The Perils of Ideological Purity

It has been asserted that it is “un-Australian” for state-based GLBT lobby groups to join in a national effort to influence the government at the Federal level. It has also been said our efforts should be purely Australian – that we have nothing to learn from, for example, our US counterparts, and should neither import their structures nor form local affiliates of their organisations.

The fundamentalist evangelical opponents of gay rights have no such purist inhibitions, forging close ties with US evangelical organisations, and have learned from them how to infiltrate and influence mainstream political parties. For example:

The Fatherhood Foundation
Campaigns for “father’s rights” in both “divorce and non-divorce” situations. Australian subsidiary of the US Fatherhood Foundation of Colorado, an evangelical organisation which aims to “heal marriages” and “restore families” – in other words, opposes divorce, and offers men anger management classes. The Australian operation was started by the Australian Heart Ministeries.

The US FF is a creation of the World Prayer Centre , Colorado Springs, a “prayer factory”, with a series of prayer rooms staffed by “prayer teams”, praying in shifts in an attempt to resolve problems emailed in by individual members. Their website says “The Holy Bible, and only the Bible….. is the final authority for determining all doctrinal truths . . . it is inspired, infallible and inerrant.” They believe in creationism, not evolution. They do not believe in sex outside marriage, divorce, or IVF. Or homosexual equality.

Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is a subsidiary of the US organisation of the same name. Former leader Glenn Williams who now works for the US parent organisation, freely admitted that the Australian body was financially supported by the much larger and very influential US parent.

Like many other fundamentalist organisations, FoF do not initially mention religion, stressing instead the resources they offer, such as “Family Forums”, workshops on parenting, etc. Their policies are anti-divorce, anti-abortion, anti-gay and pro-censorship. Both US and Australian organisations have close ties with the Destiny Church in New Zealand and the Australian Family Association.

The Catholic Connection
The Australian Family Association is a subsidiary of the National Civic Council, one of a number of such subsidiaries established according to B A Santamaria’s plan to surreptitiously insert catholic doctrine into mainstream political life “each [organisation] with a single limited objective. To deal with … policy and organisation associated with the…family, the Movement (NCC) has fashioned the Australian Family Association.” (Santamaria 1990)

Former AFA leader was Mary Helen Woods – B A Santamaria’s daughter – also a major supporter of Fred Niles Christian Democratic Party. Current AFA head Bill Muehlenberg was previously on the board of The Salt Shakers, another micro-group vociferous in their condemnation of gay rights (these fundamentalists may be few in number, but they have many names).

Catholic links cut across party lines: the chief opponent of gay rights in the Labor Party is Joe De Bruyn (Gough Whitlam called him “the Dutchman who doesn’t like dykes,” because he opposed IVF for lesbians). He heads the Shopworkers Union, which wields the largest block vote in the Labor Party.

His Liberal Party counterpart is ex-trainee priest Tony Abbott: the two of them have been spotted sharing a platform at a conference run by the hugely powerful but secretive Catholic organisation Opus Dei.

The Election
Political parties Family First (with whom the Democrats have exchanged preferences) and Fred Niles Christian Democrats, supported by these evangelical networks, are standing on a strongly anti-gay platform, including:
· No gay marriage
· No recognition of gay relationships
· No gay adoption
· No IVF for lesbians
· National ban on X rated videos
· Block all internet porn
· Enforce moral standards on TV and radio
· No support for Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras
· Allow religious bodies to discriminate in employment
· Exempt religious organisations from vilification laws

If we are to stand any chance of countering the pernicious influence of these backward-looking medieval fundamentalists, we need to do as they have done: link up with the might and power of our US and European counterparts and – given our smaller numbers - link together within Australia into one effective, internet-based national grouping.

Doug Pollard



Some evangelical organisations and networks

(you can find these on the net)

· Australian Evangelical Alliance
· Australian Christian Lobby
· Australian Prayer Net
· Transforming Melbourne
· Endeavour Forum
· One Heart for the Nation
· Living Waters Ministeries
· National Marriage Coalition
· National Association of Christian Leaders
· National Prayer Network

Protest Beats Politics

Fascinating little piece in last week’s New Scientist (Aug 28th edition).

A study by Jon Agnone, a University of Washington sociologist, has found that sit-ins, rallies and boycotts were highly effective at forcing new environmental laws 1960 –1994.

The study compares the number of bills passed by Congress with the tactics employed by green groups in the same year. Each protest raised the number of pro-environment bills by more than 2%. Neither the state of public opinion at the time nor the effort spent schmooozing politicians, by contrast, had any influence whatsoever.

He also found that, unsurprisingly, more bills pass when both houses controlled by sympathetic parties – in US terms, the Democrats – and protests in an election year are more effective than at other times.

Agnone, addressing the American Sociological Association meeting in San Francisco, said protest groups lose effectiveness when they become part of the system, and the most effective weapon is disruption.

“If you make a big enough disturbance then people have to recognise what you’re doing.”

Greenpeace USA agreed. Director John Passacantando said, “Unless a politician feels real pressure, or a CEO senses a threat to his market, everything else is just talk.”

This agrees neatly with what Canberra politicians were saying when they decided it was OK to ban gay marriage: they weren’t hearing anything, so they felt safe to go ahead.

Moral: it doesn’t matter if the general public doesn’t like it, it doesn’t even matter if it upsets some of our own constituency – make enough of a stink and you CAN get stuff passed. Just don’t expect to be liked or thanked for it.

Gays and Lesbians to Withhold $1.4 Billion From US Economy During October 8 Economic Boycott

Now that's an idea! Drop out of the economy for a day and watch what happens.

The U.S. lesbian and gay population spends an average of $1.4 billion each day, totaling $500 billion a year, and Boycott For Equality is organizing a one-day nationwide economic "walkout" on October 8, 2004 to make that point clear.

The one-day event is designed to highlight the contribution that lesbians and gays make to the domestic economy and tax base, at the same time they are denied the full legal protections and civil liberties afforded heterosexual Americans.

"We want to remind those in our nation who don't always see the impact of our community in terms of dollars and cents that we do have real market power," said Boycott for Equality Co-Founder Dale Duncan. "We were inspired by Don't Amend Founder Robin Tyler's famous quip, `If being gay is a disease, let's all call in sick to work' and decided to put those words into action."

Up to twenty-seven million Americans identify as being primarily lesbian or gay, yet no Federal law provides protection from discrimination in the workplace and many State and Federal laws prohibit access to the rights and responsibilities of marriage.

According to the Washington D.C.-based public relations firm Witeck-Combs Communications, the US Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) population contributed an estimated $500 billion to the U.S. marketplace in 2003, while The University of Georgia's Selig Center at the Terry College of Business estimates that the African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native- American markets contribute $688 billion, $653 billion, $344 billion, and $45 billion respectively.

"This event brings into focus the economic contribution of GLBT citizens," said Duncan. "And people understand money. The response so far has been tremendous."

Some major groups that have endorsed or encouraged Boycott for Equality Day include the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Don't Amend: The Equality Campaign, The Advocate magazine, Civil Marriage US, DC Diversity, Equality Illinois and Wyoming Equality. Additionally, comic Margaret Cho's web site, http://www.loveisloveislove.com, has listed Boycott For Equality Day as one of the "12 Things You Can Do" to promote gay and lesbian equality.

October 8 falls on a Friday, and the following Monday is National Coming Out Day, Duncan explained. "It seemed like a great time to make our presence felt." Boycott For Equality is an Atlanta-based non-profit formed to promote the boycott, scheduled this year for October 8. For that day, GLBT Americans and their straight allies are encouraged to withdraw from the economy in three specific areas:
1) Do not purchase anything. Do not generate sales tax or business revenue.
2) Don't work. Take the day off - do not generate payroll taxes, income taxes or add to the economy.
3) Do not use cell phones. Dropping out of the communication network is a way to measure the impact of your presence.

For more information, visit http://www.boycottforequality.org Contact: Dale Duncan (757) 257-6215 dsd@boycottforequality.org

PAINT IT BLACK

Am I the only person who is sick of the cry of HOMOPHOBIA - surely this is one of the most mis-used over-used labels around.

Apart from being etymologically rotten – strictly speaking it means “fear of same” – I hate the way it gets thrown around like a pot of tar.

It's supposed to mean an irrational fear of homosexuals/homosexuality, and as such was better known as “gay panic”. It has long been the defence of choice for gay bashers: “I was so horrified when he propositioned me that I panicked and bashed his head in, your worship.”

But when Jacinta Collins says the sight of bum-wagging woofters and boob-bobbling dykes at Mardi Gras doesn’t incline her to entrust us with marriage and children, that’s not fear of faggotry – that’s genuine distaste for the whole casual sex ethic that informs the event.

Where she errs is in assuming that such events are the epitome of gay culture. That we’re all aching to do it in the streets with whoever catches our eye. And asking the perfectly valid question, “Are these people ready for marriage and children? Are they responsible enough?”

This is the image press and television has fastened on and the one we gleefully collaborate with, serving it up year by year for their delectation. If it’s the only one most people see, and they find it distasteful, that’s not homophobia.

It’s as if all heterosexuals were judged on the basis of the shenanigans at Schoolies: if that’s all I knew about them, I’d be ripping kids out of prams at Chadstone and rushing them home to a nice responsible homo-home. Of course that would be unfair and a terrible distortion. But could you call it “heterophobia”? I think not – just honest concern based on lack of information.

But . . .we put that image out there. We are responsible for creating it. It’s no good crying, “It’s the media!” – as anyone involved with television knows, the instant image wins out over the considered thought every time.

So how about creating a new image this year? The media is fed up with the bums’n’boobs show anyway. Let’s make the Mardi Gras - and all the Pride celebrations this year - all black affairs. No sequins, no leather, no bare flesh, just black frocks and suits. No music, no dancing, just a slow muffled drumbeat. A funeral for our pride, mortally wounded by the Marriage Amendment Act.

What’s the betting that would make the front pages and the main news bulletins?

We can always stage the resurrection in private!!!!!

3 Steps To Heaven

The Age August 19th

I think we can now catch a glimpse of the Liberal Party's three steps to
re-election heaven.
1. Liberal party finally 'revolts' over Howard's lies on asylum seekers and
repudiates the old fibbers legacy.
2. The heir apparent steps forward to take the helm and calls an immediate
election.
3. Newly freed from the Howard stain, the Coalition romps home again.
Is that why Peter Costello's looking so happy these days?

How Very Australian

In the wake of the government’s decision to ban gay marriage, two things stand out. One is the attitude of parliamentarians – that we don’t really care, because we’re not demonstrating, we’re not writing letters, we’re not speaking, we’re not constantly lobbying them. They therefore feel safe in discounting the views put to them by those of us who make our opposition known: we are seen as “unrepresentative” of the community.

The other is the attitude of many of our own community. They don’t want to get married, they don’t see what the fuss is about, and they call themselves “non-political”. As the owner of DTs said when he tried to shout down Rodney Croome at the Pride Bakeoff – this is not a political meeting, Pride is not a political event, we are here to enjoy ourselves, buy cakes and raise money for Pride.

He’s wrong. There is no such thing as being “non-political’. If you live under a government that treats you as a second class citizen, and you refuse to speak, write, vote or act to change that, that is a political position. You are taking the position that you accept things the way they are and you will do nothing to change them. By doing nothing, you are voting for the status quo. By saying nothing to our politicians, you give them permission to ignore us and discriminate against us.

DTs cannot be non-political – it’s very existence as a gay community venue in a predominantly heterosexual society is a political statement. Pride, likewise, is a political event, that says gays and lesbians exist, we are just the same as everyone else, and we are proud of who we are. It refutes the statements that come from moralists and pseudo-Christians, who label us as immoral or even evil. It says we’re a normal part of the human family. That is a political statement.

Raising funds for such an event is therefore a political event, and the venue where that takes place is automatically a political supporter making a political statement.

The statement that “I am not political” should actually read, “I am politically passive. I am a political bottom. I prefer to let other people make decisions affecting my rights and my life, and then whinge if I don’t like them.”

It is the statement of a child, leaving everything up to Mum and Dad; it is the statement of the colonist, happy to leave decisions to the Crown; it is the statement of the convict, leaving everything up to the prison governor.

How very Australian!

Be Afraid – But Don’t Be A Coward

It seems people are afraid in the wake of the marriage ban.

I’m hearing gay men saying things like, “I’m so over this marriage business!” , or “It’s only the dykes that want marriage.” I’m hearing of gay venue owners ordering prominent and hardworking activists to whom the community owes an incalculable debt to “Get off my stage!” and shut up with the politics, we’re here to enjoy ourselves.

That is the sound of fear.

And as a tactic it’s about as useful (and possible) as Kim Beazley trying to be a "small target".

Yes, there is the danger of a backlash.

Yes, the government’s shameful behaviour invites bigots and hate-merchants to attack us.

So yes, there is reason to be afraid. But no reason for cowardice in the face of that fear. Cowering in a corner and squealing at Mr Howard, “Please don’t hurt us any more,” is only going to fuel the bullies’ pleasure in sinking the boot in. We have to give him a bloody nose. This is a time for coming out, not retreating back in.

That man who’s “over the marriage business” is in deep denial: he’s really saying he’s scared his lover might leave him, and to talk of marriage – even for other people, or in the abstract – risks driving him away.

Let me tell you, people, cringing away in a corner is not going to silence your fears, or keep a lover hanging round. Your lovers will stay with you if they really care, and leave you just exactly when they want if they don’t.

The man who told The Age newspaper “it’s only something lesbians want” really means, “Hit them, they did it! Not me!”

But telling the bully boys to go beat up the lesbians only means they’ll be one less ally when they come for you – and maybe one more enemy.

I know the Melbourne ghetto venue owner means, “Oh God, if there’s trouble people will be too scared to come and spend money in my business, and then what do I do for my retirement? Don’t attract attention or the place might be attacked.”

But banning politics from the pub won’t affect what’s happening on the street outside: the drunken hoons will still hang around hoping for a window to smash, or worse, a poufta to bash. They already know where we are.

The Border Mail report os the gay marriage test case

The Border Mail

Hmm. So on the one hand we have no chance, on the other hand, Parliament clearly usurped what is usually a court function. This one should be fun.

Letter to the Governor General

To His Excellency the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC

Your Excellency

Yesterday, in a historic first, the government of Australia pre-empted one of it's own enquiries, stifled debate, and passed amendments to the Marriage Act to enshrine second-class status and treatment for my community in Australian law. It refused to wait for the facts on the issue to be uncovered before legislating its prejudice.

The government falsely claimed that this was some kind of emergency issue, and such is their hatred and intolerance, they were at one stage prepared to lose their anti-terrorism legislation rather than the Marriage Act, thus branding gays and lesbians as more dangerous to Australia than al-Qaeda!

This is contrary to the government's duty to govern equally for all citizens, regardless of colour, creed, age, wealth, gender or sexual orientation, and an abuse of majority power.

As Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's representative, you are the last bulwark against this dictatorial and unjust action. You have an opportunity and indeed the duty to stand against this. Please decline to provide the Royal Assent this evil bill, please do not sign it, but return it to Parliament with instructions to the government to await the outcome of the proper studies on the issue.

Thank you for your attention.
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Australia 'soft on terror, hard on gays' - National - www.theage.com.au

Australia 'soft on terror, hard on gays' - National - www.theage.com.au