The Gay Fray

One Latte With One Sugar.. Spare the Semen..

One for 'the crazy things that batshit crazy religious people say about gay men' list:

The leader of the vehemently anti-gay Harlem ATLAH Missionary Church, James Manning, is once again making outrageous claims against the gay community. This time he might have outdone himself.

Last week, Manning asserted that Starbucks is "ground zero for Ebola" after the company released it's first LGBT commercial starring Bianca Del Rio and Adore Delano of "RuPaul's Drag Race" fame.

Now, Manning has released another video in which the religious leader claims that Starbucks has been using the "sodomites' semen" in their flavored coffee drinks. He states in the video:

“Starbucks is a place where these types frequent and a lot of body fluids are exchanged there. But the thing that I was not aware of is that there has been information that has been released… what Starbucks was doing, is they were taking specimens of male semen, and they were putting it in the blends of their lattes. Now, this is the absolute truth."

​

I don't even....

There are many jokes that could come from this.. from pregnancy jokes to jokes about Starbucks coffee... But on a more serious note, this kind of lunacy is able to be spouted and there are some people who actually buy into this level of hatred and vitriol.

And is it just me to question the clearly deranged fantasies this fuck-knuckle has about gay men? I mean really? How does one even come up with rubbish like this?

 

It's 'Batshit Crazy Fuck-Knuckle Christian' time again!!

Today, our Batshit Crazy Fuck-Knuckle Christian heralds from Arizona.

Let's all say a huge hello to Pastor Steven Anderson!

Batshit Crazy Fuck-knuckle Pastor Anderson preaches at the Faithful Word Baptist Church.

His latest rant comes about because of World AIDS Day. You see, Batshit Crazy Fuck-Knuckle Pastor Anderson, as he began his sermon, regaled his congregation about how his trip to the bank was being forced to put up with "AIDS paraphernalia" that was advertised everywhere about World AIDS Day. The reason for his disgust? Gays of course.

Batshit Crazy Fuck-Knuckle Pastor Anderson had a simple solution.

Kill them all for an AIDS free Christmas. He calls it his "cure for AIDS".

“Turn to Leviticus 20:13 because I actually discovered the cure for AIDS,” the married father-of-eight said in a December 1 YouTube video called ‘AIDS: the Judgement of God’.
“If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS.

“It was right there in the Bible all along — and they’re out spending billions of dollars in research and testing. It’s curable — right there. Because if you executed the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant.”
​

One would have thought and hoped that he was preaching to an empty room. Around 50 people turned up and sat through this disgusting vitriol. And the comments section on youtube shows a lot of people share his sentiments.

I had thought about linking his video that he uploads to youtube here. There is a link of it in the news story quoted and linked above. I won't do so because this piece of filth advocated a hate crime and genocide and frankly, deserves to be mocked, arrested and judged for his crime of advocating for mass murder and encouraging and inciting hate crimes and genocide.

So let's say Merry Christmas to Batshit Crazy Fuck-Knuckle Pastor Anderson. And may he rot in whatever bottomless pits of hell he personally believes in.

 

He is also dangerous.

Because there are actually people who listen to what he says.

Back in 2009, Anderson gave a sermon titled, "Why I Hate Barack Obama," in which he prayed for the death of President Obama. "God hates Barack Obama," he told his congregation. "I hate Barack Obama." This was on the eve of the president's visit to the area, and while Anderson noted that several of his congregants would be going, he couldn't make it. A few days later it was reported that Christopher Broughton, a man who brought his loaded AR-15 rifle to Obama's speaking event outside Phoenix, was one of Anderson's followers, who attended that sermon the day before.
​

I am an atheist, so I don't believe in the concept of 'evil' in a religious sense. But if I did, this guy would fit the bill. The level of hatred and vile ideology that drives him and those who attend his church and listen and believe in those so called sermons he give.. There is a reason why he and his congregation are classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

As Michelangelo Signorile notes in his article about Anderson and his latest spray where he preached to his congregation about killing all gays to cure AIDS:

Anderson is the embodiment of hate and makes the late Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church look like Ghandi. He's much more dangerous because Anderson has an actual congregation -- not just a cultish family -- called the Faithful Word Baptist Church, in Tempe, Arizona. They are a group of extremists who come to an office space in a strip mall in Tempe -- the site of the "church" -- to hear Anderson spew his venom and follow his commands, and that's surely one reason why the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) labeled the church a hate group.​

And Mr Signorile knows Anderson well. He was unfortunate enough to have had a brush with Anderson a few years ago:

In the same sermon Anderson attacked "sodomites" and called for the execution of gays back then too. I invited him on my radio program at the time, not just to try to understand this lunacy and challenge him on it; I think we need to expose people like Anderson, so the world can see their hate and be made aware of their dangerous rhetoric. He told me he wouldn't consider an individual a "murderer" if he or she shot the president, and then talked about his belief that gays should be executed. He claimed that "homosexuals infiltrate church and molest kids." When I told him I was gay and didn't molest children, he said I certainly was molesting children and called me a liar. I asked if he would then pray that I'd die too. He answered, "If you're a homosexual I hope you get brain cancer like Ted Kennedy." (You can watch the video clip below.)

A lot of people think people like Anderson should be ignored. But when there's an audience listening to him, following his twisted and violence-inciting rants, I believe quite the contrary: People like Anderson should be monitored by groups like SPLC and should be kept under a floodlight, so that he knows the whole world is watching.​

People say sunshine is the best disinfectant. But really, sometimes you think a tanker load of bleach doesn't go astray.

Inciting violence against others, inciting mass murder against a group and hiding behind one's free speech and one's God to do it.. I'm sorry, but there is a limit. He goes further than WBC and Phelps in that he actively calls for the murder of others. He calls for mass killings, almost inviting his congregation to go out and do it. Telling them that it is what God would have wanted or wants of them. That right there is dangerous ideology. It goes well beyond a "god hates fags" sign and steps right into inciting violence.

He dialed it up that notch.

And it is because of his vitriol that few people take pity or feel sorry for him after he was tased and beaten up by border patrol police officers after he refused to exit his car when he was ordered to by said police. As much as this guy is such a hateful bastard, as much as he openly wishes people would die horrible deaths because they are gay, it's still hard viewing to see anyone, even him, in that much pain. And as much as one might want to say 'suck shit you wanker' when they break that window and aim the taser gun through his car window and fire, I just end up feeling really sorry for him. Like he's a creature worth pitying and perhaps, dipped in honey and plonked on a fire ants nest or something... Okay, I jest, but really...

Sadly, it isn't just him. His wife has a blog which the news story I'd linked in a previous post, provided a link to. And she's as bad as he is. Having a quick read through it all, you see normal posts, she's discussing normal things about her life. And then bam!.. comments about her feelings about homosexuals or people in Africa, and it's just vile hatred. Of course they homeschool their 8 children, so those kids are being exposed to this level of hatred as well and the cycle will just keep going.

 

Yes I saw that. I completely forgot to mention it. But thank you for linking it.

Sooo.. I may or may not have made a few dozen individual donations on behalf myself, my children (each), my partner, my ex-husband, our parents, our pets, our friends and family...

It's Christmas. The time to give and help those in need. And I am sure Batshit Crazy Fuck-knuckle Pastor Anderson can use the coal to warm his home and his family. The gift that keeps on giving.

Hmm.. Which reminds me.. I have family overseas who I am sure would love love love to make sure Batshit Crazy Fuck-knuckle Pastor Anderson has enough coal to keep him warm this Christmas....

 

I have been at odds with myself about this...

Do I post this or don't I?

And then I realised, it needs to be told. If you have children, if you know children, work with children or you are yourself a child, this needs to be told.

Firstly, Leelah's note:

If you are reading this, it means that I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue.

Please don’t be sad, it’s for the better. The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in… because I’m transgender. I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way, but this note is probably going to be lengthy enough as it is. To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy’s body, and I’ve felt that way ever since I was 4. I never knew there was a word for that feeling, nor was it possible for a boy to become a girl, so I never told anyone and I just continued to do traditionally “boyish” things to try to fit in.

When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me.

My mom started taking me to a therapist, but would only take me to christian therapists, (who were all very biased) so I never actually got the therapy I needed to cure me of my depression. I only got more christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.

When I was 16 I realized that my parents would never come around, and that I would have to wait until I was 18 to start any sort of transitioning treatment, which absolutely broke my heart. The longer you wait, the harder it is to transition. I felt hopeless, that I was just going to look like a man in drag for the rest of my life. On my 16th birthday, when I didn’t receive consent from my parents to start transitioning, I cried myself to sleep.

I formed a sort of a “fuck you” attitude towards my parents and came out as gay at school, thinking that maybe if I eased into coming out as trans it would be less of a shock. Although the reaction from my friends was positive, my parents were pissed. They felt like I was attacking their image, and that I was an embarrassment to them. They wanted me to be their perfect little straight christian boy, and that’s obviously not what I wanted.

So they took me out of public school, took away my laptop and phone, and forbid me of getting on any sort of social media, completely isolating me from my friends. This was probably the part of my life when I was the most depressed, and I’m surprised I didn’t kill myself. I was completely alone for 5 months. No friends, no support, no love. Just my parent’s disappointment and the cruelty of loneliness.

At the end of the school year, my parents finally came around and gave me my phone and let me back on social media. I was excited, I finally had my friends back. They were extremely excited to see me and talk to me, but only at first. Eventually they realized they didn’t actually give a shit about me, and I felt even lonelier than I did before. The only friends I thought I had only liked me because they saw me five times a week.

After a summer of having almost no friends plus the weight of having to think about college, save money for moving out, keep my grades up, go to church each week and feel like shit because everyone there is against everything I live for, I have decided I’ve had enough. I’m never going to transition successfully, even when I move out. I’m never going to be happy with the way I look or sound. I’m never going to have enough friends to satisfy me. I’m never going to have enough love to satisfy me. I’m never going to find a man who loves me. I’m never going to be happy. Either I live the rest of my life as a lonely man who wishes he were a woman or I live my life as a lonelier woman who hates herself. There’s no winning. There’s no way out. I’m sad enough already, I don’t need my life to get any worse. People say “it gets better” but that isn’t true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse.

That’s the gist of it, that’s why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that’s not a good enough reason for you, it’s good enough for me. As for my will, I want 100% of the things that I legally own to be sold and the money (plus my money in the bank) to be given to trans civil rights movements and support groups, I don’t give a shit which one. The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s fucked up” and fix it. Fix society. Please.

Goodbye,

(Leelah) Josh Alcorn​

Tragically, Leelah killed herself a few days ago. She stepped in front of a truck.

The lesson from Leelah's story is that this should not happen. Leelah should never have felt this was her only option.

Leelah deserved better. She deserved parents who loved her for who she was, not for what they wanted her to be. Sadly, Leelah is not alone in living this kind of horror. Leelah felt driven to suicide, others are cast out by the thousands, by religious and non-religious parents for being LGBT. The majority who are cast out, are cast out by religious parents who refuse to accept their children's sexuality.

The fight for marriage equality has eclipsed what is and can only be described as a horror.

The Center for American Progress has reported that there are between 320,000 and 400,000 homeless LGBT youths in the United States. Meanwhile, as societal advancements have made being gay less stigmatized and gay people more visible – and as the Internet now allows kids to reach beyond their circumscribed social groups for acceptance and support – the average coming-out age has dropped from post-college age in the 1990s to around 16 today, which means that more and more kids are coming out while they're still economically reliant on their families. The resulting flood of kids who end up on the street, kicked out by parents whose religious beliefs often make them feel compelled to cast out their own offspring (one study estimates that up to 40 percent of LGBT homeless youth leave home due to family rejection), has been called a "hidden epidemic." Tragically, every step forward for the gay-rights movement creates a false hope of acceptance for certain youth, and therefore a swelling of the homeless-youth population.

"The summer that marriage equality passed in New York, we saw the number of homeless kids looking for shelter go up 40 percent," says Carl Siciliano, founder of the Ali Forney Center, the nation's largest organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth.​

While we celebrate the milestones gained for gay rights, we should keep in mind that with each milestone, things do not improve for all. For some, it gets worse. And without systems in place to help these kids, Leelah's plight and what happened to her will just continue to happen for other children. She isn't the only one who chose this fate. Others managed to survive, others have not. None who are rejected by their parents come out of it unscathed.

Leelah's story is not original. It isn't new.

If you are curious as to why this poor girl's story made the news cycle, here is the answer, in the form of Leelah's mother's tribute to her child's death:

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She still refuses to see Leelah for who she is. Instead, even after Leelah felt that her only option was death and then killed herself because of that level of rejection from her parents, her mother still refuses to see her for who she is and only sees her for what she wants or religiously believes should be.

 

You aren't winning. Transgender teens are killing themselves at a higher rate than most other groups. They aren't winning.

The laws can do what they want, but it won't force or change the attitude of parents who literally drive their children to the point where they feel that suicide is the only option. Nor will it ban conversion therapy.

Each milestone in the justice system or laws of the land correspond with an increase in LGBT teenagers being kicked out of home or abused by their parents by way of forced conversion therapy and other forms of abuse. This does not mean those milestones are not important, nor should they not be celebrated, but something needs to be done to help these kids. And it isn't really being done at the grass roots level, nor is it happening in these kid's homes or with their families and carers.

 

Russia has reportedly banned transgender people, as well as those who suffer from "disorders of sexual preference," from obtaining driver's licenses.

The BBC reports that the Russian government has released a legislative document which outlines a revised set of medical controls for drivers in an effort to cut down on the number of car accidents.

Although most of the provisions refer to physical impairments (such as blindness), "gender identity disorders" including "transsexualism” and “dual-role transvestism” are referenced in the document, as well as “sadomasochism" and “exhibitionism," according to BuzzFeed's J. Lester Feder and Susie Armitage.​

Laugh as we may at the stupidity of Putin and his Government, we should remember that yes, it has come to even this. In Putin land, if you are a transsexual, you now apparently pose such a risk to society, that you cannot even be allowed to drive.

Could it be that speeding and consumption of alcohol may be a cause in accidents in Russia? Well, that would be the reasonable connection since such a large portion of accidents in Putin land involve people driving while drunk. But no, heaven forbid drink driving be curbed or tougher penalties be handed out to drunken Russians getting behind the wheels of their cars and killing others on the road.

Or perhaps the blame for the horrific road toll in Russia is not just on drink driving, but also on what Medvedev described as:

“undisciplined, criminally careless behaviour of our drivers,”​

Not to mention terrible road condition and what the article goes on to describe as the corruption that exists within the police force which allow people to get off with bribes and other illegal (well, illegal in civilised parts of the world, not Russia apparently) acts, not to mention people trying to make money by being hit by cars in insurance scams:

Drivers certainly play a role, but Medvedev did not mention Russia’s traffic police, which, Galperina writes, “is known throughout their land for brutality, corruption, extortion and making an income on bribes.”

That is not hyperbole. Russia ranks 133rd among the world’s nations in corruption (where number one is the least corrupt), according to Transparency International. Much of that corruption is on the part of the traffic police, an institution that, along with kindergartens and higher education, was ranked by Russians as the country’s most corrupt. In a recent poll, 32 per cent of Russians surveyed called traffic police the most corrupt institution.

So going to the police with a legitimate complaint is far from sure to produce a good result.

In addition to authorities they deem untrustworthy, Russian drivers must contend with the possibility of being attacked by another driver. The below video compiles fights between drivers that feature crowbars, slapping, punching, and worse.

Then there are pedestrians who get themselves hit by cars on purpose, for a payoff. A video compilation (below) of failed scams offers a few examples.

Overall, in a country where traffic conditions are horrible, insurance scams and roadside fights are always a possibility, and the police are widely viewed as corrupt, video evidence of one’s innocence can be a very valuable thing.​

No.. Of course not..

Because in Putin Land, this sort of thing is normal and accepted.

But what is not accepted is that gays, lesbians and transsexuals have equal rights and freedoms. The dark side to this obscenity of a regulation is that if a transsexual needs help, medical or psychiatric help, they are going to be afraid to get that help because to do so could result in being denied even more of their rights:

“Beyond the denial of basic freedoms, this provision may deter transgender people from seeking mental health services for fear of receiving a diagnosis that would strip them of their right to drive, and leaves the door open for increased harassment, persecution, and discrimination of transgender people by Russian authorities,"​

 

Ah the welcoming arms of the Church..


Yes, it's time for Fuckknuckle preacher time again!

Meet Thomas Wenski. Thomas Wenski is the Catholic Archbishop of Miami.

And Fuckknuckle Archbishop Wenski is peeved.

Why is he peeved, I hear you ask? Well, gay marriage is now legal in Florida.

For most normal people, this is a point of celebration, of the recognition of one's fundamental civil rights and human right. Not so for Fuckknuckle Archbishop Wenski.

Fuckknuckle Archbishop Wenski has come out, all fire and brimstone and issued a warning for anyone who happens to work for the Church in Florida:

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski sent a memo to all church employees reiterating that any expressions of support for gay marriage — even if it’s only a tweet or Facebook post — could cost them their jobs.

“Whatever the role in which you serve within the Archdiocese, you publicly represent the Catholic Church and the Archdiocese in everything you do and say,” Wenski wrote in the memo, which was reported by the local NBC station.

Wenski then included an excerpt from the employee handbook stating that all archdiocesan workers “are expected to conduct themselves in a moral and ethical manner consistent with Catholic principles.”

The section went on to state that conduct inconsistent with Catholic teachings could lead to firing, “even if it occurs outside the normal working day and outside the strict confines of work performed by the employee for the Archdiocese.”

“Employees should exercise discretion when posting on social media sites, and note that online activity indicative of prohibitive behaviors may subject an employee to disciplinary action or termination,” it said.​

This means that if you have friends or family who are gay and are getting or are married, responding to them or having them post on your personal social networking sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, etc), such as photos, any message, or if you post on their Facebook pages or respond to them on any social networking sites you use, anything that might indicate you support the rights of members of the LGBT community to marry, then you could be fired from your job. In short, what Fuckknuckle Archbishop Wenski has openly declared in his threat to all staff members of the Church, is that any indication or communication you have on social networking sites or elsewhere that can be monitored, about or with married LGBT or about to marry LGBT members of society, will impact on your employment with them.

It means that if you have a family member that is getting married, do not discuss it on Facebook, twitter or elsewhere. If you attend, make sure your photos at the wedding do not appear anywhere in social media. Think about it, the breath of threats like this is immense, especially in this day and age, where wedding photographers often place wedding photos online for public perusal. So if you are in one such photo and smiling with the happy couple, they can fire you.

People often say that the Spirit moved them to do something.. In the case of Fuckknuckle Archbishop Wenski, it is clear the Spirit moved something alright. Sadly it wasn't anything good. It wasn't to do a good deed, to love his fellow human being as they are. No, Fuckknuckle Archbishop Wenski's Spirit moved him so that he expelled his hateful excrement out of the hellish hole of his anus.


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There is a ray of hope. There is hope!

Meet Catholic Deacon Ray Denver. Deacon Ray Denver is the Deacon at the St. Paul Catholic Church, in yes, Tampa, Florida.

Deacon Denver released his loving tribute to his daughter. His transgender daughter:

In the fall of 2013, at the beginning of our son’s sophomore year at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, he came out as transgender. In doing so, she became one of only three openly trans* students at Georgetown at the time. This happened just a few weeks after the now famous Pope Francis interview that made “Who am I to judge?” part of our vernacular. And with those events, my family found ourselves plunged into all the questions and issues that Catholic families with LGBTQ children face. [Editor’s note: The term “trans*” is used as a “catch-all” word for the diverse forms of gender identities (other than the traditional male/female binary) that exist in humanity.]

In our case, there was at least one notable difference. Besides being a husband, father, and professional engineer, I’m a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church, having been ordained in 2009. When the topic of married clergy comes up, many Catholics are taken aback when they’re told that the Church already has married clergy, mostly in the person of the approximately 18,000 permanent deacons in the US. I can’t imagine what they would think if they realized there are Catholic clergy whose families include LGBTQ children!

Our journey has probably not been very different than the journey of any family with an LGBTQ child. It really began with our daughter descending into a deep depression during high school. We would learn more about depression and mental illness, about suicidal ideations and self-injurious behavior, about therapists and anti-depressant medications than we ever could have imagined or wanted. That journey would eventually lead to questions of gender identity that were intimately connected with her mental health struggles.

When our daughter came out, my wife and I experienced the full range of thoughts and emotions that any parents do in that situation – shock at the news, a lack of understanding of gender issues, conflict with what the Church teaches about human sexuality, confusion and guilt about what we should do as parents, profound sadness at what felt like the loss of our son, fear and worry for what the future would hold for her. There were arguments, sleepless nights, and prayers – lots of prayers.

We slowly came to the realization that we hadn’t lost the person who had been our son. In fact, in many respects we got our child back, as she embraced her gender identity and emerged from the depths of depression. All the creativity, humor, empathy, and intelligence that make her an exceptional person are still there and are shining through stronger than ever. And I’d like to think that the acceptance of her immediate and extended Catholic family have played some part in that positive transformation.

However, family support for LGBTQ children is obviously not the rule, and is often problematic for Catholic families in particular, given the mixed and often confusing messages they hear from the Church regarding LGBTQ issues. A few months ago I had the privilege of visiting with the LGBTQ Resource Center and the Catholic chaplain’s office at Georgetown. While I was surprised and gratified by the warm welcome that I received as an interested, supportive parent of an LGBTQ student, I was saddened to hear that I was the exception and that there were far too many stories of families rejecting their LGBTQ children and of causing tremendous pain and family divisions.

While I am certainly not qualified or authorized to speak for the Church on LGBTQ issues, I have been commissioned by the Church through ordination to proclaim and to preach the Gospel. And if one thing is crystal clear in the public ministry and teachings of our Lord, it is that everyone is included in His love and mercy and forgiveness, and that we are all called to do the same. For those Catholic families with LGBTQ children that are struggling with what they should do, I would suggest that they look to the Holy Family. Look to the love embodied in the Incarnation, a love like no other, and embrace your children. As the Church calls us to do first and foremost, follow your conscience, love own another, and especially love your children.​

Tragically Leelah Alcorn was not so fortunate to have parents like this.

Deacon Ray Denver should not be the exception within the Church. He should be the norm. He embodies what it is to love a fellow human being, to love one's child regardless of their sexuality.

Hopefully his message will drown out the likes of Fuckknuckle Archbishop Wenski. Scream it loud Ray Denver. Drown out the hate and the bigotry!