BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Vandals targeted a downtown Bellingham store that’s raised concerns for offering sex education to children and teens.
Wink Wink Boutique owner Jen Mason, who’s also a member of the Bellingham School Board, says most of the store’s windows were smashed late Saturday night, August 6th.
A furor erupted on rightwing media over news of the classes and Mason says that prompted a fierce backlash.
“We’ve had phone calls, messages, emails, letters sent to the store,” said Mason. “We’ve had a couple of people come into the stop looking to have a confrontation.”
She says the pushback is all based on false narratives about what her store and the classes called “Uncringe Academy” are really about.
The store will remain closed while they assess the damage, but Mason says they’ve talked to parents and the classes will go on.
“What we are hearing back is, yes, we still want to come, we have signed up our kids and we want them to have this education,” said Mason. “So, we will reopen. We will continue providing sex education. And while this is an inconvenience, it’s not stopping any of the work we are doing.”
The classes offered by the store are not connected to the school district in any way.
Bellingham Police say a witness reported five people dressed in black, except one wearing white shorts, caused the damage on Saturday night.
A K-9 was called in but no suspects were located.
To listen to the full interview with Jen Mason, visit our Podcast page.