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-------------------------
Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
In 2004, a group of gay activists took over Cato Island, a small sand bar in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia. They planted a rainbow flag on the beach and declared it the world's first gay kingdom in protest of anti-gay legislation in Australia. When I originally read this news story I got a good laugh while I drank my morning coffee.
After a recent spasm of anti-gay violence in several countries, I'm no longer chuckling. The merits of founding a nation where persecuted homosexuals can escape rampant abuse is worth exploring.
No, this is a bad idea, except as a stunt, in which case it's brilliant.
What we should be aiming for is acceptance and integration of gay people in their own communities, wherever they are. Uprooting prosecuted and bullied gays to some desert island where they can be 'among their own' will not do anyone any good.
It will allow for homophobia to flourish: it's a lot easier to be hateful if the guy you're hating is not, say, working in the next cubicle or fixing your computer at home.
While I am no expert on the middle east, I was not under the impression that the creation of the state of Israel solved more problems than it caused.
posted by Willie Hewes, at
8/15/2005 5:06 AM
It is an interesting idea. The more we try to gain equal rights, the more we are under attack. Unfortunatelly, some people o good will believe the lies of the evil ultraconservatives, that use the name of God in vain to promote hate.
Nazis and ultraconservatives all over the world (like arian nation) are no different from southern baptist or pentecostals, and more often than not recruit ignorant people from outside big cities, and plant on them the seed of evil, that result in hate crimes and homophobia. When Jews were persecuted, the roman pope was silent, but if gays and lesbians are persecuted, the roman catholics and other religious zelots fuel the persecution. best example? Bishop Akinola(Anglican) of Nigeria, who didn't rest until having the churches of USA and Canada punished for supporting understanding.
In this climate, I think that the creation of a safe place (economically, politically and socially) like a "Gay state" could bring finally a space were we could grow and flourish as individuals and communities, and we could show the power within us without having to fear all the freaks that are against us in this world. That would be the real utopia, the real promise land.
I thought we already had a gay island--Fire Island. Wayne did you ever go to the Invasion of the Pines there? It's every year around the 4th of July--it's FAAAABULOUS---fun for the entire family! >;-)
