An Idaho bar that previously went viral for announcing “Heterosexual Awesomeness” month during June, Pride Month, is hosting an unvaccinated dating event in July.
“Boy meets unvaxxed girl…at a saloon?” the Old State Saloon in Eagle, Idaho, Facebook event flyer reads. Called the “unvaxxed singles meetup,” the event has received widespread attention on social media, with over 2,500 reactions and nearly 1,000 comments on Facebook. The flyer, which was also posted on Instagram, features an outline of a vaccine syringe with a ‘no’ symbol behind it.
Several users have commented on their excitement about the event and used the phrase and hashtag “pure blood,” a term anti-vaxxers use that insinuates vaccines contaminate an individual’s blood.
Old State Saloon owner Mark Fitzpatrick told Newsweek in an email Thursday that the bar has “consistently created events that support Christian morals and ethics, political events that support the ideology of constitutional conservatives, and quality events.” He added, “This event falls in line with the DNA of Old State Saloon!”
The bar expects the event to be well attended, telling Newsweek, “People are even saying they will be driving or flying in from out of the state.” It is unclear how many people are expected.
One user, Bryan Burleigh, replied to the event flyer with the question “What about the ‘forced to keep your job’ vaxed folks?” to which Old State Saloon replied, “That’s truly a horrible part of our history as a country. Criminal that they did that.” Many users said Burleigh didn’t stand his ground enough, some suggesting he should have quit his job working for the government over the vaccination mandate.
During the coronavirus pandemic, federal, health care, and many private employers, instituted vaccine mandates for employees. Thousands of employees were fired or quit for refusing to comply with vaccine mandates.
According to USA Facts, as of May 2023, more than 230 million Americans, or 70 percent, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In Idaho, the state lags behind the national average, with 57 percent of its population considered fully vaccinated as of May 2023, and less than 1 percent having received one or more booster doses. Since early 2020, nearly 1.2 Americans died due to COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccinations limit the virus’ spread.
The state is securely red across the ballot. In 2020, Donald Trump won it by almost 64 percent. Trump has spread misinformation about coronavirus vaccines and mask mandates. Idaho never implemented a statewide mask mandate during the pandemic.
The dating event will take place a month after what the saloon has called “Heterosexual Awesomeness Month,” replacing Pride Month, which shows support for LGBTQ individuals.
On the Saloon’s website, it says it has received “significant backlash” since the announcement including, “theft of our property, vendors refusing to fulfill our orders for ingredients, wedding catering cancelation, libel, slander.” But the statement also says many “like-minded” people support the dedicated month. According to the bar’s GiveSendGo, it has raised over $15,000 in support of the month, as of Thursday.
During the month, the bar will run several promotions, such as “Hetero Male Monday” when “any heterosexual male dressed like a heterosexual male will receive a free draft beer” and “Heterosexual Couples Day” when each heterosexual couple will receive 15 percent off their bill, according to its Facebook page.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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