PBS will be airing another hard-hitting P.O.V. series documentary, which on June 30 (10 p.m.). “Beyond Hatred” is the story of a family trying to recover after the 2002 murder of a gay man. Here’s a summary from PBS:
“In September 2002, three skinheads were roaming a park in Rheims, France, looking to “do an Arab,” when they settled for a gay man instead. Twenty-nine-year-old François Chenu fought back fiercely, but he was beaten unconscious and thrown into a river, where he drowned. The acclaimed French vérité film Beyond Hatred is the story of the crime’s aftermath; above all, of the Chenu family’s brave and heartrending struggle to seek justice while trying to make sense of such pointless violence and unbearable loss. With remarkable dignity, they fight to transcend hatred and the inevitable desire for revenge.
Shot in direct-cinema style, with dark tones and long, evocative takes, Beyond Hatred forgoes third-party narration to let those who must deal with the crime’s aftermath tell the story — the lawyers and prosecutors as they seek justice through the courts, those who knew the victim and his murderers, and even the father of one of the perpetrators. Most of all we hear from the Chenus: François’ father, Jean-Paul, and mother, Marie-Cécile, and his two brothers and two sisters, as they try to reconstruct what happened and face the horror of François’ last minutes.
You can watch the trailer here. This documentary goes to show that hate crimes are still alive and well worldwide. I hope you’ll tune in. See Documentary on murder of a homosexual
Waterbury Republican American
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
By mid-afternoon, authorities reportedly had someone in custody in connection with the murder of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller at his church on Sunday morning.
So far, we know nothing about the suspect. Though the motive for the crime we can all surmise in light of the vitriolic campaign that has been waged against Tiller for more than two decades by anti-abortion groups.
And if we’re right about that, then we already know the identities of his accomplices.
They include every one who has ever called Tiller’s late term abortion clinic a murder mill.
Who ever called Tiller “Tiller the Killer.”
The groups who spent decades fomenting hate toward a man who simply believed that he was serving a purpose by being one of the few doctors in the country performing late-term abortions.
Hate. Not heated opposition. Not strong disagreement.
But blind hatred.
The kind of hate that would prompt some maniac to take a gun into a church and shoot a man to death in front of friends and family.
His accomplices know they have blood on their hands, which might explain why they were quick to issue statements today expressing disapproval of Tiller’s murder.
Among them, the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.
“Operation Rescue denounces the killing of abortionist Tiller,” read the headline of a new release posted on that group’s website.
Those words drip with hypocrisy.
After all, it was Operation Rescue that coined the nickname “Tiller the Killer.” It was Operation Rescue that was most responsible for ratcheting up the heated rhetoric toward Tiller over the past two decades.
The group issued the following statement today:
“We are shocked at this morning’s disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down. Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller’s family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”
Shocked? Are any of us really shocked that it would come to this after the many years of demonizing one man?
Certainly the group’s founder, Randall Terry, didn’t seem shocked when he issued a statement that, I would suggest, provides a truer sense of how the anti-abortion movement saw today’s events:
”George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller’s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name; murder.
Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the Law of God. We must continue to expose them in our communities and peacefully protest them at their offices and homes, and yes, even their churches.”
I’d suggest that if anyone is in need of salvation right now it’s the anti-abortion movement in Kansas and across the nation.
As Terry’s statement makes clear, the same bullet that killed George Tiller also shattered the moral underpinnings of the movement that inspired its firing.
Does a politician’s right to privacy trump the wrong of hypocrisy? Documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick thinks not.
He doesn’t care about the sex lives of politicians. But he cares that when a pol’s sexual orientation is secret, often shame and self-hatred color his voting record. Dick is outraged when closeted gay politicians vote against gay marriage, against the right of gays to adopt, and against funding for HIV/AIDS. He’s so outraged that he has made a movie exposing the disconnect between what these men practice and what they preach.
Despite its title, Outrage is calm, riveting, and provocative, taking pride in officials who come out and and taking aim at those who remain closeted. The film saves most of its ammunition for the media’s “orchestrated conspiracy,” creating a double bind that perpetuates the double lives of these men. Yes, they are all men, and with the exception of Ed Koch, former New York mayor, all are Republicans. (Why should we care? One, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who recently married a woman, is a leading GOP candidate for president in 2012.)
Dick, whose prior documentaries include This Film Is Not Yet Rated, a trenchant and amusing take on the double standard of the motion-picture ratings board, is ambivalent about his role in “outing” closeted politicians.
Beltway blogger Michael Rogers, on hand to furnish color commentary on who’s in the closet and why, considers the question of whether outing is a form of sexual McCarthyism. Is it the closeted practice or the outing that perpetuates the climate of shame? Certainly, whenever a James McGreevey or Eliot Spitzer admits his hidden sexual practices, he must take the media walk of shame.
Rogers’ answer to the chicken-or-egg question is that the goal of outing is to expose political hypocrisy, not sexual orientation. To this end, Dick provides each closeted politician’s voting record on gay rights; most of them show that he is voting against his own self-interest. See Taking aim at the hypocrisy of closeted politicians Philadelphia Inquirer * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
(London) The British government has published a list of people permanently barred from entering the country for fostering extremism or hatred.
The list includes two well known American gay opponents – Rev. Fred Phelps and talk-radio host Michael Savage.
Phelps is the founder of the Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church.
Westboro’s members are made …
Read more….
BAGHDAD – Widespread violence is down across Baghdad, but not for one minority group.
Iraq’s gay population is being targeted by militia groups in a wave of killings that has claimed the lives of up to 25 young men and boys in the past month.
“They know I am gay. I don’t know if I am going to be killed, this is up to God,” said Moyad, a 38-year-old Baghdad resident who would not give his last name out of fear for his safety.
Visibly frightened, he said that he has many friends who have been sadistically tortured, some even murdered. “They are sticking glue up their anuses; some hospitals refuse to treat them. Is it a war waged against homosexuals?” he asked.
International outrage
Most of the attacks have happened in Baghdad’s Shia neighborhoods, and many believe that religious leaders have used Friday sermons in Sadr City as a platform to incite hatred and violence toward homosexuals. The bodies of three gay men were reported to have been found in Sadr City in April with pieces of paper bearing the word for “pervert” attached to them.
Posters and leaflets have been distributed in the Baghdad neighborhoods of al-Shola, al-Hurya and Sadr City with orders to, “Cleanse Iraq from the crime of homosexuality.”
Baghdad police didn’t respond to inquiries from NBC News about the attacks, but the surge in violence has gained attention by the international media.
msnbc.com* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
In Uganda, anti-gay hatred is manifested by newspapers printing of the names and faces of “gay suspects” and activists “storming Parliament” with their message to rid the nation of gays. But across the continent in Senegal, things aren’t any better for the gays. They’re being hunted down Jim Crow-style, with threats of lynchings.
Even though nine AIDS activists were just released from prison after their attorneys successfully argued the evidence for “unnatural acts” charges was insufficient, the climate is anything but tolerant. Rather, you have youth leaders calling for the lynching of gay men: “The homosexuals will not escape lynching. They will be fish food,” one told Dakar newspaper L’Observeur, according to GlobalPost.
See SENEGAL SCARE: Gay Witch Hunts & Lynchings
Queerty * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Christian organisation – ‘Anglican Mainstream ‘- to promote fear and dangerous gay “cure”.
his weekend in London (UK) The Anglican Mainstream Organisation are holding a fear mongering anti gay conference called Sex & the City. The Anglican Mainstream are the first organisation of the week to be awarded the title “Homo Zeros” for their homophobic conference where speakers will advocate the use of Reparative Therapy which aims to “cure” people of homosexuality.
For anyone who has seen the film But I’m A Cheerleader (about a girl whose parents send her away to the True Directions Camp in order to cure her of her lesbianity) the conference reads like a sick joke.
The Judaeo – Christian conference claims to be: “Ideal for clergy, rabbis, psychologists, therapists, educators and others concerned about the plethora of sexual issues confronting us in today’s society, including mentoring the sexually broken, the sexualization of culture, pornography, the Bible and sex, and marriage, the family and sex. There will be a special focus on how religious professionals and friends/relatives can respond biblically and pastorally to those struggling with unwanted SSA (same-sex attraction).”
The organisers of the event are determined to whip up hysteria about gay relationships and portray gay life as a disaster which is sweeping the nation. The Anglican Mainstream feel that the UK is “capitulating” to the LGBT agenda.
They also seem disgruntled with the progressive legislation brought into protect LGBTs and are a living, breathing example of why such protective legislation needs to be in place. They say: “Given the present cultural endorsement and legal protection of these ‘orientations’, we will soon be in a situation where there is no turning back: the damage will be complete.”
The Anglican Mainstream promote Affect Focused Therapy (AFT) and Reparative Therapy as the way forward in “curing” gay people; who they prefer to call the “sexually broken” or “sufferers”.
They say: “AFT is transferable across the board to all sorts of deeply-ingrained patterns of dysfunctionality, sin, brokenness and pain.”
Reparative Therapy is a dangerous practise which seeks to change sexual orientation, and views homosexuality as a mental disorder.
Joseph Nicolisi a leading proponent of Repartive Therapy and author of “Shame, Homosexuality and the Practical Work of Reparative Therapy” will be speaking at the confererence. The Anglican Mainstream say: “Joe has a proven track record over almost 30 years in helping people exit the gay world.”
The American Psychological Association have stated that “scientific evidence does not show that conversion (Reparative) therapy works and it could do more harm than good. Changing one’s sexual orientation is not simply a matter of changing ones behaviour. It would require altering ones emotional, romantic and sexual feelings and restructuring ones self concept and social identity.”
News of this conference is particulary worrying especially after the recent report from The University College London and St. Georges University London, which suggested that many UK health professionals had attempted to change their client’s sexual orientation.
The Anglican Mainstream feel that Reparative Therapy “needs to be far better known”.
However, the Lesbian and Gay Foundation urge gay, lesbian and bisexual people to access Gay Affirmative counselling services and therapy.
At the core of Gay Affirmative Therapy (GAT) is the belief there is nothing inherently wrong or bad with being LGBT. Instead your counsellor will affirm your sexuality rather than trying to convince you to alter or change it. The Pink Therapy website is an excellent resource for questions to ask potential counsellors.
A Spokesperson for the Lesbian and Gay Foundation said: “It is worrying to hear of this conference aimed at promoting such a deplorable and dangerous approach to therapy, and giving a platform to homophobic ideas. We encourage people to access Gay Affirmative Therapy, rather than internalise the homophobic beliefs of others.”
Stand Up to Hatred: Should a conference which promotes homophobia and a harmful approach to therapy be allowed to take place in the UK? The Anglican Mainstream have not disclosed the location of the conference on their website, but it has been reported that the anti gay conference will take place at a Christian run conference centre called the Emmanuel Centre (9-23 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW) in the City of Westminster on April 24/25th.
To lobby Westminster Councillors to stop the conference, or at the very least question the methods it is promoting, click here.
If you would like to talk to someone about your sexuality call The LGF Helpline on 0845 3 30 30 30. If you think you would like to access the Face 2 Face counselling service at the LGF call the Helpline and ask for an Application for Counselling form. All LGF counsellors use Gay Affirmative Therapy.
See Homophobic conference to promote gay “cure”.
The Lesbian and Gay Foundation
Human rights activists have given Jamaica the infamous title: “The Most Homophobic Place on Earth.” Gay people have regularly been beaten and murdered on the island, while authorities do little to stop the violence.
“We, as the owners of the Stonewall Inn, birthplace of the Gay rights movement, refuse to support, in any way, shape or form, the oppression of any people especially our gay brothers and sisters in Jamaica,” the Stonewall Inn said in its statement. “We ask all people of all walks of life to send a clear message to the Jamaican people and their government, that as long as they continue to allow and condone violence and hatred toward the
“If you love your gay friends and family members, you won’t visit Jamaica,” said boycott co-organizer Wayne Besen. “If you care about the human rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, you won’t buy Jamaican products. We hope that all gay and gay friendly bar owners and restaurateurs across the nation will participate in ‘rum dumps.’ We can no longer subsidize our own slaughter.”
GLBT activists Michael Petrelis, Wayne Besen and Jim Burroway launched this boycott after a State Department report highlighted the violence faced by GLBT people. According to the report:
The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG) continued to report human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals. Police often did not investigate such incidents.
The West Coast portion of the boycott took place earlier this month with a rum dump in San Francisco that featured Petrelis and city Supervisor Bevan Dufty. Learn more about the boycott at www.BoycottJamaica.org.
(Montpelier, Vermont) Some called him a homophobe. Some accused him of spreading hatred. Some thanked him, or applauded him for showing “backbone” in the face of pressure from gay rights advocates.
In the first two days after he pledged to veto a same-sex marriage bill, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas’ mailbag and …
Read more….
A new law to widen the definition of hate crimes to protect gay communities and disabled people has moved closer.
Holyrood’s justice committee has backed the bill being put forward by Green MSP Patrick Harvie.
The Scottish Government has already said it will support the bill, meaning it is now almost certain to become law.
Crimes motivated by hatred of gay or disabled people would be considered aggravated offences, meriting tougher sentences.
The Offences Aggravated by Prejudice (Scotland) Bill would bring Scotland into line with the rest of the UK.
The committee’s convener, Conservative MSP Bill Aitken, acknowledged concerns that it would create a two-tier justice system, with some victims having more rights than others.
See MSPs back new gay hate crime law
BBC News
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