The 2010 Nordic Rainbow Humanist award has gone to secretary general George Thindwa and his colleagues of the Association for Secular Humanism of Malawi for their "courageous public stand for LGBT identity and rights in this African nation, taking great risks of retaliation from homophobic politicians, religious leaders, and a hostile mass media", said Nordic Rainbow Humanists' international secretary Bill Schiller in Stockholm.
"This is the second time our annual award has gone to Africa and we were very pleased to have this recommendation from an earlier winner and staunch supporter of LGBT rights Leo Igwe of the Nigerian Humanist Movement.
"The Malawi Humanists are being honoured for defending LGBT rights in a continent where tolerance towards the LGBT communities is a rare exception and where even former African freedom fighters and anti-colonialist leaders, now in power, openly call for the imprisonment and punishment of LGBT people," said Schiller.
Earlier winners of the Nordic Rainbow Humanist award include George Broadhead (co-founder and long-serving secretary of the UK Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, who is also secretary of this blog's parent, the Pink Triangle Trust), veteran Norwegian lesbian activist Kim Friele, Carl-Johan Kleberg (former chairman of the Swedish Humanists), veteran Dutch gay activist Rob Tielman (former president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union), Leo Igwe and colleagues of the Nigerian Humanist Movement, and Remyus Cernea and colleagues of the Romanian Humanist Association.
In a message to George Thindwa, George Broadhead said, "Warm congratulations to Malawian Humanists on winning the 2010 Nordic Rainbow Humanist Award. If the situation for LGBT people is anything like as dire as that in Uganda, you richly deserve this for so courageously taking up the cudgels on their behalf. You also deserve great praise for your staunch opposition to the persecution of people in Malawi accused of witchcraft. As a gay Humanist who won this same award in 2002, I salute you."
Showing posts with label Gay and Lesbian Humanist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gay and Lesbian Humanist. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Claire Rayner: a friend to gay people, a friend to secular humanism
We’re sorry to hear today of the death of Claire Rayner. She was a friend to gay people and a friend to secular humanism.
Rayner died at the age of 79, and, she told relatives that she wanted her last words to be, “Tell David Cameron that if he screws up my beloved NHS I’ll come back and bloody haunt him.”
She had intestinal surgery in May, and has been ill since then. She died in a hospital near her London home.
Rayner has praised our sister publication, Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine, and has often been in contact often with members of our parent organisation, the Pink Triangle Trust.
Of G&LH’s return as an online publication in 2008, Rayner said:
“In 1996,” says the BBC website, “she was awarded the OBE for ‘services to women’s issues and health issues’.
“She was involved with 50 charities, and was a member of the Prime Minister’s Commission on Nursing and the last government’s Royal Commission on the Care of the Elderly.”
Rayner was also an honorary associate of the National Secular Society and a vice-president and former president (1999–2004) of the British Humanist Association.
On its website, the BHA quotes Rayner as having said, “I was a humanist without knowing it for many years before I found the Association – when I did, it was like finding a sort of home. Here were people with a range of views that matched mine, who shared my respect for life in all its forms and who, above all, did not in any way try to bully other people to follow their beliefs.”
Another quotation the BHA cites is: “You think for yourself, and work out your own morality . . . I’m fascinated by the idea of trying to find your own way through the world with your own maps rather than someone else’s . . . All I know is there is no God in my universe. I’ve looked and looked, and there ain’t no God there. But I don’t want to be a dogmatic atheist. I like mythology, and a life without stories doesn’t bear thinking about, just let us not have supernatural beings. What is natural is awe-full enough. We don’t need a First Cause.”
Rayner, agony aunt to many, friend to many more, will be missed in many sections of British society. You’ll find tributes today wherever you look, no doubt, and we think they’re well deserved.
Rayner died at the age of 79, and, she told relatives that she wanted her last words to be, “Tell David Cameron that if he screws up my beloved NHS I’ll come back and bloody haunt him.”
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| Claire Rayner |
Rayner has praised our sister publication, Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine, and has often been in contact often with members of our parent organisation, the Pink Triangle Trust.
Of G&LH’s return as an online publication in 2008, Rayner said:
Great to see you’re back. This beats any other resurrection (Lazarus? Eat your heart out!) about which you may have read in the Bible – which of course, sensible atheists read from time to time so that they can stop believers in their tracks with apposite quotations. What with this and the emblazoned bendy buses all over London, I begin to think we may be getting somewhere – and the other indication is the growth of religious fundamentalism. It shows the religionists are running scared!
Here’s to happy godless future where people matter more than popes and their like. Every power to your elbows!
“In 1996,” says the BBC website, “she was awarded the OBE for ‘services to women’s issues and health issues’.
“She was involved with 50 charities, and was a member of the Prime Minister’s Commission on Nursing and the last government’s Royal Commission on the Care of the Elderly.”
Rayner was also an honorary associate of the National Secular Society and a vice-president and former president (1999–2004) of the British Humanist Association.
On its website, the BHA quotes Rayner as having said, “I was a humanist without knowing it for many years before I found the Association – when I did, it was like finding a sort of home. Here were people with a range of views that matched mine, who shared my respect for life in all its forms and who, above all, did not in any way try to bully other people to follow their beliefs.”
Another quotation the BHA cites is: “You think for yourself, and work out your own morality . . . I’m fascinated by the idea of trying to find your own way through the world with your own maps rather than someone else’s . . . All I know is there is no God in my universe. I’ve looked and looked, and there ain’t no God there. But I don’t want to be a dogmatic atheist. I like mythology, and a life without stories doesn’t bear thinking about, just let us not have supernatural beings. What is natural is awe-full enough. We don’t need a First Cause.”
Rayner, agony aunt to many, friend to many more, will be missed in many sections of British society. You’ll find tributes today wherever you look, no doubt, and we think they’re well deserved.
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Does HIV cause AIDS?: the video
Recently, Lauritsen gave a talk at a conference in Vienna (and he mentioned G&LH in the course of it), which we’ve linked to below.
I know most people have orthodox views about whether HIV causes AIDS and whether the drugs doled out by Big Pharma cure or kill (Lauritsen believes the latter), but, when you have a few minutes, click and watch. It makes interesting listening.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Gay & Lesbian Humanist: the election, the pope, Derren Brown and much more
It’s election day here in the UK – but that’s not the only subject on offer in the latest issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist. The online magazine also looks at AIDS dissidents, alleged papal cover-ups of priestly sexual abuse and nonreligious ceremonies, among other things. And we pay tribute to one of the founding fathers of gay-rights campaigning in the UK, Antony Grey, who has died aged 82.
But today’s election is an opportunity, so the pundits are always telling us, for the British public to engage in the crucial debate about the choice of who will govern and what policies will be enacted in the next four or five years.
The latest issue of G&LH takes the theme "Dogma or debate?" and looks at election topics, with editor Mike Foxwell asking, “Am I just a tad pedantic – cynical even – in believing that for there to be any meaningful debate about anything there has to be a divergence of position, a fundamental difference of opinion?”
And, he asks, is the system we have human enough?
“Somehow, our humanity seems to diminish in proportion to the size of the group until you end up with a totally dehumanised chimera called the State. True, big groups of people can do bad things, but it takes the State to commit the real atrocities such as the illegal and unjustified war on Iraq. It wasn’t in the Labour Party’s manifesto, the British people didn’t vote for it and in fact protested against it in enormous numbers, but it still happened.
“If you are looking for corrupt, self-serving and untrustworthy, look no further than the Government. Maybe in the end it doesn’t matter whom you vote for, who gets in, it’s still the government that wins – and that’s the root of the problem.”
Sexuality and politics
In his “Vote seXuality” feature Andy Armitage takes a look at whether being gay influences the way people vote. He asked the eight main political parties fielding candidates in the UK General Election a simple question: “What can your party offer to the LGBT community that other parties cannot or will not?”. Only three of the parties bothered to reply at all. The Tories were not one of them, and it’s the Tories who, in spite of more recent attempts to court the pink vote, have traditionally been the nastiest towards gay people.
Peter Tatchell, too, is far from impressed by the platitudes coming from the Tories as he reports in his “Big Gay Flashmob” article. The election theme is continued in our “Out of Print” feature, which is taken from the Summer 1997 issue of G&LH, in which Terry Sanderson, now president of the National Secular Society, assessed the gay-law-reform prospects following the election of Tony Blair’s Labour government earlier that year.
On the lighter side, Steven Dean seems to have an opinion on almost everything, and this time he gives us an insight to how he chooses whom to vote for. As you would expect, there’ll be an “X” in it somewhere!
HIV = AIDS?
HIV-AIDS is another subject that still arouses heated debate.
A recent attack on what have become known as AIDS dissenters was made in the November/December 2009 issue of the British publication New Humanist by an AIDS establishmentarian Seth Kalichman, who mounts a scurrilous ad hominem attack on a number of well-known HIV-AIDS critics, and then urges his readers never to enter into a debate with dissenters about the facts surrounding the HIV-AIDS hypothesis.
One reader of Kalichman’s article was HIV-AIDS dissident John Lauritsen, who was outraged and asked the New Humanist editor, Caspar Melville, for the right of reply. He did not get one, but G&LH has given Lauritsen the space to make the rebuttal that he was denied.
Reform in the Church of England
Though hardly radical by freethought standards, debate within the Church of England has been rumbling on within that stalwart of dogma for the past decade or so. The anti-reform backlash has been marshalled by a group called, in true Orwellian fashion, “Reform”. In his feature, “Church’s end”, Neil Richardson laments the influence of these hardliners
Arrest the Pope
There have been moves by noted atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens to have the Pope arrested when he comes to Britain in September. Is this realistic? In his feature, “Arresting the Pope”, Andy Armitage assesses the likelihood of success for this audacious plan.
Continuing the theme of priestly abuse, Andrew John discusses the impact of a letter from the 1980s alleging that Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, counselled against the defrocking of a California priest, putting the unity of the universal church first and asks, “Where does it all go from here?”
Rife with homophobia?
Sometimes it seems that the world at large is rife with homophobia wherever you look. Many of us harbour the dark thought that, with the resurgence of radical religion across the world, things are getting worse. Author Narvel Annable counsels against being too negative in his article, “House of homophobia”.
Social-awareness campaigns
Continuing in a more optimistic vein, gay-rights campaigner Mirka Makuchowska tells us of the extremely active Polish gay rights organisation, Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, of which she is currently secretary.
One of its current campaigns is for a Polish civil-partnership bill.
New-look news
This issue see the first of our new-look news feature, “The full story”, which replaces the long-running “News Watch” and “World Watch” features. The intention is to provide a more integrated view of chosen news stories worldwide in an attempt to join up the news dots, as it were. Dean Braithwaite and George Broadhead have the full story.
Derren Brown
“Blogwatch” this time focuses on the blog of the illusionist, mentalist, painter and sceptic Derren Brown, who will have been seen on UK television by many readers.
Another well-known illusionist is James Randi, who at the age of 81 has recently come out as gay. In his feature, “An amazing escape”, John Brand takes a closer look at Randi and how he decided to come out. Warren Allen Smith also has something to say about Randi in his “Gossip from across the Pond” article, in which he tells us of his correspondence with Randi following his coming-out.
To the woods
Becoming ever more popular are nonreligious ceremonies, not just funerals but birth and wedding ones, too. George Broadhead takes a look at what’s on offer in his feature, “Exit strategy”.
The magazine is online: just click the logo below or on our sidebar.
But today’s election is an opportunity, so the pundits are always telling us, for the British public to engage in the crucial debate about the choice of who will govern and what policies will be enacted in the next four or five years.
The latest issue of G&LH takes the theme "Dogma or debate?" and looks at election topics, with editor Mike Foxwell asking, “Am I just a tad pedantic – cynical even – in believing that for there to be any meaningful debate about anything there has to be a divergence of position, a fundamental difference of opinion?”
And, he asks, is the system we have human enough?
“Somehow, our humanity seems to diminish in proportion to the size of the group until you end up with a totally dehumanised chimera called the State. True, big groups of people can do bad things, but it takes the State to commit the real atrocities such as the illegal and unjustified war on Iraq. It wasn’t in the Labour Party’s manifesto, the British people didn’t vote for it and in fact protested against it in enormous numbers, but it still happened.
“If you are looking for corrupt, self-serving and untrustworthy, look no further than the Government. Maybe in the end it doesn’t matter whom you vote for, who gets in, it’s still the government that wins – and that’s the root of the problem.”
Sexuality and politics
In his “Vote seXuality” feature Andy Armitage takes a look at whether being gay influences the way people vote. He asked the eight main political parties fielding candidates in the UK General Election a simple question: “What can your party offer to the LGBT community that other parties cannot or will not?”. Only three of the parties bothered to reply at all. The Tories were not one of them, and it’s the Tories who, in spite of more recent attempts to court the pink vote, have traditionally been the nastiest towards gay people.
Peter Tatchell, too, is far from impressed by the platitudes coming from the Tories as he reports in his “Big Gay Flashmob” article. The election theme is continued in our “Out of Print” feature, which is taken from the Summer 1997 issue of G&LH, in which Terry Sanderson, now president of the National Secular Society, assessed the gay-law-reform prospects following the election of Tony Blair’s Labour government earlier that year.
On the lighter side, Steven Dean seems to have an opinion on almost everything, and this time he gives us an insight to how he chooses whom to vote for. As you would expect, there’ll be an “X” in it somewhere!
HIV = AIDS?
HIV-AIDS is another subject that still arouses heated debate.
A recent attack on what have become known as AIDS dissenters was made in the November/December 2009 issue of the British publication New Humanist by an AIDS establishmentarian Seth Kalichman, who mounts a scurrilous ad hominem attack on a number of well-known HIV-AIDS critics, and then urges his readers never to enter into a debate with dissenters about the facts surrounding the HIV-AIDS hypothesis.
One reader of Kalichman’s article was HIV-AIDS dissident John Lauritsen, who was outraged and asked the New Humanist editor, Caspar Melville, for the right of reply. He did not get one, but G&LH has given Lauritsen the space to make the rebuttal that he was denied.
Reform in the Church of England
Though hardly radical by freethought standards, debate within the Church of England has been rumbling on within that stalwart of dogma for the past decade or so. The anti-reform backlash has been marshalled by a group called, in true Orwellian fashion, “Reform”. In his feature, “Church’s end”, Neil Richardson laments the influence of these hardliners
Arrest the Pope
There have been moves by noted atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens to have the Pope arrested when he comes to Britain in September. Is this realistic? In his feature, “Arresting the Pope”, Andy Armitage assesses the likelihood of success for this audacious plan.
Continuing the theme of priestly abuse, Andrew John discusses the impact of a letter from the 1980s alleging that Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, counselled against the defrocking of a California priest, putting the unity of the universal church first and asks, “Where does it all go from here?”
Rife with homophobia?
Sometimes it seems that the world at large is rife with homophobia wherever you look. Many of us harbour the dark thought that, with the resurgence of radical religion across the world, things are getting worse. Author Narvel Annable counsels against being too negative in his article, “House of homophobia”.
Social-awareness campaigns
Continuing in a more optimistic vein, gay-rights campaigner Mirka Makuchowska tells us of the extremely active Polish gay rights organisation, Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, of which she is currently secretary.
One of its current campaigns is for a Polish civil-partnership bill.
New-look news
This issue see the first of our new-look news feature, “The full story”, which replaces the long-running “News Watch” and “World Watch” features. The intention is to provide a more integrated view of chosen news stories worldwide in an attempt to join up the news dots, as it were. Dean Braithwaite and George Broadhead have the full story.
Derren Brown
“Blogwatch” this time focuses on the blog of the illusionist, mentalist, painter and sceptic Derren Brown, who will have been seen on UK television by many readers.
Another well-known illusionist is James Randi, who at the age of 81 has recently come out as gay. In his feature, “An amazing escape”, John Brand takes a closer look at Randi and how he decided to come out. Warren Allen Smith also has something to say about Randi in his “Gossip from across the Pond” article, in which he tells us of his correspondence with Randi following his coming-out.
To the woods
Becoming ever more popular are nonreligious ceremonies, not just funerals but birth and wedding ones, too. George Broadhead takes a look at what’s on offer in his feature, “Exit strategy”.
The magazine is online: just click the logo below or on our sidebar.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Veteran campaigner Antony Grey has died
Anthony Edgar Gartside Wright (his birth name) was instrumental in getting the government of the day to push through the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which led to the first major breakthrough in gay equality. Gays were not, of course, equal, but the Act did decriminalize sexual activity between two consenting adults (over 21) in private. It was a step along the way.
Grey began campaigning for sexual equality in 1968, as you can read in this Pink News article.
It was then that he joined the Homosexual Law Reform Society, later joining and becoming secretary of the Albany Trust, a charity set up to help gay men who had developed psychological problems after being persecuted.
Grey also wrote several books, including Quest for Justice: Towards Homosexual Emancipation, Speaking of Sex and Speaking Out: Sex, Law, Politics and Society.
Grey had lived with his partner, Eric Thompson, for 50 years, even during the years when it was considered dangerous for a male couple to share a house.
Grey’s death was the “end of an era”, says Thompson, who recalls in the Pink News article how things had changed from the early 1960s. “One night, when we were living in Hampstead, there was an almighty crash, as though the chimney had fallen down. A coach had crashed into several houses.
“But the first thing we did was not to call the police – it was to make up a spare bed, because you knew that when the police came round they would have been far more interested in our sleeping arrangements than the crash.”
“I don’t think the younger generation realises how things were in those days.”
My fellow blogger George Broadhead has told us that he, too, mourns death of Antony Grey, whom he got to know well when the former was secretary of the Gay Humanist Group (GHG) now called the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association.
“Antony joined GHG in October 1979 shortly after it was founded and remained a staunch supporter until the controversy over an article published in the Autumn 2005 issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist, magazine to which he was a contributor. This article was perceived by some as racist, but Antony disagreed and sadly resigned his GALHA membership. He was always a staunch defender of freedom of expression and against what he considered political correctness.”
Indeed, Grey wrote a fascinating article on the subject of freedom of expression for Gay & Lesbian Humanist when it became an online publication in late 2008. Here is the standfirst, to give you a taste, and you can click on the link above to get to the article itself:
We live in sombre times. On the pretext of protecting us from terrorism, an obviously frightened and increasingly authoritarian UK government is steadily stripping away traditional safeguards of individual liberty and freedom of expression, which at least the older among us had hitherto taken for granted as part of the weft and warp of Britishness. Antony Grey has been looking at our freedoms – and lack of them.
Monday, 15 March 2010
On screen and online – the movies and the magazine
The British Film Institute (BFI) has quite a line-up for this year’s annual Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, the 24th, which begins in London on Wednesday – and it includes a world premiere: The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, which will be screened at the Odeon in the West End.
There are several set pieces, including I Killed My Mother, written, produced, directed by and starring 20-year-old Xavier Dolan. The festival ends on 31 March with Children of God, Kareem J Mortimer’s “gorgeously photographed” (according to the BFI) first feature, which tells the classic tale of love unfolding against a backdrop of violent homophobia and social unease in the Bahamas.
The festival will present 75 feature-length films and documentaries, many of which have won awards at other international events, including Brotherhood, Nicolo Donatto’s story of gays in the neo-Nazi movement, and Ander, Roberto Castón’s portrayal of gay rural life in the Basque country.
One of Britain’s oldest gay-campaigning groups, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, is at the festival for a second year, presenting the CHE Film Prize, which offers a £2,000 prize to the film that best reflects the values and objectives of CHE in its fight for social justice.
FIT FOR PURPOSE
Talking of films, although this has nothing to do with the festival, have a look at Stephen Blake’s article in the latest Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine on a film called FIT, which looks at homophobia.
Homophobic bullying is rife in Britain’s schools, and it affects gay and straight children alike. This new film by Rikki Beadle-Blair aims to tackle it head on.
Of his own early years, Blake says in the article, “Any young person in this situation [being gay] knows how lonely, debilitating a desperate life can become. It can affect how well a person succeeds at school, and in later life, their self-esteem and how well they get on with their family or friends.”
So it’s a film that’s FIT for purpose, you might say.
AND SO IS G&LH
Have a look at the other stuff in the magazine, too (just click on any of the logos you see throughout this post). Not surprisingly, the Pope comes in for some fierce criticism, and is compared to Adolf Hitler.
He’s due to come to Britain in September, and the magazine’s writers are not too pleased about it. How, G&LH asks, can Britain reconcile what it would claim is a much-needed increase in value-added tax – or VAT – with a costly visit from the Vatican (the other Vat in the magazine’s theme this time)?
“British taxpayers woke up on 1 January to a New Year present from their New Labour government – a massive tax increase in the shape of a whopping 2.5% rise in VAT,” writes editor Mike Foxwell.
“Of course, in fairness to the government, this followed a temporary reduction last year, allegedly to help the economy, and now the party was over. Back to reality. Great Britain PLC is in a financial mess and can no longer afford such indulgent largesse. ‘Tough decisions’ needed to be made if Britain were to get back on its financial feet.
“One’s mind can only boggle, then,” Foxwell continues, “at the toughness of the government’s decision to pledge an estimated £20 million of hard-pressed public resources to a state-sponsored jamboree for Catholics by inviting the Pope over for a state visit later this year. Of course, the real cost is going to be much higher and the government has indicated its preparedness to sign a blank cheque. Probably quite a big one, as the 2008 Australian papal visit cost nearly six times the £20 million estimate for Britain.
“I wonder why the word ‘hypocrisy’ comes into my head.
“It might just about be possible to stomach such public-spending caprice if the Pope were a force for national unity, be it political or social. But, of course, he is quite the opposite. The Pope has recently single-handedly scuppered the Equality Bill that would have given protection to those gay people unfortunate enough to be employed, or seek to be employed, by religious organisations. I have often wondered about the Orwellian connotation of the ‘New’ in ‘New Labour’ – under their administration, everyone is to be equal, but some will be more equal than others.”
Foxwell continues: “Not content with this, His Hatefulness now wants to ensure that pupils of ‘faith’ schools are kept in the dark about essential sexual-health information, which doesn't accord with the strictures of the fantasy world that is organised religion. And this is exactly what will happen if the pernicious amendment to the Children, Schools and Families Bill now going through Parliament is not scraped.
“I seem to remember that Geert Wilders, a democratically elected European politician, was denied entry to Britain because he was said, rightly or wrongly, by the government to be socially divisive.
“Again, why does the word hypocrisy come to mind?”
Pope likened to Hitler
In the mag’s keynote feature this time, therefore, your humble blogger (er, that’s me, folks) reports on the opposition to the official visit of a man who has shielded child-abusing priests, been responsible for countless deaths in Africa and elsewhere of people who could have been saved from disease and pregnancy through the use of condoms, and created a living hell on earth for gay people, many of whom end up as suicide statistics.
Many gay people who end up taking their own lives are young – often very young – and homophobic bullying at school is a significant factor in many of these tragedies.
The Pope is a monster, he says, but, since most heinous things are carried out in total sincerity, how does Joseph Ratzinger differ in this regard from Adolf Hitler?
Young freethinkers
It is a significant shame that children and young people have so little opportunity to have their voices heard, and are, thereby, under-represented in all debates – even ones that affect them directly! Sadly, this is also the case within the mainstream freethought movement. In our “Blogwatch” feature, Michael Campbell explains how submitting work to the big names in the rationalist press can be daunting for young freethinkers like himself, which is why he set up Young Freethought. This new blog has created a lot of interest and has received a message of support from Richard Dawkins.
Coercive religion
That religion is essentially coercive, judgemental and self-serving is hardly news to most readers of G&LH, but is it necessarily so? Mike Foxwell says: “I have always taken the view that I have no problem with what someone chooses to believe in so long as they don’t expect special privileges because of it, or coerce or harm others with it.”
In a very personal story of his early experience of this phenomenon as a child (in his article “Religious abuse”), Neil Richardson expounds a similar view. Richardson, an ordained Anglican priest, believes that abusive religion follows on naturally from false claims to understand the mind of God, to the exclusion of other interpretations, and the desperate need to build a membership of following that will shelter and sustain their own interpretation and maintain a purity of doctrine. This description applies perfectly to the Catholic Church and its “infallible” Pope, as well as the happy-clappy evangelicals.
Gay Jesus?
Groucho Marx famously said he would refuse to join any club that would have him as a member. Although he didn’t say whether he would join one that didn’t want him, which is exactly what gay Christians seem intent on doing! Many of them reconcile the irreconcilable by dint of denial: they pretend that the Church isn’t really homophobic at all. Others, such as Elton John, who has claimed recently that Jesus was gay, resort to plain delusion. As George Broadhead reveals in his article, “Right to lie”, there simply is no evidence that Jesus was gay or even gay-friendly, but plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Gays in sport
Somewhere else where gay people are not particularly welcome is sport. Particularly the brutal macho-man varieties such as rugby. How ironic that the ancient Athenian games, the forerunner of modern sport and athletics, were essentially a homosexual celebration of maleness – all women were excluded from the precinct of Olympia on pain of death!
It’s hardly much of a surprise, really, that this all had to change following Emperor Theodosius’s statute of 390, which punished gay male sex with death. He followed this act of barbarism a year later by ordering Bishop Theophilus to destroy the Great Library of Alexandria. The destruction of this, the greatest storehouse of knowledge and scholarship in the world, marked the beginning of the Roman Church’s Dark Ages, the greatest intellectual and cultural catastrophe to befall humankind, from which the world has not yet recovered.
For sure, sport has certainly not yet emerged from the Dark Ages, and homophobia is rife in all sport today. So, it takes a brave sportsman or -woman to come out and challenge this anti-gay orthodoxy. Such a man is Gareth Thomas: the most capped Welsh rugby player of all time, currently playing for Cardiff Blues, has come out as gay. In my feature, “Out in touch”, your humble blogger (again) tell the full story of how Thomas has become the patron of UK LGBT History Month and his hope that being visible as an openly gay man will help younger players.
Things looked to be improving in the world of soccer, too, with a much anticipated anti-homophobia film, which was due to be launched by the Football Association (FA) at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, 11 February. Unfortunately, the film was not shown. In “FAgs”, Peter Tatchell tells of the consternation caused by this “postponement” among both football and gay groups, and the controversy over claims that the film itself is actually homophobic.
Manly mag
While on the subject of male bastions, even if you are a bio-male (or not!), are you a “real man”? Are you even sure what “being a man” actually means? The more you try to answer this question, the more confusing it all becomes. But worry not: there’s a new magazine called Spunk!
Spunk is troubled that so few bio-men in our communities are openly questioning, (re)interpreting or disrupting their own and others’ privileged positions and practices. We are inheritors of a range of traditions; from sissy-boys and radical effeminacy, to “straight-acting”, gay hyper-masculinity, butch and dominant straight-male gender roles. Spunk wants to question how we relate to our masculinities. Read more in “Spunk”.
Paul Cadmus
Male nudes were a favourite subject of the artist Paul Cadmus, who died ten years ago. Cadmus is featured in our “Out of print” article by Warren Allen Smith, which first appeared in G&LH, Spring 2000. Smith tells us of Cadmus’s life and work and of how the two of them became friends.
To the woods!
Woodland burial is a subject G&LH has touched on in the past. As green awareness and more enlightened religion-free spirituality grows, it is becoming a far more popular funeral option. Regular contributor Neil Richardson attended the opening of the Chiltern Woodland Burial Park, situated at Potkiln Lane, Jordans, in Buckinghamshire. In “Dead wood”, he presents some beautiful photographs of the facility and tells how the park’s policy is one of respect for people of all origins, cultures, faiths and beliefs.
Iran
The plight of gay people in Iran is well known, where many live in fear of homophobic attacks and even death. Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR) works tirelessly to find asylum in the West for gay Iranian refugees. In “Railroad’s journey”, Arsham Parsi, IRQR’s executive director, tells of the organisation’s work, its desperate need for funding and how people can become an IRQR supporter for less that the cost of a cup of coffee.
Pole polishing
Finally, even Steven Dean has been driven up the pole by news of the pontiff’s visit to Britain. Find out why he’s no lover of Polish Catholics but has had more kiełbasa than a delicatessen!
Meanwhile, you can catch up on what’s been happening in the news in our regular “News Watch”, “World Watch” and “On the blog” columns.
Once you’ve entered the magazine, just click on the links down the left-hand side to get to these features.
There are several set pieces, including I Killed My Mother, written, produced, directed by and starring 20-year-old Xavier Dolan. The festival ends on 31 March with Children of God, Kareem J Mortimer’s “gorgeously photographed” (according to the BFI) first feature, which tells the classic tale of love unfolding against a backdrop of violent homophobia and social unease in the Bahamas.
The festival will present 75 feature-length films and documentaries, many of which have won awards at other international events, including Brotherhood, Nicolo Donatto’s story of gays in the neo-Nazi movement, and Ander, Roberto Castón’s portrayal of gay rural life in the Basque country.
One of Britain’s oldest gay-campaigning groups, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, is at the festival for a second year, presenting the CHE Film Prize, which offers a £2,000 prize to the film that best reflects the values and objectives of CHE in its fight for social justice.
Talking of films, although this has nothing to do with the festival, have a look at Stephen Blake’s article in the latest Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine on a film called FIT, which looks at homophobia.
Homophobic bullying is rife in Britain’s schools, and it affects gay and straight children alike. This new film by Rikki Beadle-Blair aims to tackle it head on.
Of his own early years, Blake says in the article, “Any young person in this situation [being gay] knows how lonely, debilitating a desperate life can become. It can affect how well a person succeeds at school, and in later life, their self-esteem and how well they get on with their family or friends.”
So it’s a film that’s FIT for purpose, you might say.
AND SO IS G&LH
Have a look at the other stuff in the magazine, too (just click on any of the logos you see throughout this post). Not surprisingly, the Pope comes in for some fierce criticism, and is compared to Adolf Hitler.
He’s due to come to Britain in September, and the magazine’s writers are not too pleased about it. How, G&LH asks, can Britain reconcile what it would claim is a much-needed increase in value-added tax – or VAT – with a costly visit from the Vatican (the other Vat in the magazine’s theme this time)?
“British taxpayers woke up on 1 January to a New Year present from their New Labour government – a massive tax increase in the shape of a whopping 2.5% rise in VAT,” writes editor Mike Foxwell.
“Of course, in fairness to the government, this followed a temporary reduction last year, allegedly to help the economy, and now the party was over. Back to reality. Great Britain PLC is in a financial mess and can no longer afford such indulgent largesse. ‘Tough decisions’ needed to be made if Britain were to get back on its financial feet.
“One’s mind can only boggle, then,” Foxwell continues, “at the toughness of the government’s decision to pledge an estimated £20 million of hard-pressed public resources to a state-sponsored jamboree for Catholics by inviting the Pope over for a state visit later this year. Of course, the real cost is going to be much higher and the government has indicated its preparedness to sign a blank cheque. Probably quite a big one, as the 2008 Australian papal visit cost nearly six times the £20 million estimate for Britain.
“I wonder why the word ‘hypocrisy’ comes into my head.
“It might just about be possible to stomach such public-spending caprice if the Pope were a force for national unity, be it political or social. But, of course, he is quite the opposite. The Pope has recently single-handedly scuppered the Equality Bill that would have given protection to those gay people unfortunate enough to be employed, or seek to be employed, by religious organisations. I have often wondered about the Orwellian connotation of the ‘New’ in ‘New Labour’ – under their administration, everyone is to be equal, but some will be more equal than others.”
Foxwell continues: “Not content with this, His Hatefulness now wants to ensure that pupils of ‘faith’ schools are kept in the dark about essential sexual-health information, which doesn't accord with the strictures of the fantasy world that is organised religion. And this is exactly what will happen if the pernicious amendment to the Children, Schools and Families Bill now going through Parliament is not scraped.
“I seem to remember that Geert Wilders, a democratically elected European politician, was denied entry to Britain because he was said, rightly or wrongly, by the government to be socially divisive.
“Again, why does the word hypocrisy come to mind?”
Pope likened to Hitler
In the mag’s keynote feature this time, therefore, your humble blogger (er, that’s me, folks) reports on the opposition to the official visit of a man who has shielded child-abusing priests, been responsible for countless deaths in Africa and elsewhere of people who could have been saved from disease and pregnancy through the use of condoms, and created a living hell on earth for gay people, many of whom end up as suicide statistics.
Many gay people who end up taking their own lives are young – often very young – and homophobic bullying at school is a significant factor in many of these tragedies.
The Pope is a monster, he says, but, since most heinous things are carried out in total sincerity, how does Joseph Ratzinger differ in this regard from Adolf Hitler?
Young freethinkers
It is a significant shame that children and young people have so little opportunity to have their voices heard, and are, thereby, under-represented in all debates – even ones that affect them directly! Sadly, this is also the case within the mainstream freethought movement. In our “Blogwatch” feature, Michael Campbell explains how submitting work to the big names in the rationalist press can be daunting for young freethinkers like himself, which is why he set up Young Freethought. This new blog has created a lot of interest and has received a message of support from Richard Dawkins.
Coercive religion
That religion is essentially coercive, judgemental and self-serving is hardly news to most readers of G&LH, but is it necessarily so? Mike Foxwell says: “I have always taken the view that I have no problem with what someone chooses to believe in so long as they don’t expect special privileges because of it, or coerce or harm others with it.”
In a very personal story of his early experience of this phenomenon as a child (in his article “Religious abuse”), Neil Richardson expounds a similar view. Richardson, an ordained Anglican priest, believes that abusive religion follows on naturally from false claims to understand the mind of God, to the exclusion of other interpretations, and the desperate need to build a membership of following that will shelter and sustain their own interpretation and maintain a purity of doctrine. This description applies perfectly to the Catholic Church and its “infallible” Pope, as well as the happy-clappy evangelicals.
Gay Jesus?
Groucho Marx famously said he would refuse to join any club that would have him as a member. Although he didn’t say whether he would join one that didn’t want him, which is exactly what gay Christians seem intent on doing! Many of them reconcile the irreconcilable by dint of denial: they pretend that the Church isn’t really homophobic at all. Others, such as Elton John, who has claimed recently that Jesus was gay, resort to plain delusion. As George Broadhead reveals in his article, “Right to lie”, there simply is no evidence that Jesus was gay or even gay-friendly, but plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Gays in sport
Somewhere else where gay people are not particularly welcome is sport. Particularly the brutal macho-man varieties such as rugby. How ironic that the ancient Athenian games, the forerunner of modern sport and athletics, were essentially a homosexual celebration of maleness – all women were excluded from the precinct of Olympia on pain of death!
It’s hardly much of a surprise, really, that this all had to change following Emperor Theodosius’s statute of 390, which punished gay male sex with death. He followed this act of barbarism a year later by ordering Bishop Theophilus to destroy the Great Library of Alexandria. The destruction of this, the greatest storehouse of knowledge and scholarship in the world, marked the beginning of the Roman Church’s Dark Ages, the greatest intellectual and cultural catastrophe to befall humankind, from which the world has not yet recovered.
For sure, sport has certainly not yet emerged from the Dark Ages, and homophobia is rife in all sport today. So, it takes a brave sportsman or -woman to come out and challenge this anti-gay orthodoxy. Such a man is Gareth Thomas: the most capped Welsh rugby player of all time, currently playing for Cardiff Blues, has come out as gay. In my feature, “Out in touch”, your humble blogger (again) tell the full story of how Thomas has become the patron of UK LGBT History Month and his hope that being visible as an openly gay man will help younger players.
Things looked to be improving in the world of soccer, too, with a much anticipated anti-homophobia film, which was due to be launched by the Football Association (FA) at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, 11 February. Unfortunately, the film was not shown. In “FAgs”, Peter Tatchell tells of the consternation caused by this “postponement” among both football and gay groups, and the controversy over claims that the film itself is actually homophobic.
Manly mag
While on the subject of male bastions, even if you are a bio-male (or not!), are you a “real man”? Are you even sure what “being a man” actually means? The more you try to answer this question, the more confusing it all becomes. But worry not: there’s a new magazine called Spunk!
Spunk is troubled that so few bio-men in our communities are openly questioning, (re)interpreting or disrupting their own and others’ privileged positions and practices. We are inheritors of a range of traditions; from sissy-boys and radical effeminacy, to “straight-acting”, gay hyper-masculinity, butch and dominant straight-male gender roles. Spunk wants to question how we relate to our masculinities. Read more in “Spunk”.
Paul Cadmus
Male nudes were a favourite subject of the artist Paul Cadmus, who died ten years ago. Cadmus is featured in our “Out of print” article by Warren Allen Smith, which first appeared in G&LH, Spring 2000. Smith tells us of Cadmus’s life and work and of how the two of them became friends.
To the woods!
Woodland burial is a subject G&LH has touched on in the past. As green awareness and more enlightened religion-free spirituality grows, it is becoming a far more popular funeral option. Regular contributor Neil Richardson attended the opening of the Chiltern Woodland Burial Park, situated at Potkiln Lane, Jordans, in Buckinghamshire. In “Dead wood”, he presents some beautiful photographs of the facility and tells how the park’s policy is one of respect for people of all origins, cultures, faiths and beliefs.
Iran
The plight of gay people in Iran is well known, where many live in fear of homophobic attacks and even death. Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR) works tirelessly to find asylum in the West for gay Iranian refugees. In “Railroad’s journey”, Arsham Parsi, IRQR’s executive director, tells of the organisation’s work, its desperate need for funding and how people can become an IRQR supporter for less that the cost of a cup of coffee.
Pole polishing
Finally, even Steven Dean has been driven up the pole by news of the pontiff’s visit to Britain. Find out why he’s no lover of Polish Catholics but has had more kiełbasa than a delicatessen!
Meanwhile, you can catch up on what’s been happening in the news in our regular “News Watch”, “World Watch” and “On the blog” columns.
Once you’ve entered the magazine, just click on the links down the left-hand side to get to these features.
Monday, 8 March 2010
Alan Louis
From CHE’s website:
We don’t have any other details yet. However, CHE committee member, Ross Burgess, asks: “If anyone has any memories, photos etc. of Alan they would like to share, could I please invite you to send them in to info@c-h-e.org.uk.” Alternatively, post them here, and we’ll pass them on.
We at Pink Triangle, the Pink Triangle Trust, and Gay & Lesbian Humanist would like to express our sincere sadness at this news. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and loved ones.
Death of Alan Louis
It’s with great sadness that we report the death of Alan Louis, CHE’s Community Liaison Officer and a long-term member of the Executive Committee. Alan had been an active supporter of CHE for many years and took a particular interest in services for older LGBT people and the “murder music” campaign. He died on the 4th of March at Bart’s Hospital. Information about the funeral will be posted here when known.
We don’t have any other details yet. However, CHE committee member, Ross Burgess, asks: “If anyone has any memories, photos etc. of Alan they would like to share, could I please invite you to send them in to info@c-h-e.org.uk.” Alternatively, post them here, and we’ll pass them on.
We at Pink Triangle, the Pink Triangle Trust, and Gay & Lesbian Humanist would like to express our sincere sadness at this news. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and loved ones.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Stuff and nonsense – oh, and a Happy New Year!
It’s New Year’s Eve and here’s wishing a Happy New Year to all readers and contributors to Pink Triangle.
We’ve been a bit quiet over the Christmas holidays, posting the occasional piece linking to articles in the latest issue of our sister publication, the online Gay & Lesbian Humanist.
Today I’m recommending a bit of stuff and nonsense to end the year. One of our occasional contributors, and one we hope to see more of, is Steven Dean, who brings his own cheeky, not to say outrageous, view to matters of the moment with startling naïveté.
He’s talking about television, and what a force for good it is (some of us might disagree).
“Typically,” he writes in a meticulously researched article worthy of an academic journal, “our viewing week will include a cookery show (perhaps Freaky Eaters), political debate (say Naked in Westminster), travel show (Sex Around the World is a must), financial programme (100 Percent Sex is far better than listening to the doom-and-gloom-laden [BBC economics correspondent] Robert Peston) and a relationship series (Snog Marry Avoid or Sex . . . with Mum & Dad are both excellent). We do know how to let our hair down, too, and always try to make time for a good talent show (Viva’s Pants Off, Dance Off is much better than the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing) or an old-fashioned drama (something with a good story to it, like Cock-Hungry Straight Boys).”
Well, that’s quite enough of that, but, if you really insist on reading the full article, you can find it by clicking here.
Click the logo above to get to the magazine’s cover, which has a great image that sums up the “God-damned” theme of this issue.
Hope you’ve had a great Christmas, everyone, and accept our best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
We’ll be getting back to a normal service from 4 January.
We’ve been a bit quiet over the Christmas holidays, posting the occasional piece linking to articles in the latest issue of our sister publication, the online Gay & Lesbian Humanist.
Today I’m recommending a bit of stuff and nonsense to end the year. One of our occasional contributors, and one we hope to see more of, is Steven Dean, who brings his own cheeky, not to say outrageous, view to matters of the moment with startling naïveté.
He’s talking about television, and what a force for good it is (some of us might disagree).
“Typically,” he writes in a meticulously researched article worthy of an academic journal, “our viewing week will include a cookery show (perhaps Freaky Eaters), political debate (say Naked in Westminster), travel show (Sex Around the World is a must), financial programme (100 Percent Sex is far better than listening to the doom-and-gloom-laden [BBC economics correspondent] Robert Peston) and a relationship series (Snog Marry Avoid or Sex . . . with Mum & Dad are both excellent). We do know how to let our hair down, too, and always try to make time for a good talent show (Viva’s Pants Off, Dance Off is much better than the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing) or an old-fashioned drama (something with a good story to it, like Cock-Hungry Straight Boys).”
Well, that’s quite enough of that, but, if you really insist on reading the full article, you can find it by clicking here.
Click the logo above to get to the magazine’s cover, which has a great image that sums up the “God-damned” theme of this issue.
Hope you’ve had a great Christmas, everyone, and accept our best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
We’ll be getting back to a normal service from 4 January.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Unfinished business
It’s always interesting to look back and compare then with now. All too often, it’s hard to tell the difference. In matters gay, there’s still a lot of “unfinished business”, and that’s reflected in an article of that name in the latest issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist.
It’s in a regular feature called “Out of Print” – i.e. out of the print edition of the magazine (in this case one that appeared in winter 2002) – and in it Antony Grey looks back to the days of the Homosexual Law Reform Society and the Albany Trust; he was secretary of both of them.
Grey concludes:
Read the full article by clicking here. There’s also the usual fascinating mix of news and views.
Things will be a bit quieter on the blog till 4 January, but we’ll post the occasional link to an article in G&LH.
Hope you’ve been enjoying Christmas. And here’s wishing you a Happy New Year!
It’s in a regular feature called “Out of Print” – i.e. out of the print edition of the magazine (in this case one that appeared in winter 2002) – and in it Antony Grey looks back to the days of the Homosexual Law Reform Society and the Albany Trust; he was secretary of both of them.
Grey concludes:
Maybe I’m still too trapped in the battles of the past. In these more relaxed days, younger gay folk’s open pursuit of hedonistic pleasure is all very well, but more widespread commitment to passionate campaigning is still required – not just for ourselves, but for the sake of the many adolescents growing up gay who are still faced with homophobia at school, and sometimes at home, too.
Half a century on, there is still much unfinished business for gay rights campaigners.
Read the full article by clicking here. There’s also the usual fascinating mix of news and views.
Things will be a bit quieter on the blog till 4 January, but we’ll post the occasional link to an article in G&LH.
Hope you’ve been enjoying Christmas. And here’s wishing you a Happy New Year!
Sunday, 27 December 2009
Kill Bill!
Many would like to see the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill killed off. But will it happen? And why are so many Christians silent on the issue – with the Archbishops of Canterbury (belatedly) and York (very belatedly) speaking out only after worldwide clamour?
In the latest Gay & Lesbian Humanist, the Christian writer and activist Symon Hill looks at the issues in an article written before the two archbishops finally realised they couldn’t not say anything and hope to hold onto their credibility.
“When Ugandan politician David Bahati proposed his Anti-Homosexuality Bill recently, he may have given little thought to the effect it would have on his allies in Britain,” Hill writes. “But, in seeking to respond to the Bill, antigay Christians in the UK have shown themselves to be confused, divided and plainly out of touch with Christian, as well as public, opinion.
Those British Christians who regard all homosexual activity as unethical have long insisted that they are not prejudiced. They say they are criticising a behaviour, not a group of people, and that they do not want gay people to be persecuted.”
However, he says, the sincerity of that stance “is now being put to the test”.
Read the full article by clicking here. There’s also the usual fascinating mix of news and views.
Things will be a bit quieter on the blog till 4 January, but we’ll post the occasional link to an article in G&LH.
Hope you’ve been enjoying Christmas. And here’s wishing you a Happy New Year!
In the latest Gay & Lesbian Humanist, the Christian writer and activist Symon Hill looks at the issues in an article written before the two archbishops finally realised they couldn’t not say anything and hope to hold onto their credibility.
“When Ugandan politician David Bahati proposed his Anti-Homosexuality Bill recently, he may have given little thought to the effect it would have on his allies in Britain,” Hill writes. “But, in seeking to respond to the Bill, antigay Christians in the UK have shown themselves to be confused, divided and plainly out of touch with Christian, as well as public, opinion.
Those British Christians who regard all homosexual activity as unethical have long insisted that they are not prejudiced. They say they are criticising a behaviour, not a group of people, and that they do not want gay people to be persecuted.”
However, he says, the sincerity of that stance “is now being put to the test”.
Read the full article by clicking here. There’s also the usual fascinating mix of news and views.
Things will be a bit quieter on the blog till 4 January, but we’ll post the occasional link to an article in G&LH.
Hope you’ve been enjoying Christmas. And here’s wishing you a Happy New Year!
Saturday, 26 December 2009
Is it Christmas, Yule, the festive season or just the holidays?
Was Christmas Day good for you? Do you, indeed, call this time of the year “Christmas”, or do you prefer a name that doesn’t connote religion?
American Zack Ford loves Christmas.
“I can’t help the fact that I was raised by a Christian family in a Christian home,” he writes. “What I can help is what I believe (or in my case, what I don’t). And, even though I don’t care at all about virgin births or any other such nonsense, there is a lot of cultur around the holiday season that I can and do appreciate. In fact, I love Xmastime.”
So, although he’s a fervent atheist, he loves all the stuff that surrounds Christmas.
You can read his article here. And you can also read my own article, “Yule be sorry”, from last Christmas, in which I make some similar points, concluding that we should keep the “Christ” in “Christmas” – but only as a syllable.
Click the logo above to get to the magazine’s cover, which has a great image that sums up the “God-damned” theme of this issue.
Hope you’re having a great Christmas (or Yule or holiday time or festive season), everyone, and accept our best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
American Zack Ford loves Christmas.
“I can’t help the fact that I was raised by a Christian family in a Christian home,” he writes. “What I can help is what I believe (or in my case, what I don’t). And, even though I don’t care at all about virgin births or any other such nonsense, there is a lot of cultur around the holiday season that I can and do appreciate. In fact, I love Xmastime.”
So, although he’s a fervent atheist, he loves all the stuff that surrounds Christmas.
You can read his article here. And you can also read my own article, “Yule be sorry”, from last Christmas, in which I make some similar points, concluding that we should keep the “Christ” in “Christmas” – but only as a syllable.
Click the logo above to get to the magazine’s cover, which has a great image that sums up the “God-damned” theme of this issue.
Hope you’re having a great Christmas (or Yule or holiday time or festive season), everyone, and accept our best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
Friday, 25 December 2009
Merry Christmas, folks!
Pink Triangle will be a bit quieter over the next few days, but we’ll be keeping you updated on a few features in our sister publication, Gay & Lesbian Humanist, the latest issue of which went live before Christmas.
The theme is “God-damned”, and the message is clear: we are.
God-damned, that is.
The lead article is by Roy W Brown, who is the immediate past president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and IHEU’s main representative at the UN, Geneva.
His message is that Islam wants to take over the world. He examines how our freedoms are under threat as creeping Islamisation demands more and more, putting our very way of life in jeopardy.
All in the name of God – or in that case Allah – of course. However you look at it, we’re God-damned.
Click the logo above to get to the magazine’s cover, which has a great image that sums up the “God-damned” theme of this issue.
Have a great Christmas, everyone, and accept our best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
The theme is “God-damned”, and the message is clear: we are.
God-damned, that is.
The lead article is by Roy W Brown, who is the immediate past president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and IHEU’s main representative at the UN, Geneva.
His message is that Islam wants to take over the world. He examines how our freedoms are under threat as creeping Islamisation demands more and more, putting our very way of life in jeopardy.
All in the name of God – or in that case Allah – of course. However you look at it, we’re God-damned.
Click the logo above to get to the magazine’s cover, which has a great image that sums up the “God-damned” theme of this issue.
Have a great Christmas, everyone, and accept our best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Latest G&LH now online, showing how we live in a God-damned world
The latest issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist is now online, and I’m posting this on behalf of Mike, the editor. We hope you’ll look in, perhaps send us a letter if there’s anything you like – or even don’t like! Happy Christmas from all of us to all of you.
Here is the news release that went out yesterday:
And I can add that there’s an excellent short story to chill you at Christmas. It’s by Bram Stoker of Dracula fame, it’s called “The Judge’s House”, and it’s a real chiller. It’s on the first page you’ll come to once you’ve hit the “Enter” button. Just sit back and listen. It’s in two parts, to give you a chance to pause it and go and replenish your glass. You’ll need it! It’s been adapted, read and produced by Andrew John of Celtica Radio. Enjoy!
Here is the news release that went out yesterday:
God-damned
The latest issue of the gay humanist magazine Gay & Lesbian Humanist (http://www.gayandlesbianhumanist.org/) is now online with the unwavering message that we are all God-damned.
Everywhere we look, the religious bigots are trying to ram what they call the true meaning of Christmas down our throats, while totally ignoring the fact that “Christmas” has existed in many forms since ancient times.
Unfortunately, however, the crushing nature of religion isn’t confined to Christmas. Just as phoney is their talk about peace on earth, while religious ideological wars continue in the name of peace and true gods. We need look no further than the Middle East to see the misery and mayhem being caused in the name of God, Allah or Whatever. In fact, many parts of the world appear God-damned!
Islamic menace
Our feature article this time is by ROY W BROWN, who is the immediate past president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and IHEU main representative at the UN, Geneva. Brown warns about how Islam is taking over the world; how Muslims are making claims for special treatment in British schools, hospitals and the workplace, and want to impose Sharia law for the settlement of family disputes. He rightly warns of the grave threat Islam poses to our very way of life. You only have to look at any country where Islam is in control to see where we are headed. In such places, murder and mutilation are daily occurrences and freedom and human rights are gone.
The Islamic menace is not just confined to Britain, but is widespread throughout Europe and beyond. Neither is it driven by chance, but is part of an international campaign, orchestrated by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which demands the worldwide acceptance and adoption of Islamic norms and values.
If we don’t stamp out this creeping canker very soon, Britain and the rest of Europe will be God-damned, too.
Gay-murder menace
Christianity has been showing its true colours recently in Archbishop Rowan Williams’s reluctance to speak out over the proposed gay murder bill in Uganda. SYMON HILL takes a detailed look at what has been happening there, and asks why the church seems quite happy with state murder of gay people. Given the church’s long and bloody history, some of us are not the least surprised by its acquiescence in a gay-murder bill. More worrying still is that this evangelical menace is spreading, as, in “World Watch”, GEORGE BROADHEAD reports of similar proposals now being aired in Rwanda.
Gospel thugs
Religious fundamentalism holds sway elsewhere in Africa, too. LEO IGWE describes how, in Nigeria, in July of this year, a large group of Christian thugs from the Liberty Gospel Church trashed a public symposium on witchcraft and child rights at the Cultural Centre in Calabar Cross River State. Igwe was himself assaulted by the gospel thugs and had his glasses broken.
Holy bullies
Continuing our theme on the threat of aggressive religionism, “Blogwatch”, this time, is presented by ALVIN McEWEN, whose book Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters has done so much to expose the lies of the American religious right. His blog, of the same name, continues this vital work. McEwen explains that the phoney image of the LGBT community as evil outsiders looking to gain influence via indoctrination and deception is an intentional fabrication of “pro-family” or “traditional morality” groups.
Competition
On the cover of this issue of G&LH appear some words from a song called “Goddamned” by JAY BRANNAN. As a little thank you to our readers for their support, we are running a competition to win Jay Brannan’s album of the same name, Goddamned. The whole lyric of the song appears on the competition page, and I think you will agree it is extremely apposite to both this issue’s theme and the perilous state our world is in today.
Atheist Christmas and Santa in Heaven
Can you be an atheist and enjoy Christmas? ZACK FORD tells us why even though he’s an atheist, he loves this holiday period. Meanwhile, NEIL RICHARDSON asks, “Do you believe in Father Christmas?” Richardson says he is struck by the similarity between believing in Father Christmas and believing in God.
Warm your cockles!
As I sit here typing in what is a very chilly office, summer days seem very far away. If you’re feeling the cold and damp where you are, too, you will like MARTIN LEWIS’s cockle-warming look at a few of last summer’s Pride events from around the world. And STEPHEN BLAKE takes a look at TLA’s new bad-boy rites-of-passage film, Shank.
Freethought?
Most of us believe we are freethinkers, but what exactly is freethought, and what qualifies you as a freethinker? WARREN ALLEN SMITH shares a few examples of individuals in Philosopedia who have been described by various “freethinking” labels.
In our “Out of Print” feature, we reproduce an article by ANTONY GREY, first published in the Winter 2002 issue of G&LH, that looks at the history of gay-law reform in the UK.
IAN STEWART tells us something about a presentation to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the publishers Thames and Hudson – held at the London School of Economics (LSE) – discussing recent exciting developments in the function of museums.
It’s been a busy year for the Stockholm-based Nordic Rainbow Humanists (NRH), and BILL SCHILLER reports on what’s been happening.
As usual, ANDY ARMITAGE has been on the blog and gives us his report on what’s been happening over at our sister publication, Pink Triangle.
If you thought quality television is a thing of the past, and that Lord Reith is spinning in his grave, think again! According to STEVEN DEAN, quality viewing on the box has never been better, as can be judged by a typical week’s viewing for he and his gran.
Finally, catch up on what’s been happening in our regular “News Watch” comment on selected recent news stories.
To see the latest free issue of G&LH, go to http//www.gayandlesbianhumanist.org
Happy reading!
Mike Foxwell
Editor, G&LH
And I can add that there’s an excellent short story to chill you at Christmas. It’s by Bram Stoker of Dracula fame, it’s called “The Judge’s House”, and it’s a real chiller. It’s on the first page you’ll come to once you’ve hit the “Enter” button. Just sit back and listen. It’s in two parts, to give you a chance to pause it and go and replenish your glass. You’ll need it! It’s been adapted, read and produced by Andrew John of Celtica Radio. Enjoy!
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Despised and ejected – censorship wins out again
Despised and rejected of men . . .* Well, by the GALHA committee, anyway.
GALHA is the UK’s Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, an organisation that began 30 years ago with noble intent, and has seen some notable individuals at its helm (including two admirable members of this blog’s team) and working tirelessly for its ends. However, it is now largely in the hands of spinmeisters and those who would rather only their own view of things be exposed to the eyes of others.
And yours truly plus fellow blogger Dean Braithwaite have been summarily dismissed from its discussion forum. Just like that.
I outlined the problems in a previous post, in which we revealed how one of the GALHA censors, Adam Knowles, would not allow what had become a regular post onto the forum – one that said that the latest issue of kindred magazine Gay & Lesbian Humanist was now available, and listing its contents, with a short paragraph detailing each one. The usual thing.
Mr Knowles did not like this, because the one that talked of the new-ish Gaytheist discussion group (see sidebar) urged people to leave the GALHA forum, he said.
But of course it didn’t, and the evidence is there.
It’s understandable that Mr Knowles should feel a bit put out by this, especially since it was pointed out to him that he was plain wrong. No one likes being proven wrong.
His action now is to cease our membership of the forum – a forum both of us have been members of for several years.
To top it all, there was no prior friendlier email explaining the decision, just an automated one saying we had actually put forward a request to leave the forum, which of course neither of us had.
Mr Knowles’s excuse for doing this was that our previous post (linked to above) contained a quote from his email to Braithwaite – which was part of an email exchange it is entirely within either party’s gift to quote from, and was written on behalf of a membership organisation, not an individual. It wasn’t as if Mr Knowles’s “private comments” concerned embarrassing personal problems or the colour of his underpants.
“It is the view of myself and the Committee”, he wrote to me after I had queried the automated email, “that it is unacceptable to have private comments from a moderator to a list member posted publicly without permission.”
He continued:
Again, no room for debate. Which speaks for itself.
Interestingly, if you care to read the GALHA list guidelines, as provided on its own website, you’ll see that we haven’t actually broken any of them. Simply put, it seems that we’ve been despised and ejected because we dared to challenge the committee’s authoritarian attitude against the very thing GALHA claims to support – freethought!
Under its legal disclaimers in those guidelines, GALHA has this to say:
This is actually untrue. GALHA is responsible, as its committee is fully aware, the legal responsibility having been pointed out to it only recently. But what’s really funny (we could weep, but not tears of joy!) is that, while preferring to take no responsibility for posts to its own list, GALHA thinks it has jurisdiction over others’.
We’ll have to take Mr Knowles’s word for it that he didn’t take it personally. Readers will make up their own minds. As to what “attack” there was upon Mr Knowles (and quite how it was “sustained”), well that’s open to conjecture. My pointing out that what he said was demonstrably untrue?
__________
* Isaiah 53: 3; Mr Handel made use of the words, too – and nobody objected to that!
__________
If you’d like to join Gaytheist (with or without leaving another list!), put your email address in the little box below, and click on the bit below it.
Gay or straight, why not join our discussion list?
GALHA is the UK’s Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, an organisation that began 30 years ago with noble intent, and has seen some notable individuals at its helm (including two admirable members of this blog’s team) and working tirelessly for its ends. However, it is now largely in the hands of spinmeisters and those who would rather only their own view of things be exposed to the eyes of others.
And yours truly plus fellow blogger Dean Braithwaite have been summarily dismissed from its discussion forum. Just like that.
I outlined the problems in a previous post, in which we revealed how one of the GALHA censors, Adam Knowles, would not allow what had become a regular post onto the forum – one that said that the latest issue of kindred magazine Gay & Lesbian Humanist was now available, and listing its contents, with a short paragraph detailing each one. The usual thing.
Mr Knowles did not like this, because the one that talked of the new-ish Gaytheist discussion group (see sidebar) urged people to leave the GALHA forum, he said.
But of course it didn’t, and the evidence is there.
It’s understandable that Mr Knowles should feel a bit put out by this, especially since it was pointed out to him that he was plain wrong. No one likes being proven wrong.
His action now is to cease our membership of the forum – a forum both of us have been members of for several years.
To top it all, there was no prior friendlier email explaining the decision, just an automated one saying we had actually put forward a request to leave the forum, which of course neither of us had.
Mr Knowles’s excuse for doing this was that our previous post (linked to above) contained a quote from his email to Braithwaite – which was part of an email exchange it is entirely within either party’s gift to quote from, and was written on behalf of a membership organisation, not an individual. It wasn’t as if Mr Knowles’s “private comments” concerned embarrassing personal problems or the colour of his underpants.
“It is the view of myself and the Committee”, he wrote to me after I had queried the automated email, “that it is unacceptable to have private comments from a moderator to a list member posted publicly without permission.”
He continued:
Further, this post includes a sustained personal attack upon myself as moderator, despite my acting on behalf of GALHA, under GALHA-agreed rules and with that authority.
For that reason I have today removed you as subscriber to the GALHA email discussion list. This is not because I have taken offense [sic] or otherwise been moved by your comments, but because it is in the best interests of the list for you to no longer be a member.
With this explanation provided, I consider this matter closed.
Again, no room for debate. Which speaks for itself.
Interestingly, if you care to read the GALHA list guidelines, as provided on its own website, you’ll see that we haven’t actually broken any of them. Simply put, it seems that we’ve been despised and ejected because we dared to challenge the committee’s authoritarian attitude against the very thing GALHA claims to support – freethought!
Under its legal disclaimers in those guidelines, GALHA has this to say:
GALHA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on GALHA email lists; posts represent the viewpoint of the writer and are not endorsed by GALHA. Anonymous postings are prohibited.
This is actually untrue. GALHA is responsible, as its committee is fully aware, the legal responsibility having been pointed out to it only recently. But what’s really funny (we could weep, but not tears of joy!) is that, while preferring to take no responsibility for posts to its own list, GALHA thinks it has jurisdiction over others’.
We’ll have to take Mr Knowles’s word for it that he didn’t take it personally. Readers will make up their own minds. As to what “attack” there was upon Mr Knowles (and quite how it was “sustained”), well that’s open to conjecture. My pointing out that what he said was demonstrably untrue?
__________
* Isaiah 53: 3; Mr Handel made use of the words, too – and nobody objected to that!
__________
If you’d like to join Gaytheist (with or without leaving another list!), put your email address in the little box below, and click on the bit below it.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
CENSORED!
This blog has talked about censorship and free speech a few times (yes, yes, it’s one of our favourite subjects!).
You don’t expect kindred organisations to censor you, but it happens from time to time. None other than the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has refused to allow what has been a regular post to its discussion forum, announcing that the latest issue of the free, nonprofit and kindred Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine is now available online.
One of GALHA’s censors, Adam Knowles, believes that, because it contains a paragraph referring to the Gaytheist discussion group, it is urging people to leave the GALHA group and join Gaytheist. It is not doing anything of the sort, of course, since it doesn’t suggest that anyone should leave the GALHA forum. Indeed, both forums have some members in common, and Mr Knowles is guilty of being rather economical with the facts.
My colleague Dean Braithwaite challenged Mr Knowles in an email, saying:
Mr Knowles’s startlingly illogical response was to say in an email, “I’m afraid I disagree” – as one might disagree with gravity or the existence of air. Braithwaite’s assertion can be proven, of course.
Gaytheist came about as a result of GALHA’s censorship, as you can see from the background article below, and the link to a previous post here on Pink Triangle. Braithwaite, a fellow Pink Triangle contributor and member of the GALHA forum, tried to post the magazine’s usual news release to it, detailing all that was in the latest issue, but was told he could not.
So some people who see themselves as freethinkers would seem to be nothing of the sort. Anyway, here is the background article.
Freedom to censor
You may remember when we introduced the Gaytheist discussion group (see sidebar and join-the-group graphic below), and we hinted at the time that it had come about as a result of censorship on another group.
The actual wording was:
We didn’t name that group then, but have done so now.
The setting up of Gaytheist came about as a direct result of the refusal of the GALHA Net Nannies to allow a post – one from yours truly, as it happened – that had the word “Muzzies” in it. Indeed, in an email to me, one of the GALHA people, Keith Angus, said it was akin to the use of the words “nigger” and “Paki”. That was an accusation of racism.
I posted that fact to the GALHA group, and the email was allowed. Since the word “Muzzies” was now being discussed as a word, that, too, was allowed. It would have been rather silly to do otherwise. (It was rather daft to block it in the first place, and someone could always have responded within the forum by saying that it was not a nice word, if they felt strongly about it; that’s what happens when you have freedom of speech and allow open debate. And there’s been no apology for the charge of racism against me.)
Now you may not like the word “Muzzies”, but racist it’s not. Islam is an ideology, and in many respects – especially as it relates to gay people – not a very nice one. We also use words such as “fundies”. So do other atheist/rationalist blogs that are equally well thought of. It’s whimsical, and echoes the fact that anyone using it does not hold much respect for Islam as an ideology (or fundamentalist Christianity in the case of the other term).
The use of “Muzzies” was actually discussed on the Gaytheist list, and some constructive debate was had by mature people. Some were neutral about its use; others didn’t particularly like it. But the latter would not have censored it had they been moderating a forum.
However, now we come to GALHA’s latest act of suppression: our sister publication, Gay & Lesbian Humanist (G&LH), has effectively been censored, in that the usual post that my colleague Dean Braithwaite sends to the GALHA group to say the latest issue is out (and available free by clicking here, by the way), has been blocked by one of the GALHA committee, Adam Knowles, who says the message was received but won’t be allowed onto the discussion list because a post that “recommends people leave the GALHA mailing list for another one is not in the best interests of the list”.
Actually, that is a lie. What it does say, in a reference to an article within the magazine about Gaytheist, and amid a full rundown of the contents of the magazine, is this:
And nowhere does it recommend that people leave one group for another, as if membership of one barred one from membership of another. As I say above, there is a small crossover of membership.
My colleague Dean Braithwaite challenged Knowles on this, saying:
Adam Knowles responded with the kind of sidestep one would expect from a NuLabour politician. He said, with not a thought for the facts, “I’m afraid I disagree.” The facts were laid before him. Not an opinion, but documentary evidence of what had been sent to the forum, but he disagreed with it. This is rather astounding, since you would normally disagree with something that is a matter of opinion, not something that is there before your eyes. But that is what he said.
Mike Foxwell, the editor of G&LH and the person responsible for the Gaytheist reference quoted above, had this to say:
Why am I hanging out this dirty linen in public? Well, it shows that not all humanists and those who like to think of themselves as freethinkers are really freethinkers at all. In fact, the naïveté of Mr Knowles and his fellow Net Nannies beggars belief.
If you’d like to join Gaytheist (with or without leaving another list!), put your email address in the little box below.
Gay or straight, why not join our discussion list?
You don’t expect kindred organisations to censor you, but it happens from time to time. None other than the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has refused to allow what has been a regular post to its discussion forum, announcing that the latest issue of the free, nonprofit and kindred Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine is now available online.
One of GALHA’s censors, Adam Knowles, believes that, because it contains a paragraph referring to the Gaytheist discussion group, it is urging people to leave the GALHA group and join Gaytheist. It is not doing anything of the sort, of course, since it doesn’t suggest that anyone should leave the GALHA forum. Indeed, both forums have some members in common, and Mr Knowles is guilty of being rather economical with the facts.
My colleague Dean Braithwaite challenged Mr Knowles in an email, saying:
Thanks for your response. Actually, the email I posted doesn’t do anything of the sort. It simply states the fact that a new forum has been set up. We must be reading two different emails because nowhere does it recommend people leave the GALHA list for another one, as you claim.
Mr Knowles’s startlingly illogical response was to say in an email, “I’m afraid I disagree” – as one might disagree with gravity or the existence of air. Braithwaite’s assertion can be proven, of course.
Gaytheist came about as a result of GALHA’s censorship, as you can see from the background article below, and the link to a previous post here on Pink Triangle. Braithwaite, a fellow Pink Triangle contributor and member of the GALHA forum, tried to post the magazine’s usual news release to it, detailing all that was in the latest issue, but was told he could not.
So some people who see themselves as freethinkers would seem to be nothing of the sort. Anyway, here is the background article.
You may remember when we introduced the Gaytheist discussion group (see sidebar and join-the-group graphic below), and we hinted at the time that it had come about as a result of censorship on another group.
The actual wording was:
Unlike some groups in the atheist/humanist/LGBT community – and I’m thinking of one in particular – Gaytheist does not believe in censoring your posts. What it does do is respect you as a mature person who will be responsible in your posts, and one who will not break the law by libelling other people, or will not be gratuitously offensive.
We didn’t name that group then, but have done so now.
The setting up of Gaytheist came about as a direct result of the refusal of the GALHA Net Nannies to allow a post – one from yours truly, as it happened – that had the word “Muzzies” in it. Indeed, in an email to me, one of the GALHA people, Keith Angus, said it was akin to the use of the words “nigger” and “Paki”. That was an accusation of racism.
I posted that fact to the GALHA group, and the email was allowed. Since the word “Muzzies” was now being discussed as a word, that, too, was allowed. It would have been rather silly to do otherwise. (It was rather daft to block it in the first place, and someone could always have responded within the forum by saying that it was not a nice word, if they felt strongly about it; that’s what happens when you have freedom of speech and allow open debate. And there’s been no apology for the charge of racism against me.)
Now you may not like the word “Muzzies”, but racist it’s not. Islam is an ideology, and in many respects – especially as it relates to gay people – not a very nice one. We also use words such as “fundies”. So do other atheist/rationalist blogs that are equally well thought of. It’s whimsical, and echoes the fact that anyone using it does not hold much respect for Islam as an ideology (or fundamentalist Christianity in the case of the other term).
The use of “Muzzies” was actually discussed on the Gaytheist list, and some constructive debate was had by mature people. Some were neutral about its use; others didn’t particularly like it. But the latter would not have censored it had they been moderating a forum.
However, now we come to GALHA’s latest act of suppression: our sister publication, Gay & Lesbian Humanist (G&LH), has effectively been censored, in that the usual post that my colleague Dean Braithwaite sends to the GALHA group to say the latest issue is out (and available free by clicking here, by the way), has been blocked by one of the GALHA committee, Adam Knowles, who says the message was received but won’t be allowed onto the discussion list because a post that “recommends people leave the GALHA mailing list for another one is not in the best interests of the list”.
Actually, that is a lie. What it does say, in a reference to an article within the magazine about Gaytheist, and amid a full rundown of the contents of the magazine, is this:
Following a protracted row between subscribers of the online Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) discussion list and its controllers over censorship, the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) (publishers of G&LH) have launched a new forum, Gaytheist, an uncensored discussion group for gay and gay-friendly straight atheists, agnostics and freethinkers. Gaytheist encourages free debate on all subjects loosely related to being gay and/or being a nonbeliever. Find out more about Gaytheist and how to join in our “Gaytheist” article.
And nowhere does it recommend that people leave one group for another, as if membership of one barred one from membership of another. As I say above, there is a small crossover of membership.
My colleague Dean Braithwaite challenged Knowles on this, saying:
Thanks for your response. Actually, the email I posted doesn't do anything of the sort. It simply states the fact that a new forum has been set up. We must be reading two different emails because nowhere does it recommend people leave the GALHA list for another one, as you claim.
Adam Knowles responded with the kind of sidestep one would expect from a NuLabour politician. He said, with not a thought for the facts, “I’m afraid I disagree.” The facts were laid before him. Not an opinion, but documentary evidence of what had been sent to the forum, but he disagreed with it. This is rather astounding, since you would normally disagree with something that is a matter of opinion, not something that is there before your eyes. But that is what he said.
Mike Foxwell, the editor of G&LH and the person responsible for the Gaytheist reference quoted above, had this to say:
These guys really don’t understand irony: they’ve banned publicity about a new freethinkers’ discussion list, which was only set up because of criticisms of censorship of postings on their list! It could make you weep; you really couldn’t make it up.
Why am I hanging out this dirty linen in public? Well, it shows that not all humanists and those who like to think of themselves as freethinkers are really freethinkers at all. In fact, the naïveté of Mr Knowles and his fellow Net Nannies beggars belief.
If you’d like to join Gaytheist (with or without leaving another list!), put your email address in the little box below.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
POPE – People Opposing Papal Edicts
The Pope is due to visit Britain next year, and, in my capacity as secretary of the Pink Triangle Trust, I’ve issued the following news release calling for protests. It’s already begun to appear in online LGBT outlets.
Also of interest: my article “The paranoid Pope” in a recent Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine, where we discuss Pope Benedict’s condemnation of gays; and our “Out of print” article (taken from an earlier print edition of the magazine), “Enter the Enforcer”, by Matthew Thompson.
Gay Humanists call for strong protest when Pope visits UK
The gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) has called for a strong protest to be made when Pope Benedict XVI visits the UK early next year.
The PTT’s secretary George Broadhead said: “This pope has shown himself to be paranoid about homosexuality. His opposition to LGBT rights knows no bounds. In his Christmas message last year he declared that saving humanity from homosexual behaviour was as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. This must be the most outrageous and bizarre claim yet made by someone who has already got a well-deserved reputation as one of the most viciously homophobic world leaders on a par with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
“The Vatican reinforced its anti-gay reputation by strongly opposing a UN declaration calling for an end to discrimination against gays and the Pope’s Christmas message provided clear evidence of an obsession about homosexuality which is tantamount to paranoia.
“It is imperative that the strongest possible protest be made when he visits the UK next year,” continued Mr Broadhead. “This is not without precedent. During the last papal visit to the UK by John Paul II in 1982, a protest called POPE (People Opposing Papal Edicts) was instigated by the Gay Humanist Group of which I was a founder member.
“It had the support of other gay and secular organisations, including the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and the National Secular Society. On the occasion of the next papal visit, we must pull out all the stops to demonstrate our opposition.”
Also of interest: my article “The paranoid Pope” in a recent Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine, where we discuss Pope Benedict’s condemnation of gays; and our “Out of print” article (taken from an earlier print edition of the magazine), “Enter the Enforcer”, by Matthew Thompson.
Friday, 11 September 2009
PTT welcomes PM's apology to Alan Turing
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Further to our blog entry earlier today, the Pink Triangle Trust has issued the following news release:
Gay Humanists welcome PM’s apology for Alan Turing
Britain’s only gay humanist charity has welcomed Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s apology for the treatment meted out to the wartime cryptologist and mathematician, Alan Turing.
The Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) called for an apology earlier this month, when its secretary, George Broadhead, said, “As a gay atheist himself, Alan Turing is a humanist hero and an apology for the appalling way he was treated for being gay is long overdue.”
Meanwhile, the academic John Graham-Cumming launched a Downing Street petition calling for an apology, and the number of signatories was soon in the tens of thousands. By 11 September, it was up to 31,000.
The Prime Minister wrote an article in the Daily Telegraph on 10 September, in which he said:
Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated.
While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time, and we can’t put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair, and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted, as he was convicted, under homophobic laws, were treated terribly.
Over the years, millions more lived in fear in conviction. I am proud that those days are gone and that in the past 12 years this Government has done so much to make life fairer and more equal for our LGBT community. This recognition of Alan’s status as one of Britain’s most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality, and long overdue.
This also formed the basis of his emailed response to those who had signed the petition.
“It’s certainly not before time that this apology has been issued,” said George Broadhead today. “It’s extremely sad that Turing was treated in such a manner back then, resulting in his suicide in 1954, but that it’s taken so long for the British government to issue an apology and to recognise the invaluable work Turing did in altering the possible course of the Second World War is inexcusable.
“At least Gordon Brown has gone some way towards putting that right, and, of course, we welcome his message. It’s particularly apt coming so close to the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.”
Meanwhile, Mike Foxwell, editor of G&LH, the PTT’s magazine, added: “Welcome though as they are, Gordon Brown’s words of regret are just that. The only act that the British state could perform is to give Alan Turing the posthumous knighthood he deserved in life for his service to Britain and the world in helping to ensure the defeat of Nazism.
“How very ironic that a man who helped ensure the demise of Nazism was meted out such fascistic treatment by his own country.”
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Turing’s untimely death, the Summer 2004 issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist carried a special three-article feature. Turing – mathematician, codebreaker, engineer, philosopher, and freethinker par excellence – is one of Britain’s most celebrated gay atheists.
Alan Turing campaign
The campaign was launched by John Graham-Cumming, a leading British computer expert and author of The Geek Atlas. To see Pink Triangle’s earlier coverage of this campaign, click here, here and here. To sign the petition, click here.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Turing – 12,000 and counting!
In my capacity as secretary of the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT), I have issued a press release welcoming the support being given by members of the British public to the campaign to win an official apology for Alan Turing:
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Turing’s untimely death, the Summer 2004 issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist carried a special three-article feature. Turing – mathematician, codebreaker, engineer, philosopher, and freethinker par excellence – is one of Britain’s most celebrated gay atheists.
Alan Turing campaign
UPDATE: And it was soon closer to 18,000, as this story testifies.
Gay Humanists welcome increasing support for Alan Turing campaign
The gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) has warmly welcomed the steadily increasing support to win an official apology for Alan Turing, the gay atheist code-breaking genius and father of the modern computer who committed suicide in 1954 after being prosecuted for being homosexual.
More than 12,000 people have now added their name to the on-line petition calling for the Government to recognise the “consequences of prejudice” that ended the life of the scientist aged just 41.
Notable among the campaign’s supporters is the well-known atheist and humanist Professor Richard Dawkins who said that an apology would “send a signal to the world which needs to be sent, and that Turing would still be alive today if it were not for the repressive, religion-influenced laws which drove him to despair.”
The author of The God Delusion, who is due to present a forthcoming television programme for Channel 4 on Turing, said the impact of the mathematician’s war work could not be overstated. “Turing arguably made a greater contribution to defeating the Nazis than Eisenhower or Churchill. Thanks to Turing and his ‘Ultra’ colleagues at Bletchley Park, Allied generals in the field were consistently, over long periods of the war, privy to detailed German plans before the German generals had time to implement them.
“After the war, when Turing’s role was no longer top-secret, he should have been knighted and fêted as a saviour of his nation. Instead, this gentle, stammering, eccentric genius was destroyed, for a ‘crime’, committed in private, which harmed nobody,” he said. Professor Dawkins also called for a permanent financial endowment to support Bletchley Park, where Turing helped break the Nazi Enigma code.
The PTT secretary George Broadhead commented: “It is great to have such a prominent atheist and humanist as Richard Dawkins add his weight to the campaign and it is highly significant that he has identified religious-influenced laws as being to blame for Turing's suicide. “As a gay atheist himself, Alan Turing is a humanist hero and an apology for the appalling way he was treated for being gay is long overdue.”
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Turing’s untimely death, the Summer 2004 issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist carried a special three-article feature. Turing – mathematician, codebreaker, engineer, philosopher, and freethinker par excellence – is one of Britain’s most celebrated gay atheists.
Alan Turing campaign
The campaign was launched by John Graham-Cumming, a leading British computer expert and author of The Geek Atlas. For the PTT’s earlier press release about the campaign, see this blog entry.
To sign the petition, click here.
__________To sign the petition, click here.
UPDATE: And it was soon closer to 18,000, as this story testifies.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Gaytheist – get discussing!
Pink Triangle and Gay & Lesbian Humanist magazine now have a discussion group to add to the mix.
Called Gaytheist, it’s one of the famous Yahoo! Groups, and you can join by adding your email address to the link on the sidebar or below this post. You’ll get an email to ask you to confirm that you own that address, and you click on a link. Easy-peasy.
Unlike some groups in the atheist/humanist/LGBT community – and I’m thinking of one in particular – Gaytheist does not believe in censoring your posts. What it does do is respect you as a mature person who will be responsible in your posts, and one who will not break the law by libelling other people, or will not be gratuitously offensive.
Gaytheist expects you to post appropriate material (be that an alert to the latest relevant story in a newspaper or magazine or on a blog or website); to alert other members to events; to ask questions; to comment on matters in the news that are relevant to the discussion group; comment on any other matters relevant to being gay and/or a nonbeliever.
It expects you to adopt other self-regulating qualities, such as not being racist, but, if you are suspected of being, expect other members to jump in and put you right. What is and isn’t racism is often open to debate, and people have been accused of racism when they’re talking about religious groups, such as Muslims and Buddhists, religions that boast members of all races – black, brown, yellow and white.
You don’t even need to be gay. The top-of-the-page description at the Yahoo! Groups site reads:
To reiterate, to join Gaytheist, add your email address to the link below (or on the sidebar opposite). You’ll get an email to ask you to confirm that you own that address, and you click on a link to say yes.
Called Gaytheist, it’s one of the famous Yahoo! Groups, and you can join by adding your email address to the link on the sidebar or below this post. You’ll get an email to ask you to confirm that you own that address, and you click on a link. Easy-peasy.
Unlike some groups in the atheist/humanist/LGBT community – and I’m thinking of one in particular – Gaytheist does not believe in censoring your posts. What it does do is respect you as a mature person who will be responsible in your posts, and one who will not break the law by libelling other people, or will not be gratuitously offensive.
Gaytheist expects you to post appropriate material (be that an alert to the latest relevant story in a newspaper or magazine or on a blog or website); to alert other members to events; to ask questions; to comment on matters in the news that are relevant to the discussion group; comment on any other matters relevant to being gay and/or a nonbeliever.
It expects you to adopt other self-regulating qualities, such as not being racist, but, if you are suspected of being, expect other members to jump in and put you right. What is and isn’t racism is often open to debate, and people have been accused of racism when they’re talking about religious groups, such as Muslims and Buddhists, religions that boast members of all races – black, brown, yellow and white.
You don’t even need to be gay. The top-of-the-page description at the Yahoo! Groups site reads:
An uncensored discussion group for LGBT and straight gay-friendly atheists, agnostics and freethinkers that encourages free debate on all subjects loosely related to being gay and/or being a nonbeliever.”
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Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Alan Turing campaign
Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist, author and prominent atheist, has thrown his support behind a campaign to win an official apology for Alan Turing. The Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) supports this campaign and welcomes Dawkins’s decision. Accordingly, in my capacity as secretary of the PTT, I’ve issued a press release (below).
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Alan Turing took his own life in 1954. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of his death, on Monday, 7 June 2004, a commemorative blue plaque was unveiled by the British mathematician and politician Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, during a ceremony at the house in Wilmslow where he had lived during the last four years of his life.
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Also to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Turing’s untimely death, the Summer 2004 issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist carried a special three-article feature. Turing – mathematician, codebreaker, engineer, philosopher, and freethinker par excellence – is one of Britain’s most celebrated gay atheists.
Alan Turing campaign
The campaign was launched by John Graham-Cumming, a leading British computer expert and author of The Geek Atlas.
To sign the petition, click here.
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Gay Humanists welcome support for Alan Turing campaign
The gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) has warmly welcomed the decision of Richard Dawkins to back the campaign to win an official apology for Alan Turing, the code-breaking genius and father of the modern computer who committed suicide in 1954 after being prosecuted for being homosexual.
More than 2,500 people have now added their name to the on-line petition calling for the Government to recognise the “consequences of prejudice” that ended the life of the scientist, aged just 41.
Professor Dawkins said that an apology would “send a signal to the world which needs to be sent”, and that Turing would still be alive today if it were not for the repressive, religion-influenced laws which drove him to despair.
The author of The God Delusion, who is due to present a forthcoming television programme for Channel 4 on Turing, said the impact of the mathematician’s war work could not be overstated. “Turing arguably made a greater contribution to defeating the Nazis than Eisenhower or Churchill. Thanks to Turing and his ‘Ultra’ colleagues at Bletchley Park, Allied generals in the field were consistently, over long periods of the war, privy to detailed German plans before the German generals had time to implement them.
“After the war, when Turing’s role was no longer top-secret, he should have been knighted and fêted as a saviour of his nation. Instead, this gentle, stammering, eccentric genius was destroyed, for a ‘crime’, committed in private, which harmed nobody,” he said. Professor Dawkins also called for a permanent financial endowment to support Bletchley Park, where Turing helped break the Nazi Enigma code.
The PTT secretary George Broadhead commented: “It is great to have such a prominent atheist and humanist as Richard Dawkins add his weight to the campaign. As a gay atheist himself, Alan Turing is a humanist hero and an apology for the appalling way he was treated for being gay is long overdue.”
Alan Turing took his own life in 1954. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of his death, on Monday, 7 June 2004, a commemorative blue plaque was unveiled by the British mathematician and politician Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, during a ceremony at the house in Wilmslow where he had lived during the last four years of his life.
.jpg)
Also to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Turing’s untimely death, the Summer 2004 issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist carried a special three-article feature. Turing – mathematician, codebreaker, engineer, philosopher, and freethinker par excellence – is one of Britain’s most celebrated gay atheists.
Alan Turing campaign
The campaign was launched by John Graham-Cumming, a leading British computer expert and author of The Geek Atlas.
To sign the petition, click here.
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