The Gaytheist Agenda

Seitan has gone through the mail bag again. As always he enjoys reading everybody’s comments and has asked for readers to keep sending them in. The first message is from Ezekiel regarding Holocaust Remembrance Day:

I was shocked to learn recently from the play: “The Re-Education of George W. Bush” (by Peterson Toscano) that when U.S. troops liberated many of the camps, when they found out what the pink triangles (and presumably black patches, though I don’t know on that count) meant, they actually put many of the gay survivors back into prison, believing this to be an instance where the Nazis seemed to be on the right track.
Chilling, from a country that seems to have an obsession with having been “the good guys” in this and every other war.

I’d like to say that surprises me but it doesn’t. There are people who would do that even today if they could get away with it. Where they get the idea that imprisoning, threatening, or torturing LGBT people is going to change anything I don’t know. It hasn’t changed anything since the beginning of time so why would it work now? Gay people exist, and all of the efforts to repress us simply hasn’t changed anything. Sadly some notions refuse to die and I can’t help but wonder if people centuries from now will be having the same arguments as we are now thanks to personal bigotries and an ancient book known as The Bible.

Next up is this from VickiLynne who commented about Specialist Jeremy Hall:

What ashame a soldier goes to fight for freedom which includes religious freedom for others but doesn’t have any of their own.

It is indeed sad. Unfortunately the breed of people who believe religious freedom extends only to their religion have taken over the military as well as much of the government and it’s going to take some real effort to set things right. Fortunately the tide seems to be turning and the RRRW appears to be losing ground, though I’m not yet ready to throw my victory party.

Also regarding Spc. Hall, this comes from Ebon:

I’ve been hearing about Spc. Hall and similar situations for some time now, including at least one body devoted to converting the military.

For anyone who has some knowledge of history, the idea of the USA’s collosal military might presided over by religious fanatics (of any religion) is, frankly, positively terrifying.

Agreed. Anybody who believes that they must impose their way on everyone else–one way or another–very much disturbs me.

This last piece comes from Joe G. regarding Gay Panic Defense for Lawrence King’s Killer.

You’re right! The killer was unable to see any other way? What, he didn’t know about counselors or administrators or social workers at 14 years of age? Give me a break. I know kids half his age that could have made a better choice than this 14 year old did. The lawyer needs to work on getting this kid help (at the very least) and not getting him free of any responsibility for purposely killing another human being.

Any rational person knows that, as you and I do. But the assumption behind the “gay panic defense” is that it is normal for a person to flip out when a person of the same gender shows an interest in them, thus perpetuating the notion that gay people are dangerous predators. What ever happened to simply saying “I’m not interested” or “No thank you”?

Quest maintains that “this was a confluence of tragic events that could have been stopped”. I agree with that, though not with his assessment of how. Homophobia is the problem, and the cures are education and tolerance.

The mailbag is empty again and Seitan has gone off for a nap. Until later, dear readers!

I really couldn’t be more disgusted by the way the lawyer is simultaneously blaming the school, which was doing nothing more than upholding the rights of the victim, and the dead boy, for the actions of his client. But this is nothing new really, so I’m not surprised. I just can’t believe people still try to get away with this nonsense.

The lawyer of Brandon McInerney, the 14-year-old boy who killed gay teenager Lawrence King at a high school in Oxnard, CA, in February, claims school officials’ gay positive attitude is to blame for King’s murder.
…..
By allowing King to come to school wearing feminine makeup and accessories, school officials were so intent on nurturing King as he explored his sexuality that they downplayed the turmoil his behavior was causing on campus, Quest said.

Quest claimed McInerney shot King in the back of the head with a handgun as first-period classes were beginning because he was unable to see another way to solve his problem.

“Brandon is not some crazed lunatic,” Quest said. “This was a confluence of tragic events that could have been stopped. If there is partial blame in other places, let’s not throw away Brandon for the rest of his life.”
…..

School Supt. Jerry Dannenberg strongly disagreed with such allegations. “School officials definitely were aware of what was going on, and they were dealing with it appropriately,” Dannenberg said Wednesday. King was constitutionally entitled to wear makeup, earrings and high-heeled boots under long-established case law, Dannenberg said.

Shooting a person in the back of the head is a perfectly rational response to them flirting with you? What parallel universe is this lawyer from?

I hope the judge sees this outrageous defense as the garbage that it is. Quest needs to be thoroughly chastised for having the audacity to even propose it.

 

Off the fence with regard to Brandon McInerney, who I’ve finally decided should be tried as an adult. I’ve discovered that his lawyer is trying to peddle a version of the gay panic defense to deflect blame from McInerney and place it on the victim and the school.

It’s a tragedy, McInerney’s defense attorney said in an interview, but one he believes might have been avoided if someone had stepped in to help beforehand. Senior Deputy Public Defender William Quest said E.O. Green’s administration knew about tension on the middle school campus and allowed the situation to fester — allegations the school district says are untrue.
…..
Issues between McInerney and King seemed to start after students and teachers returned from winter break.

They had both been at E.O. Green and even had a class together previously, but Quest said he’s not aware of any problems until they came back from vacation.

It was then that King began dressing differently, becoming a focus of conversations on campus, Quest said.

Students have said they witnessed confrontations between King and McInerney in the weeks or days before the shooting, including King’s teasing McInerney and telling him that he liked him.

McInerney perceived King’s treatment as harassment, Quest said. Quest, however, declined to discuss any specific confrontations or issues between the boys. He also declined to say if McInerney ever sought help from an adult to deal with the issue.

Quest said he believes school administrators supported one student expressing himself and his sexuality — King — and ignored how it affected other kids, despite complaints. Cross-dressing isn’t a normal thing in adult environments, he said, yet 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds were expected to just accept it and go on.
…..

Sorry, you don’t get to shoot somebody in the head twice–with premeditation–because you don’t like the way they dress or because they say they like you, or even if they tease you. It’s simply not acceptable, ever.

Imagine if, instead of dressing in high-heels, wearing makeup and expressing a romantic interest in another boy Lawrence King had been wearing a crucifix and asking Brandon McInerney to learn about the Gospel of Jesus. Would anybody even think of claiming that the way Lawrence dressed, or what he said and did led to Brandon McInerney’s reaction? No. We’d be hearing cries of “Christian Persecution” from every state in the nation and people would be screaming for McInerney’s head on a stake.

It is far past time that the Gay Panic Defense in all its forms be laid to rest forever.

It’s time for another edition of the Gaytheist Agenda Mailbag. My first submission comes from stebbytubbysenior who wrote regarding my good friend Sally Kern

this particular woman is a wart on the anus of the satan she so fervently believes in and that we atheists actually don’t….. mock her, fire her, shame her. Maybe then she’ll have the time to get to read and understand the constitution…..

I wouldn’t describe her as colorfully as you have, but Sally Kern is indeed a nasty character. She believes that certain people and beliefs are superior to others, and of course she and her beliefs belong in that superior category. Then she thinks it’s fine to relegate people she deems inferior to second (or lower) class status and provide them fewer rights and privileges based on her arbitrary notions of what is right and wrong. She claims it’s God’s Word, but like most of her ilk she’s not applying the Bible equally but rather cherry-picking. I wonder how many shellfish and pork dinners she’s eaten lately, how many blended fabrics and how much gold/pearl jewelry she wears, and why she thinks she has the right to teach males. (And that’s only the beginning, mind you.) Indeed, she thinks the Constitution only applies to people she deigns to allow it to apply to. I seem to recall it saying We the people, not We the fundamentalist Christians.

 
The next entry comes from Ebon regarding Rights Groups Ask that Teen Be Tried in Juvenile Court.

I could go either way on this. On the one hand, I’m ethically opposed to the whole concept of seeking “trial as an adult”. It seems to be something used not according to the individual maturity of the offender in question but as a symbol of especially emphatic disapproval which eliminates the whole point. If we’re going to say that people committing X crime should be judged in the same way regardless of age, then let’s just say that, not go through this charade of seeking special permission.

On the other hand, would McInerney be being tried as an adult if he had shot a straight kid?

I’m still conflicted on the matter myself. Part of me still wants to have him tried as a juvenile because he’s 14, and because he’ll have a greater chance to have rehabilitation rather than mere warehousing and punishment. The other part of me feels that despite him only being 14 he took a gun to school, with premeditation, and shot a boy in the head twice–in front of the whole class–because the boy was gay, so he should take his chances being tried as an adult.

Would McInerney be tried as an adult if he’d shot a straight kid? I really think he would considering he used a firearm ( in a classroom full of students no less). That’s a very serious offense which, if he’s actually tried as an adult, can add up to 25 years to his sentence. The hate-crime penalty only adds 1-3 years by contrast.

 
Entry #3 comes from yousuck at your.a.jew@***.com. I have no idea what s/he was commenting on but here’s what my new best friend had to say:

****ing christian

No, I am not a Christian (nor am I Jewish as your probably phony e-mail address seems to suggest). Though I was Christian for about 20 years I reverted back to my former state of atheism in my late 20s when I lost my faith. Of course I should think that would be obvious given that the name of this blog is The Gaytheist Agenda, and many of the posts focus on atheism. By the way, I sense a great deal of hostility in you. Have you ever considered volunteer work or meditation? They can work wonders.

That wraps up this edition of the Mailbag. Stay tuned until next time.

 

This young man asks a very powerful question in this video he posted on YouTube.

Now that’s food for thought.

 

A coalition of groups that advocate for LGBT rights have asked that Brandon McInerney, the 14-year-old boy who allegedly shot and killed 15-year-old Lawrence King, be tried as a juvenile. This would ensure that should he be found guilty he would go to a juvenile facility and receive a shorter sentence. In particular he would not be subject to the hate-crime penalty which could add an additional 1-3 years and the up to 25 years for use of a firearm.

The coalition of lesbian, gay and other organizations, including Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center, announced Monday they have asked District Attorney Greg Totten to try McInerney as a juvenile.

“We are saddened and outraged by the murder of junior high school student Lawrence King,” the groups’ statement read. “At the same time, we call on prosecutors not to compound this tragedy with another wrong. We call on them to treat the suspect as a juvenile, not as an adult.”

The groups’ statement called for the suspect to “be held accountable for his actions. But we support the principles underlying our juvenile justice system that treat children differently than adults and provide greater hope and opportunity for rehabilitation.”

…..

Other groups that signed the statement include the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Equality California, Gay Straight Alliance Network, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

I have mulled this over in my head since reading the stories and have not been able to decide where I stand on this matter. Therefore I’m posting this as is, without commentary.

 

Two months ago 15-year-old Lawrence King of Oxnard, CA, was shot and killed because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Even ten years ago there might have been, at best, an article about the crime in the local newspaper. But thanks to the power of the Internet not only has the crime received attention on national television and in major media publications but people around the world know his name and will keep him in their memories. Now The Washington Post has done a poignant article on this very phenomenon, and the way Lawrence King’s death has affected people who would otherwise never have heard of him.

No one really dies on the Internet. A private life becomes public. Every life finds an audience. Look at Lawrence “Larry” King. The openly gay eighth-grader who was shot and killed nearly two months ago lives on.

Larry lives on Wikipedia, where we learn about his tense life at school, the name-calling, the taunts, the teasing. Larry lives on Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, where he’s mourned by strangers not willing to let go. Larry lives on Web sites where the 15-year-old’s photos — Larry in front of the White House, Larry on ice skates, Larry getting a haircut — stare back at us, as if incarnated. Alive.

The Internet, so vibrant, so potent, brings those attributes to the dead, immortalizing them in unexpected new ways. Where once there would have only been a candlelight vigil outside Larry’s house or school in Southern California, now there’s also a virtual vigil in real time that knows no geographic bounds. Where once people would have attended a memorial service and cried about Larry’s sad story, now they can also bear witness and become the sad story’s

…..

Here’s what we know: At E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, Calif., Larry wore purple eye shadow, pink lipstick and high-heeled boots. And Larry reportedly told Brandon McInerney, 14, a member of the Young Marines program, that he liked him. Then, on the morning of Feb. 12, during English class, Brandon allegedly walked into the computer lab with a handgun and shot Larry in the back of the head.

Larry’s death — reminiscent of the murders of Matthew Shepard in 1998 and Eddie Araujo in 2002, both also gay — was inadequately covered by the mainstream media, gay rights activists say.

…..

Nevertheless, Larry is immortalized on the Web. Google, after all, doesn’t forget. RememberingLawrence.org , sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, shouldn’t be confused with RememberLarry.com , put up by the slain teen’s family. (The Kings declined to comment for this story.)

…..

Says Joshua Porter Zeller, a 17-year-old junior at Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis: “If it wasn’t for the Internet, I wouldn’t have known about what happened to Larry. I have a religion class. In freshman year, the class was about church history. This year the first semester was on the New Testament, and right now the second semester is on morality. I asked my teacher if were going to talk about Larry’s shooting. He said no.”

Zeller, who is straight, is helping organize a “Day of Silence” in the school’s cafeteria on April 24. He also started a Facebook group a few weeks ago. It now has 169 members, mostly strangers.

Here’s to you, Lawrence King, and to the day there will be no more deaths like yours.

Major beef with the article. The person they said was “gay” named “Eddie” Araujo was not gay, so far as I know. Her name was Gwen Araujo as she was known to her friends, and if you look up a picture of her you’ll find that
anyone who would mistake her for a gay man clearly is delusional. She was killed when men whom she had had sexual contact with found out that she was not a biological female.

Her death rocked the *TRANSGENDER* community (and hopefully Queer community, though presumably not if articles are still being written about her using the wrong name and pronouns, seeing as how even her legal name is now Gwen), as just one more of a slew of examples of our trans sisters (and brothers) who has been murdered for her gender identity, and then had the double dishonor of being punished by a media that refuses to tell the truth about her life. (run on sentence, but Gwen’s death makes me angry)

I truly believe that you didn’t know any of this before posting that article (or you would have said something to this efffect in your commentary), but I urge you, if you consider yourself an ally to transfolk, to educate yourself as best you can.
Thanks

 

You’re absolutely right, Ezekiel, and I apologize for the oversight. Gwen was a transgender teen who was brutally killed by three men because her biological gender didn’t match her presented gender (she was pre-op at the time). Normally I would pick up on the blatant error presented in the Wa-Po article–Araujo was transgender and not gay (though some people can indeed be both), but I’m afraid I put the post up right before I went to bed and being tired I’m afraid I missed that. Again I’m sorry for the error and meant no offense.

 

The next comment is from Ebon who said:

 

Poor guy. And you know, you just know, that a bunch of people are thinking it was his own fault for being gay or for fancying the other kid. A Limbaugh or an O’Reilly might even say it. Scumbags.

My faith holds that homosexuality is perfectly acceptable, just another variation of the human condition (full disclosure: I am personally bisexual). However, it does hold that celebrating or excusing violence, even necessary violence is unacceptable. Most atheists I’ve met hold similar views. And yet, apparently, we’re the danger to humanity. Go figure.

 

Indeed. I’m sick to death of the “blame the victim” mentality that’s constantly thrust upon LGBTs and others like us. It takes the responsibility off the true offenders and relieves them of the need to change their behavior. I find it interesting that the RRRW wrings their hands over the “persecution” of Christians left and right, and always lays the blame for that squarely on the feet of everybody else. Yet when it comes to LGBTs/atheists/etc. the blame for bigoted acts against us are always our own faults.

I’m with you. I despise hatred, violence and everything associated with them. I would love a world in which they were non-existent.

That is the question asked in the upcoming issue of The Advocate. See if the conclusions they arrived at are as astonishing to you as they were to me.

Elson, who says King didn’t mention being bullied at school to foster-care professionals, pointed out that each LGBT child at Casa Pacifica is given a “Know Your Rights Guide” provided by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a legal advocacy group. “Queer and Trans Youth in California Foster Care Have Rights!” declares the pamphlet’s cover. Inside is a description of the state’s Foster Care Nondiscrimination Act, along with a list of entitlements for queer children like safe bathrooms and dating. Included on the list—below an illustration of a teenager in overalls and high heels—is the right for kids to wear clothes and hairstyles that fit their gender identity. King clearly took that freedom to heart in the last weeks of his life.

As wonderful as this encouragement sounds, did it put Larry in harm’s way by sending him out in a world not ready for him? It may be beyond the capacity of kids to reconcile a tolerant atmosphere like Casa Pacifica with the xenophobic, conformist nature of school. Children like Brandon McInerney are products of their society, one that simply does not know what to do with a boy in heels.

The Advocate, ostensibly a magazine that supports GLBT rights, is actually proposing the notion that the bigot who shot this boy was an innocent product of his society, and the organizations that encouraged Lawrence King to express his true self were at fault for his death? What alternative universe is this? Has the magazine been taken over by Gary George?

 

But did the pamphlet, however inadvertently, cause Larry harm? Marksamer bridles at that suggestion. “I think it’s really important that we don’t get caught up in the idea that either Larry or the group home or somebody could have prevented this by telling Larry he shouldn’t have been himself. That is not an approach that’s good for anybody, because you can’t just protect somebody by telling them not to express themselves, because people will know who they are even if—” He trails off, then resumes, “How could he ever think somebody would kill him for expressing his rights? That goes beyond any reasonable expectation. Maybe he could have expected to be called names or to be laughed at. But he also should have expected the school would have done something about that.”

Amen to that. It’s deplorable that anybody should suggest someone hide who and what they are in order to prevent becoming the victim of a hate-crime. Worse yet, it is obvious that one doesn’t even need to be openly gay or gay at all to be the victim of homophobia. That’s why it’s critical that homophobia be eradicated for the good of all.

Unlike Casa Pacifica, E.O. Green provides no literature about or for LGBT students. The Hueneme School District, of which E.O. Green is a part, has a program called the Second Step violence prevention education program, which lasts until sixth grade. Both King and his killer took part in this program, says Hueneme School District superintendent Jerry Dannenberg. As part of the program, kids have weekly classes that attempt to teach empathy and emotion management. Robin Freeman, assistant superintendent of education services, was hard-pressed to come up with any examples of tolerance training for her seventh- and eighth-graders. She brought up the substance-abuse prevention program Project Alert, saying it helped with decision-making skills.

“Part of the role of a school is to teach young people how to function in a democracy,” says Kevin Jennings, a former teacher and the founder and executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, a national organization working to ensure safe schools for LGBT students. “In a democracy we protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. Where are they going to get that lesson? They’ve got to learn it in school.”

But they don’t. At least not in the way they did before the No Child Left Behind Act was enacted by Congress in 2002 at the Bush administration’s urging.

“There’s been a real retrenchment of antibullying and diversity programs since No Child Left Behind,” says Jennings. “What that’s done is establish standardized testing as the only measure of good schools. In the late ’90s there was a lot of momentum around multiculturalism and diversity. That was really reversed by this imposition of standardized testing. A lot of educators are frustrated because they understand the importance of addressing some of these larger [social] efforts, but when they try to they’re told, ‘You’ve just got to get the math scores up.’ ”

I’m not surprised there. The quality of everything in schools has suffered since NCLB was implemented. But with regard to homophobic bullying, the rise is no doubt also fueled by the rise in the RRRW “moral values” crowd which has held so much power under the Bush Administration. They’ve pushed their version of morality, which has a hefty dose of anti-gay hatred, and it has definitely infected America’s schools–much to the detriment of LGBT students.

 

Brandon McInerney was E.O. Green’s alpha male: tall, good-looking, popular, smart. But like King’s, McInerney’s family life was far from stable. In fact, court records show a history of violence that lasted most—if not all—of McInerney’s life. Stories of abuse, shootings, drug addiction, and even a car chase fill the McInerney family history, reported the Ventura County Star newspaper.

…..

In many ways the killer and his victim were a study in duality. McInerney was hypermasculine while King was proudly effeminate. While King enjoyed an environment of understanding and stability at Casa Pacifica, McInerney’s world outside of school remained volatile. But at school the roles reversed: McInerney was imbued with authority and respect because of his good looks and athleticism, while King was different and an outcast, subjected to ridicule, scorn, and violence.

…..

Even though he was harassed at school, King was bold. Surrounded by queer kids at the Rainbow Coalition and understanding adults at Casa Pacifica, King felt free to share his desires with a world not ready to hear them. It wasn’t just his gender identity that King expressed. When he developed a crush on McInerney, King took action in his typical brazen manner—he let people know, including McInerney.

“Brandon would talk about it [and say] ‘He’s a faggot,’ ” says a student who chose to remain anonymous. McInerney became the butt of jokes after word of King’s crush got around, and according to students, he made his displeasure clear to King, with one report suggesting McInerney told King to “fuck off” after he caught King staring at him. Students mocked King for his crush, and according to student Weber-Hernandez, principal Joel Lovstedt sought Larry out to ask if he was OK. The teen said he could handle it.

“I asked the principal for an emergency assembly and he said no,” says Weber-Hernandez, adding that the principal cited King’s insistence on being fine as the reason. Lovstedt couldn’t be reached for a response, but his boss, superintendent Dannenberg, says, “I haven’t heard about that.” Nevertheless, Weber-Hernandez seems certain: “The day after he died I said, ‘Maybe if we had that emergency assembly, this wouldn’t have happened.’ ”

Maybe, maybe not. I think it would have taken more than an emergency assembly but I could be wrong. We’ll never know though.

It’s a striking fact that the society now prosecuting Brandon McInerney as an adult is the same one that failed both him and Lawrence King as children. And whatever is decided at the trial, one thing is likely to become evident: McInerney wasn’t the only one who pulled the trigger on February 12—he was joined in his crime by anyone who teaches violence as a solution to conflict, school curricula that weigh grades over education, and a culture where just being different can be deadly.

Indeed. It’s a society that continues to teach that LGBT people are of lower value than others because they offend the chosen religious bigotries of others. That they deserve to be denigrated and abused for who and what they are. Until that changes we will continue to have victims like Lawrence King.