Super Happy Fun America

Super Happy Fun America (SHFA) is Massachusetts political organization known for organizing the 2019 Boston Straight Pride Parade, a parade which attracted several hundred participants and thousands of counter-protesters. Super Happy Fun America and its leaders are known for their ties to white nationalism and the far-right, and the organization has been described by The Daily Beast as a front for the far-right organization Resist Marxism.

Super Happy Fun America
MottoIt's Great to be Straight
Formation2019 (2019)
FoundersJohn Hugo, Mark Sahady, Samson Racioppi
TypeNon-profit organization
Legal status501(c)(4)
Location
Websitesuperhappyfunamerica.com

History

Super Happy Fun America is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2019 by John Hugo, Mark Sahady, and Samson Racioppi.[1][2] The president of the organization is John Hugo, a former congressional candidate who in 2018 unsuccessfully ran for election to represent Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District.[3] Hugo has said that Super Happy Fun America was established around the belief that straight people are an "oppressed majority".[4][5][6][7]

Far-right and white nationalist ties

Super Happy Fun America has links to white nationalist individuals and organizations.[2][8][3][9] The organization has been said to dog whistle white nationalists and alt-rightists, utilizing terms such as "western culture" and relating them not only to heterosexuality but to Caucasians and traditional values.[10][11][2]

Super Happy Fun America overlaps considerably with the Boston chapter of Resist Marxism, a far-right organization known for organizing the controversial 2017 Boston Free Speech Rally.[8][12][13] Two of SHFA's founders, Mark Sahady and Samson Racioppi, are organizers for Resist Marxism; the third founder, John Hugo, was endorsed by Resist Marxism during his 2018 Congressional campaign.[2] The Daily Beast has described Super Happy Fun America as a front for Resist Marxism.[12][9]

Activities

2019 Boston Straight Pride Parade
Boston Straight Pride Parade attendees on August 31, 2019. An attendee holds a sign depicting two hands making the 'OK' gesture.

Super Happy Fun America organized the August 31, 2019 Straight Pride Parade in Boston, Massachusetts, an event they described as "a response to the 'identity politics' of the left."[14] The event attracted several hundred participants and thousands of counter-protesters, who vastly outnumbered participants of the parade.[15][16][17] Thirty-four counter-protesters were arrested at the event. Boston city councilor Michelle Wu suggested that police tactics and choice of equipment raised tensions between police and counter-protesters.[18]

On February 22, 2020, Super Happy Fun America held a rally outside of the Boston Police headquarters. Organizers said the rally was intended to thank police for arresting counter-protesters at the August 2019 parade, and to show support for a recent deployment of U.S. Customs and Border Protection immigration officers to Boston. The rally was again outnumbered by counter-protesters, who said they wished to expose SHFA's ties with white nationalism. The rally ended two hours before schedule, and no arrests were made.[19]

2020 Liberty Rally

Super Happy Fun America named themselves as one of the hosts of the "Liberty Rally", an anti-lockdown protest held at the Massachusetts State House on May 4, 2020. The several hundred protesters who participated gathered to call for an end to the stay-at-home advisory and business closures that had been implemented to try to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Massachusetts. Protesters largely ignored physical distancing guidelines to stand six feet apart and to cover their noses and mouths.[20]

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References
  1. Bishop, Sam (September 2, 2019). "A damning account of what really happened at Boston's Straight Pride". PinkNews. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  2. Ruckstuhl, Laney; Chanatry, Hannah (August 29, 2019). "What To Know About The 'Straight Pride Parade' Coming To Boston". WBUR. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  3. Drury, Colin (June 9, 2019). "Organisers of 'Straight Pride' revealed to have far-right links". The Independent. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  4. "'Straight Pride Parade' granted permit, city denies request to raise flag". WCVB-TV. June 26, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  5. Iati, Marisa (June 6, 2019). "It's LGBT pride month, but three guys in Boston want a permit for a 'Straight Pride' parade". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  6. "'Straight pride' parade draws marchers, protesters". The Associated Press. August 31, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  7. "Super Happy Fun America". Super Happy Fun America. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  8. Barnes, Luke (May 18, 2018). "Exclusive: Leaks show how Boston 'free speech' group acts as a front for far-right organizing". ThinkProgress. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  9. Wilson, Jason (June 8, 2019). "'Straight pride' parade organizer has held and attended far-right events". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  10. Homer, Aaron (August 10, 2019). "Modesto, California's Straight Pride Parade Is A 'Dog Whistle To White Supremacy,' Says Organizer's Son". The Inquisitr. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  11. Engber, Corinne (June 11, 2019). "The Covert Anti-Semitism of Straight Pride". JewishBoston. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  12. Sommer, Will (June 5, 2019). "Boston's Straight Pride Parade Is Even Worse Than You Think". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  13. Broderick, Ryan (September 1, 2019). "The Straight Pride Parade Is The Newest Far-Right Meme And Cities Aren't Ready For It". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  14. Garrison, Joey (August 29, 2019). "Straight Pride Parade a 'perversion': Boston plans draws outrage". USA Today. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  15. Hilliard, John; Wu, Sarah; MacQuarrie, Brian; Ortiz, Aimee (August 31, 2019). "Counterprotesters rally at City Hall as Straight Pride Parade kicks off in Copley". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  16. Grant, Melissa Gira (September 4, 2019). "When the State Enforces "Straight Pride"". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  17. Garrison, Joey (August 31, 2019). "Boston's Straight Pride Parade draws hundreds of marchers and even more counter protesters". USA Today. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  18. DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (September 4, 2019). "Michelle Wu questions police tactics at 'Straight Pride Parade'". Boston.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  19. Wuthmann, Walter (February 22, 2020). "Organizers Of Pro-Police Rally Largely Outnumbered By Counter-Protesters". WBUR. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  20. Gardizy, Anissa (May 4, 2020). "Hundreds gather at State House to protest measures to slow spread of coronavirus". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
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