Stirring The Pot

Many feel it is their duty to meddle in others lives. To them it is "helping others right", "doing good" and doing "the Lord's work". They're called missionaries, whether by themselves or their churches or by their comrades. They see others violating what they themselves consider to be the values and ethos of civilization - most typically their personal concept of what is euphemistically called "Christian civilization" (WTF is that, anyway?) - and cannot resist sticking their pointy little noses into the lives and affairs of others. Whether or not the activities of these other people actually affect them directly - or even indirectly - is of course the entire point of this perpetual debate on morality.

I suppose the very first question that pops into my head at this point is "WTF has my morality got to do with you?".

I could also ask these self-appointed crusaders WTF my sexuality, sex-life, choice of a partner, their gender, and who I choose to marry and what I do with them in the privacy of my bedroom has to do with them?

They meddle in the affairs of others, spreading news nobody needs to hear or cares about - and then act all "persecuted" and offended when their noses get knocked out of joint by the all too predictable slamming of a door.

Minding Other People's Business

I always thought religion was something personal and one's own choice. Even the tenets of the Christian faith are based upon freedom of choice and free will. In order to be a Christian, apparently, you need to choose to follow Christ.

It is interesting indeed that some people think they are right to force others into believing what they believe.

Paranoia, Guns, & Christian Fundamentalist Groups In SA

Recently while looking over the postings on the links page of a group affiliated to a larger local anti-gay hate group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christianview/links), I found the following items:

"! A great site about Survival Survivalism Homesteading plus Firearms A website with a huge amount of info about wilderness survival, survival Training, survival skills, homesteading, preparedness, survival Navigation, survival First aid, self defense, survival books, survival guides, survivalism, firearms, handguns, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, military manuals, us army manuals, navy manuals, marine manuals, survival books, survival manuals, survivalist, survival Navigation, survival First aid, Army Survival Manual, survival Shelter, survival retreat, Survival priorities, Other survival skills, desert survival, Natural disaster survival, tornadoe survival, Hunting, Bushcraft, underground shelters, Survival knife, storing food, fallout shelters, survivalists, Civil Defense, nuclear war survival, nuclear survival, terrorist attacks survival, Bug Out Bag, BOB, survival Training, sere, patriots, sere manual, military guides, backpacking, camping, combat, disaster, emergency, emergency kits, http://www.survivalebooks.com/

! A very nice Survival plus gun forum called survivalismforum.com They have neat info about how to get concealed weapons licenses permits CCW survival gun info survival retreats how to's wilderness survival wilderness skills survivalist info survivalism info homesteading info gold mining gold prospecting military manuals gun manuals survival manuals and army field manuals army technical manuals."

Surprisingly both items were posted by a woman - and a straight (presumably) Christian fundamentalist! Now I have to ask myself: Is somebody expecting a war?

 

Should we?

Cross This Line

On several occasions supporters of the ACDP, a right wing SA political party which can only be described as religious fundamentalist (if not actually outright totally bonkers) have claimed that the party bears no ill will to gay or trans people (in their words, "homosexuals") in the country - and that we have nothing to fear should they ever come to power.

 

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I wish I could believe them - but there is far too much openly visible hatred and intolerance in the ACDP - which I have seen first hand - and the rest of the world has been able to see even in their press releases addressing the GLBT community or our issues for anyone with two eyes and half a brain to even take that statement seriously!

The facts say otherwise.

No More Lines To Cross

A few "ex-gay" reps have contacted me in the last month or so, using a nice sales pitch, as they like to do - thickly laying on the "Jesus loves you" jam on my perfectly nice slice of "I'm happy as I am" wholewheat toast. I held on to my restraint and presented my responses, presented below as if to one individual - or to the "ex-gay" industry as a whole.

"Change is possible"?

Yes it is - I used to be a Christian - until I saw what being a "Christian" meant - hating and persecuting innocent people in the name of a loving God. Now I'm not a Christian anymore.

Death, Even Plausibly Denied, Is Still Death

A while back one of the loudest voices on the right wing so-called Christian Facebook groups in SA made a u-turn and denied calling for the death penalty as punishment for gay people. He said, "I deny personally calling for the death penalty".

And yet he is the one who has on several occasions instituted such "discussions" on several of these forums, and actively promoted and defended them. (The transcripts I have made of these discussions bear me out on this.)

"The death penalty was never my idea" he objects. He even shifts the blame for this atrocious lack of morality by claiming "it is not I who says so, but the bible..." - He is too much a coward to even claim the mantle of responsibility for what he desires to be meted out to innocent people - based simply on his own personal intolerance of gay and transgender people.

What a nice example of a "Christian soldier" you are. Persecution, murder, injustice and genocide - it's all in a days work for you.

Honey, I Shrunk The Bigots

Some bigots have on several occasions on a known anti-gay hate group site claimed that I am persecuting "true" Christians. Note that they clearly distinguish themselves from the vast majority of Christians which include my straight Christian friends and family - who love and accept gay and trans people for who they are - and who support me in my efforts. Why people who claim to love and serve God cannot live like like they claim to is quite beyond reason - and excuse. "...you are just as bias as the rest of us !!" they rant.

Oh, the pot tries to make me look like a kettle so that it can call me black?

Clear Intent

Whenever there are Pride events, there are individuals making claims about the "debauchery" and "immorality" they claim to have seen there. 

 

Some have claimed to have witnessed simulated sex acts, full nudity and some enterprising fibbers have even laid claim that while driving past such events that their small children "were traumatized" by the sight of such a parade or festival. They have used such claims to drum up support for their mounting attempts to ban every gay and trans festival in the country.

The Hardware Store And Other Stories

Okay folks, this article might a little more graphic than my regular posts, but I feel it is a subject that just has to be addressed - and the arguments provided reveal the kind of mindset we face when dealing with fundamentalist bigots.

Some people presented me with an interesting argument a few days ago, using the apparent design and function of human sexual organs as a reason to "justify" heterosexual sex for procreation only and to question "the legitimacy" of homosexuality and same gender relationships. They focused on the "design" of the penis and vagina and the apparent purpose of these organs as reproductive items - and the anus as solely for disposing of bodily waste. 

 

Predictably, they portrayed heterosexual sex as "dignified" while demeaning any other forms of intimacy in (hetero as well as) same gender couples as "deviant", "perverted" and "disgusting".

Freeze - FPI!

Once again, as a human rights activist for the pink community I run the risk of offending people who identify as Christian as well as gay, trans or pro-equality through targeting the matter of religious persecution of gender and sexual diversity and bigotry.

Please rest assured that this is not my intention. My intention is to highlight the actions and words of a minority of fundamentalists who use religion as a weapon against people for their own selfish ends. This is the offense - and not just against loving tolerant Christians, but against everyone who loves democracy, freedom and equality. We trust that Christians who support freedom of thought and the ideals of democracy and equality will take this into account wherever we engage bigotry espoused by those who claim to speak against the pink community for them as well.

A Million Drums

The ACDP is making a lot of noise consolidating and enlarging it's power base, which was all but decimated in the April 22 elections. The DA has thankfully broken the tenuous alliance they had formed with them in order to form an opposition to the ANC in the Western Cape province some years before, and now they are well and truly out of power and on their own. 

Far from giving up on the fight to take power, institute a theocracy and turn the gay community in South Africa into criminals and fugitives as they were before 1994 - they are now trying to drum up support for their daunting climb from the dark and stifling basement they hatch their schemes in, to the dizzy heights of the steps of Parliament in 2014. At least, that is what they are aiming at.