One might be surprised to learn that left-wing Seattle hosts a contest for country-music-loving line dancers.
What is not surprising in Seattle, however, is that organizers tried to pressure one team to perform without wearing their American flag-themed uniforms.
According to The Blaze on Saturday, the Borderline Dance Team squad was set to perform at the April 6 Emerald City Hoedown in Seattle. Organizers had invited the dance troupe to participate.
When Borderline Dance showed up, they were immediately dismissed.
Read: Florida Rep. Gaetz Sounds Alarm On Chinese-Owned Website Targeting Military Families
“Dance teams work their boots off preparing for performances like these. Extra practices, babysitters, ferry rides, hours upon hours of practice and commute time and time away from their families. We all were very excited to perform for this event” the group posted on Facebook.
“Unfortunately, what our team was met with upon arrival was that our flag tops were offensive to some of the convention goers.”
The team noted a small group felt “triggered and unsafe,” and said they were upset because of the “situation in Palestine and the Trans community in America.”
“At first we were told we would just be boo’d, yelled at and likely many of them would walk out. This did not deter us,” the group wrote.
“But then we were given an ultimatum. Remove the flag tops and perform in either street clothes (which most didn’t bring as they traveled there in their uniforms) or they would supply us with ECH shirts from years past… Or, don’t perform at all, which effectively was asking us to leave.”
Read: White House Says Iran’s Attack On Israel Should Not Grow Into A Larger Conflict
Borderline Dance was stunned because the event’s organizers knew their uniforms from photos of past performances.
The group noted that another team, West Coast Country Heat, also left without performing because “they too proudly don the colors of our country in the same spirit of patriotism that we do.”
“Both of our teams stood in solidarity and put actions to words.”
The Blaze reported that Ziadee Cambier, president of the Rain Country Dance Association, claimed on social media that no teams were asked to leave.
“To clarify, as this was not a competition, no one was disqualified and no one was asked to leave. While we are mending our relationships directly with the dance teams we will be disabling comments on this post,” Cambier wrote.
Read: Florida Rep. Brian Mast Blasts Dems Trying To Block F-35 Sales To Israel After Iran Attacks
The association did not respond to media requests for comment about the controversy despite Cambier’s pledge to share more information to “clear up any misunderstandings.”
The Borderline Team added on Facebook, “We only wanted to entertain. We didn’t get to do that but we did get to make new friends and build some bridges that maybe wouldn’t have been possible without this incident.”
“May you never find yourself in a position where your freedom truly is taken from you. May you always have the choice to agree or disagree with whatever situation you find yourself in. And may you always protect someone else’s freedom to do the same. Whether it be in your favor or not.”
Help support the Tampa Free Press by making any small donation by clicking here.
Android Users, Click To Download The Tampa Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.