Episode 2 of The Collin Wynter Channel: Conversation with Chris Elston
by Collin Wynter
My first protest must have been when I was about seven years old. My best friend’s mother took us to picket the closing of our local library. Since then, I have participated in Pride marches (still a protest of sorts), climate protests, the death of Canada (when Stephen Harper was elected), counter protested anti-gay protesters at the legislative building (in drag), and of course, covid lockdowns. Someone tried shaming me online once for defending the right of Christians to protest covid restrictions on religious gatherings. I have always supported protests, even if I do not agree with what is being protested against. I do no bracket them in the disclaimer “peaceful”. They are, by nature, at times unruly, agitated, loud, and may be disruptive. Disruptive, not destructive.
Now, a grassroots effort led by Chris Elston (aka BillboardChris) is demonstrating that a single individual with convictions can have one conversation at a time to try to break through the ideological narrative of gender identity.
I first came across Elston from his billboard campaign. Along with Amy Hamm, he had an “I (heart) JK Rowling” billboard placed in Vancouver. He carried on with that initiative and had billboards placed in other cities in both Canada and the US. This was in reposes to Rowling defending Maya Forstarter’s right to freedom of speech. Forstarter had been speaking about her concerns surrounding the use of gendered language and its effects on women’s rights.
Elston was not content to solely pay for billboards. His concerns about transgender ideology grew as he learnt about puberty blockers and their effects on children. To spread the message that “kids cannot consent to puberty blockers” he wears a sandwich board with the statement and stands on street corners. He has done this in multiple cities across Canada and into the US. He has a youtube channel and has conversations regularly on other shows. He publicly speaks at events and is interviewed by news organizations. His goal is to have conversations surrounding the medicalization of children. Many people are often angry. He has been attacked. But every so often he not only gets support, but is able to get through to someone.
I had the pleasure fo speaking with Elston, not just on my show, but in person. A month or two after our conversation on my channel, I got to meet him in person. We got to hang out for a couple hours where he shared some of his personal life history with me. He is a fascinating man, and it was a pleasure to get to known him better. Check out his website for more information on his advocacy. You can provide finical support there, as well.
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And without any further adieu, please click the link below for my conversation with Chris Elston.