Foreign / Overseas LGBT News - Gay News Outside Singapore (Compiled)

[wilfgene]

On 4/25/2021 at 12:02 AM, Steve5380 said:

 

Why not?

 

Who says that gay couples cannot be good parents?

 

On 4/25/2021 at 7:10 AM, Guest Cleanly Teacher said:

 

They are real people so this is definitey a true story. I assume Peter and Danny are probably not discussing all of the difficult problems they faced along the way to adopting Kevin, for the sake of writing a "happy" book, and to not be perceived as complaining about old obstacles. Their focus appears to be on the destination rather than the journey.

 

9 hours ago, Guest Skeeter Beater Aerosol said:

That is a very lovely story. Kevin is lucky to have spent his childhood in NYC, which is not a perfect place, but it's still much easier to find acceptance there while growing up as an Indian-American boy adopted by a White and Hispanic gay couple. I agree the two fathers probably left out a lot of anxious details in order to sell their book as a fairy tale with a happy ending (not that kind). But they seem to have overcome any obstacles either way, and if my math is correct, Danny & Peter should be celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary this year and their overall 25th anniversary as a couple next year. Kevin's university graduation should be on the horizon as well. So many nice milestones for their family.

 

On 4/15/2021 at 10:21 AM, wilfgene said:

Slip of finger.

The father figure was supportive too.

'You can try all you want, but you can't be somebody else' 

Decades later, the fiance goes to jail for bribing to enroll her daughters into famous universities.

So, lives go on.

 

 

 

 

[Guest Mickey Spillane’s M Hammer]

Video from a few years ago featuring a transgender kid who recently testified in the Texas legislature.

 

 

Followed by another video of the same kid put together by Teen Vogue Magazine a bit more recently.

 

 

The little kid shows more integrity and morality than all those hateful Republican politicians combined.

[Steve5380]

2 hours ago, Nightingale said:

“I am convinced that homosexual orientation is not bad, nor is homosexual love a sin.  I want to celebrate the love of homosexuals with these blessings because the love of homosexuals is something good.” – Rev. Jan Korditschke

 

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/10772626-german-catholics-to-bless-gay-unions-despite-vatic.html

 

 

This is progress!  Good for Korditschke,  a modern-day Luther.

 

And the Vatican should listen.  Pope Francis already has spoken well of gay unions.   He should oppose any kind of reprisal against this Jesuit priest and keep the status quo until he can make more progressive reforms.  

 

The position in Germany is correct.  The Church already preaches that homosexuality is not a sin, but homosexual acts are.  The blessing of a union does not necessary bless sex.  Love is different from sex.   The position of the Vatican that it cannot allow for blessing of same-sex unions because "God cannot bless sin" is therefore a mistake. 

 

And the bishops here in America are not in consensus to withhold communion from Biden "because he supports abortion".  This is also a misinterpretation,  because no sane person supports abortion.  What Biden agrees with is to let women make the choice.  This is why the movement is called "pro choice" and not "pro abortion".

[thickhead79]

Man in Malaysia charged with sodomising, killing 9-month old baby boy

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

15 hours ago, thickhead79 said:

Man in Malaysia charged with sodomising, killing 9-month-old baby boy.

 

This is one of the most disgusting and horrifying things that I have ever read! Was the man a relative? Neighbor? Kidnapper? Did he kill the baby as a result of the "sodomy" ... or did he "sodomise" the baby first ... and then kill him just to further demonstrate how evil he is? What a complete and total sicko!

[GachiMuchi]

Man charged with murder and sodomy of infant

---

 

 

 

 

• NATION

• Thursday, 13 May 2021

PETALING JAYA: A babysitter’s husband was charged with the murder and sodomy of a nine-month-old baby boy she was taking care of at an apartment here three weeks ago.

Mohamed Badruldin Mohamed, 36, nodded when the charges were read out to him at the Magistrate’s Court, while denying to have sodomised the child.

 

The jobless man allegedly committed the offences at a house in Projek Perumahan Rakyat Lembah Subang, here between 8am and 3.30pm on April 27.

Both charges were read before Magistrate Muhammad Iskandar Zainol.

Facing the law: Police officers escorting Mohamed Badruldin to the Magistrate’s Court in Petaling Jaya. — SS KANESAN/The star

No plea was recorded for the murder charge as it was under the purview of the High Court.

The case grabbed public attention after the police in a press conference yesterday said among others the baby was believed to have been murdered and sodomised by Mohamed Badruldin in the bedroom of a house here when his wife was sweeping outside the residence.

The court turned down his request for bail as murder is a non-bailable offence.

For the first offence, Mohamed Badruldin was charged with murdering the infant under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death sentence, upon conviction.

For the second offence, he was accused of carrying out intercourse against the order of nature on the baby under Section 377C of the Penal Code which provides for a minimum five years and maximum 20 years jail as well as liable to be whipped, if found guilty.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor, Alison Chan May Kam while the accused was not represented.

The court set June 15 for mention. — Bernama

 

Man charged in Malaysia with murder, sodomy of 9-month-old baby

Mohamed Badruldin Mohamed was charged in Malaysia on May 12, 2021 with murdering and sodomising a baby. (Photo: Bernama)

 

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: A 36-year-old man was charged in Malaysia on Wednesday (May 12) with murdering and sodomising a baby. 

The nine-month-old boy was being cared for by Mohamed Badruldin Mohamed’s wife, who was the baby's nanny.

 

Police on Tuesday said Mohamed Badruldin sodomised the baby on Apr 27 while his wife was cleaning the living room.

A postmortem found bruises on the baby’s mouth, said Petaling Jaya district police chief Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid.

The man, who was under the influence of drugs, is believed to have cupped the baby's mouth, likely causing the boy to suffocate.

“During the incident, the female suspect was cleaning the living room and had left the baby alone with her husband in a locked room for two hours before finding the baby unconscious," said the district police chief in a press conference on Tuesday.

“The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment by the husband who admitted to being the caretaker of the baby,” he added.

Following a report received from a medical officer, police on Apr 29 arrested the couple, who tested positive for drugs.

For the first offence, the man was charged with murdering the baby under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

For the second offence, he was accused of carrying out intercourse against the order of nature on the baby. If found guilty of this offence, he faces between five and 20 years in jail and caning. 

 

The man, who was not represented in court, nodded his head for the murder charge and pleaded not guilty to the charge of sodomising the baby.

His wife will act as a prosecution witness and charged under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, said Mohamad Fakhrudin on Tuesday.

Source: Bernama/zl

[Steve5380]

6 minutes ago, GachiMuchi said:

KUALA LUMPUR: A 36-year-old man was charged in Malaysia on Wednesday (May 12) with murdering and sodomising a baby. 

For the first offence, the man was charged with murdering the baby under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

 

 

His death penalty should be called  EUTHANASIA  (mercy killing),  because it must be terrible to be a monster with such a severe mental illness...

[Guest Dancing Around A Long Pole]

4 hours ago, Steve5380 said:

His death penalty should be called EUTHANASIA (mercy killing), because it must be terrible to be a monster with such a severe mental illness ...

 

Yes — sentence that dirty drug addict to euthanasia — for his heinous crime of killing a youth in Asia!

[KINKYMALAY]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:50 PM, GachiMuchi said:

Man charged with murder and sodomy of infant

---

 

 

 

 

• NATION

• Thursday, 13 May 2021

PETALING JAYA: A babysitter’s husband was charged with the murder and sodomy of a nine-month-old baby boy she was taking care of at an apartment here three weeks ago.

Mohamed Badruldin Mohamed, 36, nodded when the charges were read out to him at the Magistrate’s Court, while denying to have sodomised the child.

 

The jobless man allegedly committed the offences at a house in Projek Perumahan Rakyat Lembah Subang, here between 8am and 3.30pm on April 27.

Both charges were read before Magistrate Muhammad Iskandar Zainol.

Facing the law: Police officers escorting Mohamed Badruldin to the Magistrate’s Court in Petaling Jaya. — SS KANESAN/The star

No plea was recorded for the murder charge as it was under the purview of the High Court.

The case grabbed public attention after the police in a press conference yesterday said among others the baby was believed to have been murdered and sodomised by Mohamed Badruldin in the bedroom of a house here when his wife was sweeping outside the residence.

The court turned down his request for bail as murder is a non-bailable offence.

For the first offence, Mohamed Badruldin was charged with murdering the infant under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death sentence, upon conviction.

For the second offence, he was accused of carrying out intercourse against the order of nature on the baby under Section 377C of the Penal Code which provides for a minimum five years and maximum 20 years jail as well as liable to be whipped, if found guilty.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor, Alison Chan May Kam while the accused was not represented.

The court set June 15 for mention. — Bernama

 

Man charged in Malaysia with murder, sodomy of 9-month-old baby

Mohamed Badruldin Mohamed was charged in Malaysia on May 12, 2021 with murdering and sodomising a baby. (Photo: Bernama)

 

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: A 36-year-old man was charged in Malaysia on Wednesday (May 12) with murdering and sodomising a baby. 

The nine-month-old boy was being cared for by Mohamed Badruldin Mohamed’s wife, who was the baby's nanny.

 

Police on Tuesday said Mohamed Badruldin sodomised the baby on Apr 27 while his wife was cleaning the living room.

A postmortem found bruises on the baby’s mouth, said Petaling Jaya district police chief Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid.

The man, who was under the influence of drugs, is believed to have cupped the baby's mouth, likely causing the boy to suffocate.

“During the incident, the female suspect was cleaning the living room and had left the baby alone with her husband in a locked room for two hours before finding the baby unconscious," said the district police chief in a press conference on Tuesday.

“The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment by the husband who admitted to being the caretaker of the baby,” he added.

Following a report received from a medical officer, police on Apr 29 arrested the couple, who tested positive for drugs.

For the first offence, the man was charged with murdering the baby under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

For the second offence, he was accused of carrying out intercourse against the order of nature on the baby. If found guilty of this offence, he faces between five and 20 years in jail and caning. 

 

The man, who was not represented in court, nodded his head for the murder charge and pleaded not guilty to the charge of sodomising the baby.

His wife will act as a prosecution witness and charged under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, said Mohamad Fakhrudin on Tuesday.

Source: Bernama/zl

Very very sick!!!!

[Guest Evil beings]

That malay couple is high on drugs while taking care of other's infant?

 

They should both get life sentences from being this irresponsible!

 

The man is a pure, unadulterated monster!!! He needs to be caned 1000 times for that.

 

Why do such evils exist?????

[Steve5380]

17 hours ago, Guest Evil beings said:

 

Why do such evils exist?????

 

 

Maybe the most satisfying explanation is that some individuals are so mentally sick that they lose all moral restraints.  They become like the impersonal nature: an earthquake that can kill thousands of innocent people, infants included.

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

1 hour ago, Steve5380 said:

Maybe the most satisfying explanation is that some individuals are so mentally sick that they lose all moral restraints.  They become like the impersonal nature: an earthquake that can kill thousands of innocent people, infants included.

 

They might be "mentally sick" as you say, but according to the news article, they were also high on drugs, both the husband and the wife, so that was obviously the major contributing factor to their horrific crime.

[Steve5380]

20 minutes ago, Guest Meanly Preacher said:

 

They might be "mentally sick" as you say, but according to the news article, they were also high on drugs, both the husband and the wife, so that was obviously the major contributing factor to their horrific crime.

 

Was that so?   I would think that decent and mentally healthy individuals who happen to get high on drugs would not commit horrific crimes, but instead their high would be a passive euphoria and even happiness.  That's how I felt long time ago from smoking a little weed. 

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

16 hours ago, Steve5380 said:

Was that so? I would think that decent and mentally healthy individuals who happen to get high on drugs would not commit horrific crimes, but instead their high would be a passive euphoria and even happiness. That's how I felt long time ago from smoking a little weed. 

 

My opinion is that people who abuse drugs already have something wrong with their brains from the beginning. Although it isn't clear in the article, the housekeeper and her husband were probably both high on meth, which is a lot worse than weed. Some studies indicate that meth can literally rewire certain brain functions and bring people's worst desires to the surface.

 

In that sense, the husband may have had thoughts buried deep within his mind of doing something sexual to a baby, but he never would have acted on such disgusting impulses if he had never done meth. It is similar to guys who secretly fantasize about being crazy sluts, but would never do so without meth, which sends them on bareback binges at orgies and saunas.

 

At any rate the husband and wife both had impaired judgement. He should not have delivered drugs to her place of work or used drugs with her while she was working. She obviously should not have invited her husband to her place of work, or sent him away if he showed up uninvited, and certainly should not have used drugs while working. The tragedy flows from there.

[Steve5380]

19 minutes ago, Guest Meanly Preacher said:

 

At any rate the husband and wife both had impaired judgement. He should not have delivered drugs to her place of work or used drugs with her while she was working. She obviously should not have invited her husband to her place of work, or sent him away if he showed up uninvited, and certainly should not have used drugs while working. The tragedy flows from there.

 

Tragedy flows everywhere. 

 

Weren't the Israeli recently mourning the deaths of 40+ reveler ultraorthodoxes in their stampede, and can we now expect that they will also mourn the deaths of 40+ innocent civilians including children they just bombed to death in Gaza? 

[thickhead79]

SINGAPORE: While studying for his A-Level examinations, a teenager filmed multiple clips of his male schoolmates showering, in the toilet or engaging in sex acts.

Tang Jiasheng, 19, was given three months and two weeks' jail on Monday (May 17), along with a fine of S$1,500. He pleaded guilty to eight charges of voyeurism and offences under the Films Act, with another 35 charges considered in sentencing.

The court heard that Tang, a China national, was in Singapore on a student pass at the time of the offences. Then 18, he was studying at a private school and living in the school's hostel.

Between October 2019 and March 2021, he filmed multiple male students at the hostel during their private moments.

One of the victims was in a toilet at the hostel on Jan 19, 2020, when Tang entered the stall next to him. Upon realising there was someone there, Tang placed his phone in recording mode and began filming the victim through the gap at the bottom of the stalls.

The victim realised that someone was filming him while he was showering and reported the incident to hostel management. The police came and initially suspected Tang's roommate. 

In the next few days, Tang continued to film other male students at the school, until his roommate was cleared as nothing incriminating was found on him.

A member of the hostel management team tracked down Tang on Jan 22, 2020, and called him into her office. She found a hidden folder in Tang's device containing 39 video clips of male students showering, urinating or masturbating. Another two clips were of Tang himself.

Tang admitted to the police that he had been recording videos at the school. He also admitted to an Institute of Mental Health doctor that he filmed male victims at a junior college in 2019 until he was caught. He was not reported to the police then.

He said he filmed the male students because it "aroused him as he could be able to see parts of his victims which they would not reveal".

 

He also told police that he got "a thrill from doing something which he knew was wrong and illegal".

Even after he was charged in court and released on bail, Tang continued his crimes, secretly filming a student showering in the hostel in March 2021.

 

ACCUSED IS A RECALCITRANT OFFENDER: PROSECUTOR

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En asked that Tang be fined and jailed for at least three months and two weeks.

"This is a case involving a recalcitrant accused who had repeatedly filmed other male students in their private moments whilst showering, urinating, defecating, and even when masturbating," he said, adding that Tang did so to gratify himself sexually.

"The accused did so whilst reprehensibly violating the privacy of these male victims, whom as foreign students deserved a safe space in the hostel, which would have been their home away from home."

He said Tang has no local roots and cannot be a candidate for probation or reformative training. 

"Whilst a term of imprisonment might seem harsh for a young offender such as the accused, it is the only viable option," said Mr Chong.

The defence said Tang has sought medical treatment of his own volition for a mental condition, but the prosecutor said no contributory link was found to the offences.

The judge told Tang to continue his treatment once he is released from jail, as he will be dealt with under the relevant laws if he reoffends.

[singalion]

I think you posted to the wrong thread. This one about overseas gay news. there is another on local gay news

[Guest Mickey Spillane’s M Hammer]

University Investigating After Students Allegedly Tried To Break Into LGBTQ Home That Used To Be Frat House
According to residents, the male students yelled, "Let us in," "This isn't your home," and "This is our home!"
Stephanie K. Baer, BuzzFeed News Reporter, Last updated on May 17, 2021, at 1:10 p.m. ET, Posted on May 14, 2021, at 9:12 p.m. ET

 

Pennsylvania's Bucknell University is investigating after students who live at an on-campus LGBTQ house said a group of male students they believed were former fraternity brothers tried to break in Thursday night.

 

In a letter to the university's president, John Bravman, student Tyler Luong, residential adviser for the LGBTQ home known as Fran’s House, said nearly 20 former members of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity yelled, "Let us in," "This isn't your home,” and “This is our home” as they banged on the windows and doors, swung a metal bar at the pole that displays their pride flag, exposed themselves, and urinated on the front porch.

 

“Tell me President Bravman, what would I do if they had managed to get into our home?” asked Luong. “President Bravman, I was never trained to handle breaking and enterings.”

 

 

Fran’s House is the center of student life for the university’s LGBTQ community. Currently located at Tower House, it previously housed the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity until the group was removed two years ago.

 

In 2019, a campus investigation into hazing allegations found that the fraternity slapped and threw darts at members and even used “dog shock collars” on them, according to a report. The organization is no longer recognized by the university.

 

When members of the campus public safety department arrived, Luong said, the officers “laughed at the situation,” didn’t ask residents if they were OK, and told the men that they would speak to the chief about getting them access to the house. “Is it within the policy for Public Safety to completely ignore the ones who reported the crime?” Luong asked.

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

A chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE a.k.a "Teke") getting banned from a university for horrendous behavior ... followed by the banned members committing even more bad behavior instead of being thankful that they weren't expelled from campus along with their fraternity's charter ... not even remotely surprised. TKE has a widespread reputation as one of the wildest fraternities in the USA and likely hold the record for most banned chapters across the country. It probably won't come as a huge shock, then, that their most famous alumnus is Ronald Reagan. Yuck, yuck, and triple yuck.

 

Hopefully the LGBTQ students are uplifted by the support of their campus community and won't let this incident affect their studies for their final examinations. I assume the residential adviser Tyler Luong is Asian-American? Good to see him stand up for the students in his residence hall and demand accountability from the university's leaders as well as the public safety department, whose response really seems lax if the account in the article is true, almost like one scene from the 1980s movie "Revenge of the Nerds" come to life. The adults are supposed to protect the targeted students.

[singalion]

Hong Kong gay couple wins High Court battle as judge rules ‘oppressively unfair’ subsidised housing policy discriminatory

 

• The case brought by Henry Li and the now-deceased Edgar Ng, centred on the married couple’s ability to live together in a Home Ownership Scheme flat
• Justice Anderson Chow rules Housing Authority ‘singularly failed’ to produce reliable evidence to substantiate argument

 

Published: 12:19pm, 25 Jun, 2021

 

 

A gay couple has won their second judicial challenge against the Hong Kong government in the High Court, this time over a discriminatory policy that barred them from living together in subsidised housing – a situation the judge described as “oppressively unfair”.

Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming on Friday ruled in favour of Henry Li Yik-ho and Edgar Ng Hon-lam, concluding that the Housing Authority’s policies on adding occupants and transferring ownership of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats constituted unlawful discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

 

Chow declared both policies “unlawful and unconstitutional” for violating the equality provisions in the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights.

 

He quashed both policies, as well as the HOS decision in the couple’s case, and ordered the authority to pay for the applicants’ legal costs.

A spokesman for the authority said it would “take appropriate action after studying the judgment in detail and seeking legal advice”.

Henry Li (left) weds Edgar Ng at a London ceremony in 2017. Photo: Handout

 

The couple’s lawyers from Daly & Associates welcomed the court’s ruling as a victory for the LGBT community in Hong Kong and a formal recognition of bravery on the part of Ng, now deceased, in initiating the proceedings.

 

But they also described the win as “bittersweet” for the couple, and implored the government to take “timely, proactive actions to protect fundamental rights”, as discrimination not only inflicts legal or financial injustices but also emotional damage.

 “Just like any other couples in Hong Kong, all Edgar and Henry wanted was to be able to build a home together without suffering harassment and discrimination,” they said in a statement. “Sadly, for years, they had lived in constant fear that they would be evicted from their own home. It would have meant a lot to Edgar to receive today’s judgment.”

 

The court heard Li could not be registered as an authorised occupant of Ng’s long-time public rental housing unit at Choi Fook Estate, and so they decided to purchase an HOS flat as their marital home – only to find themselves faced with the hurdle.

Li was not considered Ng’s family member under the authority’s policy and therefore was not allowed to live with his husband or register as a joint owner – despite his financial contributions as the sole breadwinner – without paying a premium.

 

The authority only recognises nine categories of familial relationships, which include husband and wife but only between a man and woman, in adding occupants to an HOS flat.

 

Same-sex marriage is generally not recognised in Hong Kong, save for very specific policies that have been tested in court, such as dependant visas and tax assessment.

 

Transferring ownership of HOS flats to anyone outside the listed categories would incur a financial premium, which in this case would have exceeded HK$2 million (US$258,000) based on the 2018 purchase price of HK$5.45 million in 2018.

 

Lawyers for the authority argued the couple were not in a comparable position with their heterosexual counterparts, and justified the differential treatment by arguing that the policies supported traditional family formations in its allocation of scarce HOS resources.

But the judge noted that both homosexual and heterosexual couples had the same need for affordable housing and a home where they could live together.

 

While Chow accepted that the family aim was legitimate, he found the differential treatment between heterosexual and homosexual married couples was not rationally connected to that aim, let alone proportionate.

 

The judge said it was “extremely far-fetched” for the authority to suggest that heterosexual couples would be encouraged to marry or have children if they knew there were more HOS flats available because their homosexual counterparts had been deterred from buying one.

 

Chow said the authority had “singularly failed” to produce reliable evidence to substantiate its claim, noting the lack of an impact analysis or even an attempt to estimate the number of same-sex couples eligible for HOS.

While agreeing there was an indisputably huge demand for HOS flats, the judge said the policies being challenged were unrelated to the initial allocation of units, but instead involved the addition of, and transfer of title to, authorised occupants of previously allocated units.

Couples like Ng and Li were “a minority in a minority”, he added.

 

“The spousal policy operates on particular individuals like the deceased and Mr Li with such oppressive unfairness that it cannot be regarded as a proportionate means of achieving the family aim,” Chow wrote in a 45-page judgment.

 

Campaign group Hong Kong Marriage Equality thanked Li for “fighting a very important case under a difficult situation” and urged the authorities to accept the ruling.

 

Last September, Ng won his first judicial review on inheritance rights, which stemmed from his concern that Li would not be able to inherit his estate in the absence of a will or other estate planning because their union in London was not considered a valid marriage in Hong Kong.

 

Following Ng’s death last December, Li took over the present case and lodged another challenge after he was allegedly denied the right to independently make funeral arrangements for his late husband.

 

The Department of Justice has appealed against the inheritance case as well as another ruling that declared the government’s policy of denying legally married same-sex couples the right to apply for public housing as unlawful and unconstitutional.

 

 

 

just wonder where we stand in Singapore???

 

 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2021 by singalion

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

News report from the USA on a gay couple who went to eat at an Arby's fast food restaurant in Indiana (Lafayette which neighbors the city where Purdue University is located) and the cashier typed the word "fag" on the receipt where the name should have been typed (the "a" is blurred out in the video but the "f" and "g" are clear). They complained, and the manager stepped in, comped their meal, and fired the bigoted cashier before the gay couple were even finished eating.

 

 

Good job by Arby's showing that they will not accept such blatant and completely unnecessary discrimination. If this had happened at Chic-Fil-A, where the national boss is extremely homophobic, the guilty cashier probably would have been given a raise and promoted to manager. I am not a big fan of fast food chains, but I did like Arby's roast beef sandwiches and curly fries when I was in the USA, so I am glad they righted this wrong immediately and the couple were vindicated.

[Guest Viennetta Spoons Out Betta]

After a lesbian couple in California took a getaway to a hotel and kissed in the swimming pool, they were insulted by some busybody "Karens" who complained that they were a bad influence on any children in the pool, and then lied to the hotel staff that the lesbians were "having sex" in the pool.

 

 

A group of gay men in another area of the pool started chanting "Shame, Shame, Shame" as the "Karens" were leaving, so one of them started cursing at the gay men and holding up her middle finger towards them, which in her thoughts must be a better influence on children than lesbians kissing.

 

 

At the end of that video, you might notice that the husband smiled at the gay men and gave them a "thumbs up" sign, so even he seems to know there is something seriously wrong with his wife. I just hope the kids end up not being badly impacted by having those awful "Karens" as their mothers.

[Steve5380]

17 hours ago, Nightingale said:

Fresh  Protests  in  Spain  over  Killing  of  Gay  Man

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/fresh-protests-in-spain-over-killing-of-gay-man

 

 

Spain is one of the most friendly countries in the world to LGBTQs.   Madrid and Barcelona have strong gay scenes.  It has crossed my mind several times to retire to Spain.

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

Cheyenne biker bar stops selling violent homophobic shirts
Vince Bodiford | Jul 12, 2021 | Updated 22 hrs ago

 

The owner of the Eagle’s Nest bar at 1101 Lincolnway in Cheyenne said today their violent homophobic shirts are “sold out,” and are not available. The shirts caused a social media uproar, with posts showing the shirt being shared hundreds of times, with posts expressing disdain for the shirt’s message, which reads, “In Wyoming, we have a cure for AIDS, we shoot f—–‘n f—–s.”

 

 

Bar owner Ray Bereziuk told The Cheyenne Post on Monday afternoon that his bar has stopped selling the shirts. He said that he is “in the bar business, not the apparel business,” and that he would not be reordering the shirts.

 

The shirt contains a message of hate and violence against the LBGT community.

 

Wyoming Equality reacted to the shirts on a social media post. The post in part said “... We are sad to say that we failed to convince a local bar to pull these shirts from circulation. We hoped that they would choose to stop selling them when they realized the harm it did to the LGBTQ community and those living with AIDS.”

 

 

The post said they Wyoming Equality was not sharing the name of the business “because we do not want them to gain notoriety/ sell more shirts off the pain of our community. It is a sad day. Wyoming Equality understands that...this sucks. And we'd all rather spend our summer getting ready for Rendezvous, spending time with family and friends and recuperating from a hard year. But let's do what we do best and pull together.”

 

[The rest of the article can be read on the website of the Cheyenne Post.]

[Guest Viennetta Spoons Out Betta]

A so-called Christian school in Colorado fired a gay coach who refused to "turn straight" as demanded by their administration.

 

 

 

This is a follow-up story featuring a lesbian coach from the same school who was forced out of her post a few months earlier.

 

 

 

In the year 2021, some so-called Christians still don't understand that sexuality isn't a device, and can't be turned on and off.

[Guest tom harry]

 

 

He can go coach for the THai Iron Ladies.

 

 

 

 

Chai karp 

[Guest 2003]

On 10/15/2021 at 12:49 PM, Guest tom harry said:

He can go coach for the Thai Iron Ladies.

 

Chai karp 

 

The original "Iron Ladies" movie was unique, original, and funny. But the above trailer makes the sequel look like nothing but a way to string together a bunch of stereotypical jokes. This proves again that sequels almost always suck and this is especially the case when they are made over a decade after the original.

 

 

If you can bear to watch in Thai. with no English or other foreign subtitles, here is a full cut of the original.

 

 

The original also has funny moments, but is based on a true story, which makes it a lot more compelling.

[Guest Mickey Spillane’s M Hammer]

Why do those gay coaches want to work at Christianist schools which they already know will discriminate against them instead of working at normal schools that will treat them with respect as long as they do their jobs properly and don't get involved in any scandals?

[Steve5380]

On 10/23/2021 at 2:35 PM, Guest Mickey Spillane’s M Hammer said:

Why do those gay coaches want to work at Christianist schools which they already know will discriminate against them instead of working at normal schools that will treat them with respect as long as they do their jobs properly and don't get involved in any scandals?

 

Maybe they like the fact that they can have right at work the facilities to confess their sins as they commit them.

 

Or they may think that kids in religious schools would be much more afraid to report the abuse they receive. 

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

Please be careful about implying, with no proof, that those gay coaches might have immoral motives when supposedly straight coaches openly do things like this.

 

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As pointed out in the links, the principal of Hazard High School is also the mayor of Perry County in Kentucky, so an awful educator and awful politician all in one.

[Guest Mickey Spillane’s M Hammer]

On 10/30/2021 at 5:25 AM, Guest Meanly Preacher said:

Please be careful about implying, with no proof, that those gay coaches might have immoral motives when supposedly straight coaches openly do things like this.

 

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As pointed out in the links, the principal of Hazard High School is also the mayor of Perry County in Kentucky, so an awful educator and awful politician all in one.

 

So basically, in one of the most conservative and religious towns in the very Republican stronghold of Kentucky, teachers and coaches (who otherwise strongly condemn cross-dressing and trans-anything) ... allowed high school boys to dress up as girls ... and high school girls to inappropriately dress up as Hooters waitresses?

 

Then those teachers and coaches sat back to receive simulated lap dances from the high school boys ... while the high school girls served and drank supposedly simulated beers ... with all of that craziness taking place in the gymnasium where the rest of the the students, along with most teachers and many staffers, simply watched and reacted as though such outrageous behavior is completely normal?

 

Oh yeah, and somehow, the principal is also the mayor? I am amazed that the people who keep fretting about America losing its morals ... are generally the same people doing immoral things like this ... while their town voted heavily for a con artist who bragged about grabbing women's most private body parts without permission.

[riverrobles]

Josh Cavallo comes out as gay

https://www.dw.com/en/australian-professional-footballer-josh-cavallo-comes-out-as-gay/a-59639769

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

On 10/31/2021 at 4:35 AM, Guest Mickey Spillane’s M Hammer said:

So basically, in one of the most conservative and religious towns in the very Republican stronghold of Kentucky, teachers and coaches (who otherwise strongly condemn cross-dressing and trans-anything) ... allowed high school boys to dress up as girls ... and high school girls to inappropriately dress up as Hooters waitresses?

 

Then those teachers and coaches sat back to receive simulated lap dances from the high school boys ... while the high school girls served and drank supposedly simulated beers ... with all of that craziness taking place in the gymnasium where the rest of the the students, along with most teachers and many staffers, simply watched and reacted as though such outrageous behavior is completely normal?

 

Oh yeah, and somehow, the principal is also the mayor? I am amazed that the people who keep fretting about America losing its morals ... are generally the same people doing immoral things like this ... while their town voted heavily for a con artist who bragged about grabbing women's most private body parts without permission.

 

Those small town "conservative" teachers clearly need a lot more continuing education night classes to be reminded that they are supposed to be role models for the town's children, and part of that job includes teaching them what proper boundaries are, not encouraging or even allowing them to cross those boundaries. And yet here's a local television report about the incident.

 

VIDEO CANNOT BE EMBEDDED / CLICK TO VIEW NEWS REPORT

 

The mother who said she doesn't see a problem and thinks people need to learn how to keep their mouths closed is a perfect example of how living in a bubble (of any sort) warps people's thinking. I suspect that she has never left her rural town, or at least not traveled very far away for any reasonable length of time if she did, or she would clearly be up in arms about this filthy incident.

[Guest 2003]

Last week saw a gay rape scandal emerge in the National Hockey League. Kyle Beach, who was the top draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2008, came forward as the player who filed a previously-anonymous sexual assault complaint against the team's former video coach. Beach was not a member of the senior squad, but was called up to serve as an extra player in training during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the experience seen as a way to help him understand what the future would be like with the Blackhawks.

 

SOME THINGS SHOULD BE BIGGER THAN WINNING

 

What happened instead is that the team's video coach threatened Beach, who was only 20, with a baseball bat if he didn't sit back and let the video coach suck him off. The video coach then forced him to roll over and humped his buttcrack but thankfully promised not to enter him. Beach reported this to another coach the next day, who then met with team officials, and did nothing. The video coach stayed with the team until after they won the championship, and was then allowed to resign, without being turned in to the police for rape.

 

 

The video coach went on to become a high school ice hockey coach where he sexually assaulted a teenage student. Beach was shaken up after learning about this and blamed himself for not pushing the team to do more against the video coach before letting him leave with his reputation intact. The video coach was arrested and jailed, while Beach filed a lawsuit that recently became public news, which was what prompted him to come forward as the accuser and reveal that it took a decade to get his attack allegations taken seriously.

 

BAD EMPLOYER BEHAVIOR WILL NOT STAY BURIED

 

It is really a shame that the Blackhawks did not properly deal with this issue in 2010. Beach's career wouldn't have been ruined by the psychological fallout, the teenage student would have never been assaulted, and the team's head coach and top officials wouldn't have needed to resign from their most recent jobs in disgrace last week. From the top 17 youngsters picked in the 2008 draft, Beach is the only one who has never played a single game in the NHL, supposedly because Chicago damaged his reputation to keep the rape quiet.

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

What happened to Kyle Beach is terrible and the abuse suffered by the teen boy in Michigan was 100% preventable. That coach needs to be locked away forever.

 

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If there is any justice, at least one NHL team should offer Kyle Beach a short-term contract at the end of this season, once his games in Germany are all finished.

[Steve5380]

A big chunk of the trillion-dollar program that Biden will sign into law tomorrow will be in the hands of a young individual who not only is GAY,  but is married same-sex to another GAY man.  Had an open gay man ever possessed so much influence?   And he is immune to blackmail,  because he THRIVES in his GAYNESS!    Smart individual!

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/buttigiegs-star-rises-1t-biden-agenda-shifts-81162402

 

It's great that in today's world a gay man can be so powerful!  

[Guest 2003]

Fox News has been spreading a fake story that wrongly claims a primary one teacher took her students to lunch at a "gay bar" when it was actually a restaurant which also has a bar (no different than Applebees, Chilis, Sizzler, TGIF, or dozens of similar chains) that hapens to be gay-owned, and is within walking distance of the school, which means many students probably walk or ride past the place every day. On top of that, the town where this happened is known as the second-gayest place in America, and many of the students in question probably have at least one gay parent anyway.

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

This story? Just another example of Fox News creating controversy out of nothing in their endless string of culture wars. As noted by Guest 2003, the school did not take the students to a "gay bar" as falsely reported, but to a restaurant that has a bar and happens to be gay owned. I am sure there were not any customers getting drunk and making out at the bar during lunch time. Second of all, it happened in what is basically a gay town, and many of the kids have gay parents. But leave it to Fox News to "save" other people's children.

 

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In general, I think having kids observe how things work "behind the scenes" at a restaurant is a good learning experience, and could actually come in handy if they end up working in the food and beverage industry as teenagers or adults. And at the age of primary one, they will be fascinated with just about any sort of workplace, so there is nothing wrong with teaching them about how restaurants operate. Fox News just wants their viewers to freak out over children being shown that gay people are not "monsters" like their hosts claim.

[Guest Viennetta Scoops Out Betta]

On 11/25/2021 at 4:10 PM, Guest Meanly Preacher said:

This story? Just another example of Fox News creating controversy out of nothing in their endless string of culture wars. As noted by Guest 2003, the school did not take the students to a "gay bar" as falsely reported, but to a restaurant that has a bar and happens to be gay owned. I am sure there were not any customers getting drunk and making out at the bar during lunch time. Second of all, it happened in what is basically a gay town, and many of the kids have gay parents. But leave it to Fox News to "save" other people's children.

 

With so many real examples of child sex abuse happening in America, such as religious priests molesting their innocent altar boys, why can't Fox News focus on those stories rather than falsely using the term "gay bar" to refer to a gay-owned restaurant located in a majority-gay town?

 

They would still have their "gay" content, although in the form of outrageous pedophiles who are truly horrible and disgusting individuals, and they would also expose crimes that too many people, despite a small number of high-profile court cases, are still afraid to speak about in public.

[Guest 2003]

On 12/2/2021 at 10:20 AM, Guest Viennetta Scoops Out Betta said:

With so many real examples of child sex abuse happening in America, such as religious priests molesting their innocent altar boys, why can't Fox News focus on those stories rather than falsely using the term "gay bar" to refer to a gay-owned restaurant located in a majority-gay town?

 

Most viewers of Fox News know priests, ministers, or pastors in their actual lives, and could never imagine those supposedly Christian leaders committing such horrible crimes as child sex abuse, despite the huge number of cases that have already been exposed over the years. But the same Fox News viewers have almost no regular interactions with gays, unless someone in their family has come out of the closet, so they feel entitled to hate gays because doing so has no direct impact on their own lives.

 

With that disconnect in mind, Fox News and the rest of the Right Wing Noise Machine are eager to foment hate towards gays, non-white races, immigrants, different religions, and independent women, because it keeps their audience distracted. This allows the wealthy and powerful to quietly plunder America into Third World status, before finally absconding to their private islands, luxury yachts, and foreign mansions to enjoy that ill-gotten loot, while normal people are left behind divided and suffering.

[Steve5380]

The guy who set the Christmas tree at Fox News on fire did a fundamental mistake.

He should have set the whole Fox News on fire.

[Guest Meanly Preacher]

On 12/9/2021 at 9:45 AM, Guest 2003 said:

Most viewers of Fox News know priests, ministers, or pastors in their actual lives, and could never imagine those supposedly Christian leaders committing such horrible crimes as child sex abuse, despite the huge number of cases that have already been exposed over the years. But the same Fox News viewers have almost no regular interactions with gays, unless someone in their family has come out of the closet, so they feel entitled to hate gays because doing so has no direct impact on their own lives.

 

And right on cue — GQP activist, virulent homophobe, and former Fox News interview guest Josh Duggar has been found guilty — of something horrible.

 

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[Guest Underexposed Yourself]

All those television executives who glorified the hatefully anti-gay Duggar family as a shining example of the right wing "Christian" life which every American viewer should emulate need to be ashamed of themselves. That household was clearly filled with child abuse, exploitation, and so much more bad behavior which the public will never learn the whole truth about. It is totally disgusting how loudly the Duggar family, along with the rest of their cohorts, like to criticize the entire gay community, all while secretly indulging in shockingly horrific actions that are really and truly evil, but of course only behind the closed doors of their own homes.

[singalion]

On 1/12/2022 at 8:55 AM, Nightingale said:

What if a similar film were shot in Sg?

 Gay  Sex  Scene  on  Athens  Acropolis  

Sparks  Outcry  in  Greece 

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/gay-sex-scene-on-athens-acropolis-sparks-outcry-in-greece

 

 

Quote:

"The Acropolis and its monuments are universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization, and form the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek Antiquity to the world," says the Unesco listing for the site." Quote end. 

 

Looks like the Greeks forgot the gay was (is?) a part of Greek culture and civilisation, in particular during the times of building the Akropolis. 

 

And take Alexander the Great, in his recent movies he wasn't depicted as patriarchic straight man, but a gay... which he was and there is no doubt on it. 

 

I guess the Greeks need to be reminded on their history, past common sexual activity and civilisation and need to improve their history lessons in school. 

 

I m not sure the Courts will uphold any censorship or ban of the film on such grounds. 

 

If the scenes are too explicit... maybe on that ground, but due to an attack on civilisation and a sacred building as scenery for a film? 

 

Nice distraction, let's move on. 

[singalion]

On 1/12/2022 at 8:55 AM, Nightingale said:

What if a similar film were shot in Sg?

 Gay  Sex  Scene  on  Athens  Acropolis  

Sparks  Outcry  in  Greece 

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/gay-sex-scene-on-athens-acropolis-sparks-outcry-in-greece

 

Quote:

"The Acropolis and its monuments are universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization, and form the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek Antiquity to the world," says the Unesco listing for the site." Quote end. 

 

Looks like the Greeks forgot the gay was (is?) a part of Greek culture and civilisation, in particular during the times of building the Akropolis. 

 

And take Alexander the Great, in his recent movies he wasn't depicted as patriarchic straight man, but a gay... which he was and there is no doubt on it. 

 

I guess the Greeks need to be reminded on their history, past common sexual activity and civilisation and need to improve their history lessons in school. 

 

I m not sure the Courts will uphold any censorship or ban of the film on such grounds. 

 

If the scenes are too explicit... maybe on that ground, but due to an attack on civilisation and a sacred building as scenery for a film? 

 

Nice distraction, let's move on. 

 

[Steve5380]

VIVE LA FRANCE!   France bans gay conversion therapy!

 

They now recognize that "conversion therapy" is a harmful pure quackery. 

 

https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/was-vs-were-use-cases-and-examples/

 

France has a new law that bans so-called conversion therapies and authorizes jail time and fines for practitioners who use the scientifically discredited practice to attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people

 

 

PARIS -- France has a new law that bans so-called conversion therapies and authorizes jail time and fines for practitioners who use the scientifically discredited practice to attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people.

The National Assembly approved the new law unanimously, voting 142-0 on Tuesday evening.

 

 

[Guest Yes]

On 1/27/2022 at 12:08 AM, Steve5380 said:

VIVE LA FRANCE!   France bans gay conversion therapy!

 

They now recognize that "conversion therapy" is a harmful pure quackery. 

 

https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/was-vs-were-use-cases-and-examples/

 

France has a new law that bans so-called conversion therapies and authorizes jail time and fines for practitioners who use the scientifically discredited practice to attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people

 

 

PARIS -- France has a new law that bans so-called conversion therapies and authorizes jail time and fines for practitioners who use the scientifically discredited practice to attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people.

The National Assembly approved the new law unanimously, voting 142-0 on Tuesday evening.

 

 

While Singapore uses laws to prosecute people who vehemently spoke out against religions demonising LGBTs because religious feelings are very important.

[Guest Pointless]

Some LGBTs really have nothing better to do than to create a big fuzz out of small issues.  There are much more greater problems out in this world than stupid arguments on the numbering on jerseys. 

 

The world would be much better if lgbts are a little less sensitive just as Singapore would be more peaceful if lgbts here are less touchy on 377A.

 

How homophobia made number 24 taboo in Brazilian football

has Flamengo player Gabriel Barbosa wears a jersey with the number 24 as part of a campaign against homophobia in Brazil on Feb 22, 2020. PHOTO: AFP

Published

15 Mins Ago

 

SAO PAULO (AFP) - Soccer jerseys are everywhere in football-mad Brazil, often with the numbers of the country's all-time legends: Ronaldo's 9, Pele's 10, Romario's 11.

 

But one number is off-limits: 24, the focus of a homophobic taboo whose origin story is a wacky roller-coaster ride through more than a century of Brazilian history, winding up with the present - but slowly shifting - anti-gay attitudes that loom large in football today.

 

The story of the 24 taboo goes back to 1892, when the founder of Brazil's first zoo, Baron Joao Batista Viana Drummond, came up with a creative way to fix its troubled finances: a lottery called "o jogo do bicho" (the animal game).

 

Visitors to the Rio de Janeiro zoo received an animal figurine, and every day the baron's staff would randomly select one of the 25 animals, with a cash prize for everyone who had that figurine.

 

The game soon exploded, as quick-thinking entrepreneurs printed bingo-like cards with the 25 animals and started selling shots at different jackpots.

 

The game was banned three years later, but had already become a Brazilian institution - and remains one today, run by a mafia with ties to some of the biggest businesses in Brazil: politics, carnival, music and football.

 

The 24th square on the game card is a deer, or "veado" - a word used as a homophobic slur in Portuguese, apparently because deer are seen as feminine and sometimes engage in homosexual relations.

 

And that is why male footballers in Brazil fear the number 24.

 

"It's crazy when you think about it, because it's just a number like any other. But there's definitely a taboo," said LGBTI activist Bernardo Gonzales, who also plays for trans men's futsal team Sport Club T Mosqueteiros in Sao Paulo.

 

He said some Brazilian men even shun 24 when they pick a seat at the movies, rent an apartment or turn 24 - saying they are 23+1.

 

"Footballers would rather use another number, because they don't want anyone questioning their masculinity," he told AFP.

 

In the Brazilian men's first division, just four of the 20 teams currently have number 24s. Three are young players on their first professional contracts.

 

"I think it's important for every club to include (the number)," said one, Kevin Malthus, a 19-year-old midfielder with Santos.

 

"It's just a number that ended up with this homophobic prejudice around it. But some great athletes have used it, like Kobe Bryant," he told news site UOL.

 

The biggest name in Brazilian football to wear the number is currently Victor Cantillo, a Colombian international midfielder who joined Sao Paulo club Corinthians in 2020.

 

Cantillo caused a flutter when he arrived in Brazil by deciding to keep number 24, which he had worn at his previous club, Junior.

"Not 24, not here," said Corinthians' then-director for football, Duilio Monteiro Alves.

 

The comment triggered widespread backlash and a campaign that saw numerous players - including one of Brazil's biggest stars, Flamengo striker Gabigol - wear the number for a match.

 

But the polemic rolls on.

LGBTQ rights group Arco-Iris recently took Flamengo to court for excluding number 24 from its squad for an under-20 cup in Sao Paulo last month.

 

Prosecutors said it would be difficult to prove a "discriminatory motive", and the case was shelved.

 

A player for another team in the tournament, America Mineiro winger Jurandir, wore number 24 - and drew homophobic chants.

"Despite all the criticism and social movements, it hasn't been enough" to eradicate the taboo, said sociologist Rodrigo Monteiro of Fluminense Federal University. "Football is still a very masculine space."

 

The controversy has largely spared the Brazilian national team, since most international tournaments allow just 23 players and require sequential numbers.

 

But last year, when Covid-19 havoc led Copa America organisers to allow 28-player squads, Brazil were the only country not to register a number 24.

 

Arco-Iris took that case to court, too, calling the move "homophobic" .The Brazilian Football Confederation said the decision was based on sporting considerations, and the case was shelved.

 

By contrast, number 24 is regularly used in Brazilian women's football, and hugely popular on LGBTQ teams.

"It's a symbol of resistance," said Gonzales - himself sporting number 24.

More On This Topic

 

[singalion]

This about (the remainders of )Free Speech in Hong Kong:

 

 

From her LGBT play We Are Gay to self-censoring for the first time, Hong Kong dramatist Candice Chong on keeping calm amid the chaos

Enid Tsui 23 Feb 2022  South China Morning Post

%7B

 

• Candice Chong's dark tale of three gay men in a menage A trois was set to premiere at the 2022 Hong Kong Arts Festival before the city's fifth Covid-19 wave hit
• She talks about why she'd tell her kids to leave Hong Kong, her first time self-censoring and her thoughts about retraining as a property agent... maybe

 

People can become desensitised to bad news when a lot of it comes in quick succession. For Hong Kong's arts scene, cancellations of live performances began nearly three years ago because of the citywide anti-government protests. Then came Covid-19. It has driven many to despair, but playwright Candace Chong Mui-ngam appears quite blase over the prospect of her new play We Are Gay never seeing the light of day.

 

 

"There is nothing we can do. I was fuming in the early days of theatre shutdowns. But what good does it do if I rant about it? Nothing will change. The only option is to stay calm and tell yourself you are witnessing something really unusual," she says.

 

That sense of resignation is not uncommon in Hong Kong. Ever since Beijing's heavy-handed crackdown on dissent following the 2019 protests, the fear of arrest has meant that concerns about the government's handling of the pandemic, or its implementation of a new national security law, rarely venture beyond online tirades.

 

Now, the loss of artistic freedom might force one of the most unflinchingly honest and celebrated Cantonese-language dramatists of her generation to reconsider her life plans. "I think I may retrain as a property agent. I like the idea of finding a home for people," Chong says early on in the interview.

 

 

 

%7B

 

 

Some of her plays, written as allegories, have become uncomfortably close to the bone. Wild Boar (2012), for example, was about the pressures faced by journalists determined to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of a local historian. May 35 (2019) expressed fear that China's bloody crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy movement will one day be forgotten.

 

A brief stint overseas doing a residency at the University of Iowa's International Writing Programme in autumn 2021 brought perspective to the enormity of the changes in Hong Kong, she says.

 

"I never thought I would be better off working in Broadway or the West End because this place [Hong Kong], these people, have their own values that should be captured by their own scripts. But now, I'd definitely tell my kids to go somewhere else if they want to do what I do," says the 45-year-old mother of two. "No resource is more valuable than freedom."

 

She recalls the first time she self-censored: earlier this year, when she wrote a play called Madam Sew for a children's theatre production. "There was a part where I had used symbols that could be seen as a political comment about how one culture is intent on destroying another. I thought long and hard about it. I didn't want to cause trouble for the theatre troupe and so I changed it," she says.

 

Until two weeks ago, when rehearsals for We Are Gay had to be called off because of Hong Kong's fifth wave of Covid-19, she was working with director Tony Wong and the cast of the play in preparation for a March 19 premiere at the Hong Kong Arts Festival. News that it was officially cancelled came on February 22.

 

"Actually, I've had to ask myself whether a play I wrote back in 2018 should still be produced," she says. (It was originally planned for the 2020 festival).

 

The dark tale of a menage A trois of three gay men in Hong Kong, one of whom is a sexaholic, which ends in murder might be read as a negative stereotype of the "promiscuous gay lifestyle". But Chong defends the play, highlighting the different circumstances from which it arose.

 

Back in 2018 ("when the world was normal"), Hong Kong was seen as a fairly tolerant city for Asia and she felt that the queer community was at risk of complacency.

 

 

"That's why the Chinese title of the play is We Are The Happiest, which takes the other meaning of the word gay. I'd just read Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy, translated as We Are Very Happy in Chinese. And like the North Koreans in the book, I feel that many in the gay and lesbian community outside of the few activists may feel that they are fine here, even though they can't even hold hands in public. I decided not to tiptoe round any topic in the play," she says.

 

 

Today, the lack of equality has been brought into sharper focus. On top of frequent homophobic comments by pro-Beijing right-wing politician Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, a lawmaker in a legislature made up only of "patriots", the Housing Authority is now arguing in court that same-sex households should not be given access to public housing.

 

 

But Chong still feels that the play has value. "The fact that the characters are not in a heterosexual relationship allows the play to explore aspects of relationship and love that are fascinating," she says. Unfortunately, there is no plan for the Hong Kong Arts Festival to reschedule at the moment.

 

Still, she is not that serious about changing job, it turns out.

 

 

"Everything I do, I do it so that I can write better scripts. I think David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross is an excellent play about property agents. Maybe I can try selling property and then write something like that one day!"

 

 

[LoveCum]

Priest Arrested For Stealing Nearly $100,000 In Church Donations To Spend On Grindr Dates (truththeory.com)