel morally justified in stalking me, as well as disparaging and misconstruing my work.

Caryma Sa'd - Lawyer + Political Satirist @CarymaRules

Of course, not everyone appreciates these efforts. Instead of strategizing about how to countervail the anti-drag protesters, a small subset of counter protesters (antifaux) are busy rage farming about me.

I attend events to document public demonstrations and people in action, not to be centered in conflict. However, a small subset of individuals choosing to fixate on me is not a reason to stay clear. I am used to being unwanted, and I suspect it is because I do a good job capturing things as they are. I do not set out to tell any particular story. My footage and commentary are based on my observations.

Decked out in a rainbow feather boa, I hoped for a peaceful day.

My first encounter was not with a protester or counter protester, but a friendly clown on Wellington Street. She had me do the chicken dance and gave me a red gerbera daisy. I carried that flower throughout the day, in part as a physical reminder to myself that a world beyond conflict is not out of reach.

There were a dozen or so protesters present when I arrived at the NAC, and maybe a couple of hundred counter protesters. I noticed a counter protester start filming me as soon as I arrived; he seemed vaguely recognizable but I couldn’t place him. He wore a collar that said “Service Dog.” I also recognized Joe Morin, who had been involved in the online group discussions strategizing about me. Despite calling attention to my presence (by tweeting about me and naming me in the Discord chat as someone to watch out for, alongside protesters) Morin had advised his comrades to not engage.

I ignored the two creepy men and spoke instead with a woman reading psalms who assured me that God loves everyone, even though we are all sinners. 

My next conversation was with a former civil servant. She did not fit the stereotypical mold of convoy supporters. She told me she is vaccinated, but had concerns about others being forced to take medical procedures against their will, as well as general incursions on civil liberties. She agreed that there is nothing inherently wrong with drag for adults, or even drag storytime for kids – her issue was exposing kids to overly sexualized content, which she acknowledged was not likely to be the case at the NAC.

We were then joined by Mathieu Venne, who I recognized from the convoy/occupation as well as Canada Day events. He echoed many of the same views. When I asked who should be in charge of drawing the line, parents or government, he immediately answered “Parents”. And yet, when asked why he was not deferring to parents choosing to take their kids to the NAC, he said the protest was to raise awareness about the overall situation. 

I then decided to check out the show for myself. I had met performer China Doll on Canada Day, when we had a conversation about the pitfalls of lockdowns. I attended a few of her drag shows on Somerset over a decade ago, but never an all-ages performance.

Prior to entering the building, I was accosted by a masked man carrying a pointy black umbrella who insisted that I did not belong there. Despite being the one to approach us, he got aggressive about being on camera and at one point gesticulated with the umbrella, prompting me to ask him why he was brandishing it like a weapon. Police shooed him away. 

I was a bit shaken by his hostility, but got an unexpected antidote when I ran into another familiar face inside the NAC – a friendly, unhoused man who had spent a lot of time dancing with the freedom convoy last winter. We formally met during the Canada Day weekend, and it was oddly uplifting to learn that he checks my Twitter feed as a source of both news and entertainment. Our brief conversation at the NAC was equally uplifting, because he was there to watch and see what was actually going on, rather than make snap judgments not based in fact.

I stayed inside for one story. During that time, a man dressed in a fox costume onesie got kicked out for trying to record children listening to the reading. He tried to make a scene but police and security were able to neutralize the situation with minimal interruption. 

The story performer Cyril Cinder read was one about unconditional love and acceptance. A wholesome message, to be sure.

Back outside the NAC, even more counter protesters had gathered. Anti-drag protesters Chrystal Peters and King Nico showed up, though the latter got arrested and trespassed before I knew he’d arrived. There were also youth protesters from Save Canada, including sixteen-year-old Josh Alexander who has been excluded from school for the rest of the year for refusing to abide by conditions involving being vocal about his stance on gender issues. I understand that prior to protesting about trans students using the girls’ bathroom rather than gender-neutral facilities, he had been protesting masks. I saw Josh's older brother Nic get arrested and led away in handcuffs, though I missed what led up to that moment. 

Earlier, I had seen counter protesters yelling at Josh and his friends, which made me wonder about how that might entrench his views further. Verbal or physical assault seldom works as an effective deterrent; teaching love and acceptance works better by modeling the behaviour, rather than swearing at, and bashing someone into tolerance and understanding. I cannot imagine a scenario where being yelled at as a teenager would have opened my mind or heart. Josh was accompanied by convoy "influencer" Chris Dacey. I was not sure about his parents and what role they played, if any, in either emboldening or discouraging their son’s activities.

As I recorded Josh speaking with police about his brother's arrest, a group of antifaux (including some who had participated in the Discord and Reddit threads about me) were jeering at me. In a strange display of attention-seeking, they included the invitation to “Come doxx us, baby!” One would think they wanted me to focus on them instead of the protesters, despite their main critique being that I focus too much on them and not the protesters. Of course, if I dedicated more time to filming the protesters, I would be accused of centering them instead. There’s no rhyme and reason when it comes to people determined not to allow facts to interfere with their negative bias and imaginary projections of who they think I am.

I spoke briefly with Chris Dacey. As we were talking about how the day unfolded ( “I would say it was as expected” was his answer), a couple of counter protesters passed by and casually wished death upon him: “I was expecting you to fuck off and die,” one of them called out before giving my cameraman the finger and throwing more obscenities our way. Not the most loving message from someone sporting a party boa made of shiny red hearts.

I decided to head back to the front of the NAC, and took the sidewalk because the roads were open to cars. A rainbow-haired person obstructed my path; I recognized them from Brockville and Peterborough, where they had done the same. The rude man with the pointy umbrella was there too, and he resumed yelling at me. Another counter protester briefly intervened when he threatened to spit at us, only to quickly walk away when he realized the umbrella guy was on “his side”.

Apparently, expectations of civil behaviour only go one way. 

Then, more people came with flags and banners to block my passage, encircling me on the sidewalk. They jeered at me, laughed, used noisemakers to drown out their verbal assault and my attempts to respond. I tried to remain calm, but my eyes betray me. It's not the first time I have been surrounded by an angry crowd (it's happened with convoyers, too) but the experience is always disconcerting. I was glad for the flower, which helped me stay grounded.

The man with the “Service Dog” collar was part of the crowd, laughing fanatically. He had hounded me throughout the day, calling me a grifter and clout chaser while filming. At one point, I asked him directly whether he wanted to clear the air or ask questions to clarify his opinions on me; he was unwilling or unable to engage in dialogue.

Later, online, I was accused of attempting to doxx him by posting my footage, despite the fact there was no indication that I was interested in his identity. Other people singled him out and matched his face to a picture of him in a headlock by William Komer at St. Brigid's during the TUPOC fiasco last summer. This photo had appeared on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen. Somehow, this was all my fault. To date, I have not seen accusations of doxxing hedged at the Citizen or any other mainstream outlets. For the record, his name is Samuel Rizzotto.

The event ended with Deana Sherif popping up just to stare me down. My cameraman started recording after noticing her camera and glare fixed unwaveringly on me. She then posted her version of the video online, acting aggrieved, even though she began filming us first and didn’t stop recording even as we walked away.

After leaving the protest, I met up with an old friend who still lives in Ottawa. They have a young child and had contemplated attending some of the Winterlude drag storytime events scheduled over the weekend. In the end, after learning that some of the antifaux “defenders” planned to be out in full force, they decided to skip out. Ironically, they didn’t want their child around volatile vigilantes and were worried about escalating hostilities – a realistic concern, given that violence broke out during the convoy/occupation anniversary two weeks earlier, where Global News cameras captured Sherif as she physically assaulted people with her megaphone.

The normalization of violence against political adversaries is predictable, yet alarming. What I witnessed in Ottawa this past weekend should concern anyone who shares my view that we need to focus our efforts on centering discourse over discord, and education over exclusion.

Division is a choice.