Coopers "debate" is homophobic

                         Coopers Fake Debate

 The Bible society is a right wing religious hate group that advocates for teaching the bibles in schools, is against the Australian constitution, and opposes equal rights for LGBT Australians, they even have a book "that celebrates impact of the Bible on Australia’s First Nations People!".

 THAT'S PROBLEMATIC

 This bible society has teamed up with Coopers (a brewery that is a heavy donator to the Coalition) as part of a "creative campaign" they have place bible verses on a light Coopers beer's labels and are hosting light discussions on heavy topics. 

 The campaign started with a "debate" on marriage equality. 

And oh my it is a disingenuous bit of rubbish. So we have two coalition politicians siting around a cafe table with the "debate moderator". We are told that one of the politicians is pro-equal rights and the other is for discrimination.
 But that's really where the problem begins they don't call it marriage equality they call it same-sex marriage, and they don't call it pro-discrimination they call it pro-traditional marriage. So right from the start they are phrasing the "debate" in a biased way. And lets just look at that claim of traditional marriage a little bit,

 It is a fact that same sex couples have been getting married since at least 3100 BCE, please observe that this is long before the invention of Christianity which was around 355CE.

  In Australia we see that our marriage laws were changed in the marriage act in 2004, marriage was re-defined to specifically and unconstitutionally to exclude same sex couples. 

 So which is more traditional? 

Being a radical christian group its possible The bible society meant biblical marriage instead of traditional marriage. But that would lead to more problems check out biblical marriage here.

 Firstly the Bible Society claims that "Australia's national conversation has become fraught with shallowness and contempt for those who have a differing opinion,". I would agree that the homophobes excuses for denying LGBT Australians equal rights are often shallow, i would also add nonsensical. I would also agree that homophobes including those using the religion of Christianity as an excuse for their bigotry  have shown contempt for innocent homosexuals for over 200 years and continue to do so. 

 But as to a differing opinion, well that putting it very mildly, the pro-equality side is simply asking that LGBT Australians are given the constitutional rights they should have while the other homophobic side is fighting to keep a 2004 law that actively discriminates against LGBT Australians, i think that's a bit more then a differing opinion. And the only real reason the bigots have for this pro-discrimination stance is they hate gay people, and i don't think that's a good enough excuse to deny equal rights.

Now that that's out of the way i will just correct some of the misinformation presented in the "debate".

 Anyone who opposes Homosexual people having equal rights is by definition homophobic. 

 Equal rights is not a "light" subject, Not when a hate group endorsed by Coalition politicians has recently praised ISIL for killing gay men. Not when homophobes protesting an anti-bullying school program call LGBT children pedophiles and incite others to hang them. Not when up to 17% of male suicides would be prevented by simply allowing marriage equality.

 To suggest the two positions one wanting their constitutional rights and the other wanting discrimination are equal is ridiculous. Whats next a "debate' about racial equality with racists where the two positions are treated as having equal merit?

   

 It is impossible to have a real debate with homophobes. The first thing the homophobe said was a lie.Marriage has not always and is not even currently between one man and one woman, to say otherwise means he is ill informed and therefore shouldn't be forwarding a position on the matter or he is active being actively deceitful. As marriage between same sex couples have been happening since around 3100 BCE then that too predates the Australian state, but look it also predates Christianity. The moderator should have corrected this misinformation, or a better pro-equality speaker should have been given the opportunity to do so. But as it stands now it might look to the uninformed viewer that the homophobes argument was accurate and had merit, while in reality it did not.

 Suggested Bible Verse 01:

 The simple fact is that there is no valid argument against marriage equality. The current laws which re-defined marriage in 2004 to specifically deny same-sex couples the right to marry is immoral, unconstitutional and discriminatory. It should also be noted that the marriage laws are not supposed to reflect one religions current definition of marriage, civil marriage and religious marriage are supposed to be two separate things. Correcting the legal definition of marriage will not effect any religions homophobic definition of marriage at all.

Suggested Bible Verse 02:

What you can do:

Fax your MP and demand they uphold the Australian constitution and embrace Marriage Equality.

A lot of decent people are also boycotting Coopers brewery for this homophobic act.

UPDATE: 

 Coopers brewery have responded to the outcry of disgust by decent Australians. Their first press release defended the "Debate" advertisement, and went so far as to falsely claim the "debate" in the advertisement was balanced! They went on to childishly claim that those offended by the fake debate advertisement were not mature, and that Australia needs to debate if innocent people should have equal rights or if we should continue to allow discrimination against them. 

 They also made the demonstrably false claim that by participating in this joint campaign with the bible society they were not trying to spread any religious messages, this despite the fact that that is the bible society stated purpose for the campaign.

 In this press release there was no apology to the LGBT community of Australia, and there wasn't even mention of the LGBT community. They also didn't commit to doing the Australian thing by standing up for the underdog and making sure LGBT Australians have a fair go at marriage.

                                Awkward Moments Children's Bible a great source for verses

After the backlash from that first obnoxious press release Coopers Brewery released another. This one also repeated the insulting falsehood that they were not pushing any religious message. 
 But remarkably they now claimed that they had nothing to do with the fake debate Coopers advertisement claiming further that their brand was used illegally without their permission. 
 Now if this is true they will obviously try to sever all ties with this horrible bible society and at the very least will sue them in order to protect the Coopers brand. If its true.
 Again no support of equality, LGBT Australians equal rights were mentioned. They didn't identify how they were going to try to mend the damage to the LGBT Australians, or there brand identity.

 #boycottcoopers

 Its not just decent individual Australians who are boycotting Coopers, many clubs and pubs have shown their support for human rights by boycotting Coopers! Careful or you might rekindle our faith in humanity. 
 And wouldn't this be another great opportunity for Prime Minister Trumble to show he has a backbone and actually give LGBT Australians their equal rights?

 VIDEO

* Our video guy is recovering from surgery, he will make a YouTube version of this story when he can, sorry for any inconvenience.

News; RSVP, Fake News and Preventing Suicide.

 News: 23/02/2017

Video version

 

> Hate Group receives free funny online RSVPs

 A church in Melbourne invited the homophobic Lyle Shelton of the Australian "Christian" Lobby (ACL) to spread hate speech at a weekend event. They allowed people to RSVP over the internet, As a peaceful form of protest Pauline Pantsdown suggested that reasonable people could RSVP to the event using silly names and comments and hilarity ensued.
 Some of the issues Lyle Shelton was going to blunder on about seemed to included the ACL's advocacy for forcing the elderly, sick and dying to suffer, the ACL's opposition to the Australian constitution and equal rights, in addition to the ACL's advocacy for the bullying of school children.
 The bigoted Lyle Shelton is quoted as claiming that the RSVP's were;
 “the most degrading and obscene material I have been exposed to ".
 This coming from the man who has himself disgustingly tried to create false parallels between equal rights and Nazism. That is never OK by the way. Also from the man who denounces a school program, that aims to prevent bullying and youth suicides.
 Is he not aware that the ACL has claimed that smoking is healthier than being homosexual! And that the ACL tried to blame homosexuals for homophobia, homophobia that the ACL promotes?!?
 If we are to believe Lyle Shelton, and we assume he was excluding the ACL's filthy behavior from his consideration. I would suggest he need only to look at other bigots and homophobes in Australia to see far more degrading and obscene material. 
 But i am inclined to believe he is simply trying to "play the victim" as a professional homophobe i cant imagine he wouldn't keep up to date with what other homophobes and hate groups are doing and saying. In any event we can now doubly confirm that the ACL and Lyle Shelton are against freedom of speech.
 It gets weirder as this (to use the right wing vernacular) precious triggered snowflake has hired three body guards to protect him, if only every homosexual could do the same, if only every bullied LGBT kid in schools had even one bodyguard to protect them.  

 Maybe its time the ACL was officially declared a hate group and outlawed? Its at the very least time we stopped giving people like Lyle Shelton a voice on topics they clearly know nothing about. Not only has he shown repeatedly that he knows nothing about LGBT people but now he is claiming to know nothing about the homophobia that is his bread and butter, how are the other radical right wing bigots going to respect him if he doesn't give them credit for their hate speech, shame, Lyle shame.
 The Australian did a hit piece on Pauline Pantsdown which is so biased its actually funny. 

 

> A simple way to reduce youth suicide

 If you or someone you know is dealing with self harm please seek help. In Australia a shocking average of 2,687 death by suicide occur each year, that's a little over 8 deaths per day! Its horrifying that these numbers are doubled in relation to indigenous Australians. Males are around three times more likely to die by suicide then females. LGBT youth are 6 times more likely to attempt suicide. Transgender youth are almost 18 times more likely to attempt suicide. A horrifying 8% of LGBT youth (14-21) have attempted suicide. These numbers increase when considering those who thought about suicide but did not act upon those thoughts.  
  These statistics which are freely available show how important and necessary the Safe Schools anti-bullying program is. And how important it is that hate groups that incite discrimination should be stopped. 
 But there is good news an important American study titled; Difference-in-Differences Analysis of the Association Between State Same-Sex Marriage Policies and Adolescent Suicide Attempts has shown that marriage equality (LGBTI people having he same marriage rights as heterosexual people) can actually reduce the rates of youth suicide by a staggering 7%! This alone should encourage Malcolm Trumble to keep his promise and ensure LGBT Australians have their constitutional rights enforced and are permitted to marry like other Australians. He keeps getting these amazing opportunity to show some backbone and stand up to the homophobic, radical right, but he keeps letting them slip through his fingers. I hope this time he is true to his word and ensures Australia does have no tolerance for homophobia!

 Again if you or someone you know is experiencing any difficulties there is no shame in seeking out help, the statistics show you are not alone. There are professionals who will have resources that will help you cope with whatever life chucks at your face. They may have solutions you haven't thought of for helping you out of a difficult situation. Do not let the homophobes win, make them pay by living your life with love and happiness, don't worry if your not quite there yet, get the help you need and "just fake it til you make it". They will hate seeing that another LGBT youth has survived despite their best efforts. That you survive and go on to live your life means they have failed and that in and of itself is something for you to be proud of.

Indigenous population

the average number of suicide deaths per year was 2,687. - See more at: http://www.mindframe-media.info/for-media/reporting-suicide/facts-and-stats#sthash.67zIXqfO.dpuf

the average number of suicide deaths per year was 2,687. - See more at: http://www.mindframe-media.info/for-media/reporting-suicide/facts-and-stats#sthash.67zIXqfO.dpuf

Please support Marriage Equality by sending a fax with this easy web form. Remind them that Malcolm Turnbull promised to protect us from homophobia, remind them that the current marriage laws are unconstitutional and homophobic. Remind them they promised marriage equality before the end of last year. The Australian Marriage Equality website has a lot of information that can help you, check out the Get Informed tab. Thank you for helping this civil rights cause.

 

Dishonoring the Australian flag.

Dishonoring the Australian flag.

 

 In the lead up to Australia day,  George Christensen the homophobic and child hating Liberal senator has introduced a bill into parliament in order to make burning the Australian flag illegal. It should be noted here that the bill relates to the Australian National Flag and the Australian Red Ensign flag. It does not effect the treatment of the Aboriginal flag or the LGBT flag strangely enough...

 Some claim that people fought and died for the flag, this is admittedly an 'alternative fact', which actually means its a lie. People don't fight for a flag, they fight for the ideals it symbolises. Ideals like freedom to protest, freedom of religion, our constitution, equality and a fair go for all, and sticking up for the underdog.

 As you may be aware bigots and Australian terrorists have draped themselves in the Australian flag. They have succeeded in making our flag a symbol of hate and fear. They may have desecrated the flag beyond all hope of salvation.

 Knowing that, if burning the flag is an act against hate crimes, oppression, racism, bigotry, homophobia, religious intolerance, and terrorism, is that act really a bad thing?

  Again the problem is what the flag has come to symbolise, not what is done to the flag in protest of that symbolism. If we are not going to police what the flag stands for, is it time for a new Australian flag?

  After taking a look at the bill it seems Christensen might be working against his own interests here. The bill actually includes the terms; 

  'Dishonoring the flag with intent to offend, insult or intimidate any group of people would be illegal'

 He doesn't seem like the most informed or reasoned person so he probably doesn't realise that the hate speech he and those like him spout about non-Christians, LGBT Australians and children could never be spoken anywhere near a flag again without legal repercussions. 

 The terrorists and racists who don the flag would have to be arrested on the spot.

 Pauline Hanson would have to be very careful with her many media appearances, she has a history of using the Australian flag and its difficult to find a speech where she didn't intentionally offend, or insult some group for political gain. 

 Obviously police numbers would have to be increased just to arrest and charge right wing politicians.

 While it would be good to see fear mongering, child bullying, racist, science denying, sexist, homophobic, bigots out of politics and in prison. 

 I am sure if this was not a right wing bill it would be called "political correctness" gone mad, and the alt-right would moan that people shouldn't be charged for hurting the delicate feelings of the triggered special snowflakes. But such arguments are only used by the right when they disagree with something.

 

 I honestly don't know how i feel about this bill, if it is implemented justly it could do some good, but i fear it would only be enforced when it serves the current right wing governments agenda.

 Perhaps its a little late for this bill, or perhaps the burning of the flag part should be removed.

What do you think? What does the flag symbolise to you now? What do you feel it should symbolise? Do we need a new flag? Is Christensen's bill a good idea, would you change anything in it?

http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;page=0;query=BillId%3Ar5628%20Recstruct%3Abillhome

 http://www.ausflag.com.au/

 

Hanson redefines homophobia

One Nation has a homophobia problem

 One Nation* and its professional politician leader Pauline Hanson has a long history of homophobia. One Nations* website states that they want to keep Australians unconstitutional discriminatory marriage laws, One Nation* does not support equal rights.

 Also remember that One Nation* leader Pauline Hanson disgustingly tried to straight-wash the Pulse homophobic terror attack!

 It looked like One Nation* might have been improving its morality with promises of proper venting of candidates which is a good thing considering the science denying, racist and homophobic, conspiracy theory promoting nature of the candidates. Could we hope that this new direction might encourage One Nation to re-think its homophobic policy's?

 Andy Semple who had been selected as a One Nation* state candidate for Queensland. He resigned after outrage at his homophobic twitter behavior. He tweeted a pro-trump (anti-LGBT) meme that was incredibly inappropriate, and then taunted anyone who would reasonably find it offensive by calling them the "queer mafia".

 Despite the meme he shared being alt-right, homophobic and pro- shooting and him saying in the tweet that he isn't supportive of LGBT people having equal rights, He astonishingly claims that he isn't a homophobe. But went on to say he liked to make fun of political opponents, scientists and already vilified minority's. So we can thank One Nation* for actually asking him to rein in the homophobia, even if he resigned and was not fired, we don't need more bigotry in Australian politics.

 Then we had Shan Ju Lin another Queensland One Nation* candidate who seemed to enjoy spreading anti-gay hate speech on Facebook, with posts saying that gays were sick, abnormal, criminals. She went on to support the bullying of LGBT youth, mis-identifyd what traditional values were and that gays should have to take a gay test at a doctors before coming out? Of course Shan Ju Lin claimed her views were not homophobic, before hypocritically saying she was only concerned about child welfare... 

 We need better sexual education and the safe-schools program to be mandatory in all schools, so people don't grow up with such hideously wrong headed views, she is a politician for frights sake!

 Now this may shock many but Pauline Hanson actually fired Shan Ju Lin saying that her views were not supported by One Nation*, even saying that the homophobic views expressed "trashed" One Nation*. 

 It is good to know that One Nation*s homophobia does have limits, though Hanson seems to be drawing the line in a strange place, still its a good thing Hanson recognized Homophobia and dealt with it appropriately. We can only hope this is a sign that One Nation* may be turning a new leaf in dealing with the rampant homophobia within its party and its hideous treatment of LGBT Australians may improve.

 We were then presented with Tracey Bell-Henselin yet another One Nation candidate. 

 She took to Facebook to falsely claim that gays were the real bigots and were out to destroy families. Obviously this is utter nonsense and victim blaming double speak. It is the bigots whose homophobia separates LGBT Australians from their family, we are not responsible for our family's lack of empathy, acceptance, or love. Homophobia is the problem, not homosexuality.

 She went on to claim that defending Australia's unconstitutional, discriminatory law was lawful. Which i suppose is debatable, though i would argue that the constitution should take precedence over Howard's homophobic changes to the marriage act.

 She bemoaned people correctly labeling her as a bigot and homophobe. Seriously people if you don't want to wear your label with pride, simply stop fitting that label. We cant change your behavior for you. 

  She also seems to be under the misconception that gay people are not born like heterosexual people as there are apparently no mothers or fathers of LGBT people in her bizarre world view.
 She is also under the delusion that trans people are predatory sexual criminals, despite all evidence to the contrary. Now i would show statistics on the rates of predatory bathroom behavior among transgender people, but for the fact that their are none, because it just isn't a thing that really happens in the real world. Its just easy for bigots to rile up hate against trans people because their situation isn't easily understood by the majority who are often fearful of anything different.

 Of course Tracy Bell-Henselin is against safe schools, preferring that LGBT kids, and those perceived to be LGBT are bullied despite recent youth suicide due to homophobic bullying. And the fact that the recent homophobia expressed by One Nation* candidates including her own, shows how important good sexual education really is.

 

 In a strange move Hanson apparently laughed off Tracy Bell- Henselins homophobia falsely claiming these homophobic comments are not homophobic at all. Hanson seems to be drawing the line between what is and isn't homophobic in very strange places. It is a very wriggly and scribbled line indeed....

 Homophobes actually don't get to choose what is or is not homophobia. Homophobia is the discrimination, hatred, or vilification of LGBT people. You cant pick and chose within that definition what you want to include and exclude, you just need to stop treating the LGBT community as a scapegoat, stop cashing in on homophobia.

Can you justify why Tracy Bell-Henselins homophobia is any different from the other One Nation* candidates? Why is one candidate spreading the disgusting lie that homosexuality and pedophilia are somehow linked, sacked and the other not? 

 

*  Excludes; Non-whites, Non- christians, Non -straights.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jan/13/one-nation-candidates-anti-gay-messages-port-arthur-conspiracy-theory

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-09/dumped-one-nation-shan-ju-lin-wont-apologise-for-gay-comments/8168792

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/third-pauline-hansons-one-nation-party-hopeful-rages-at-gay-bigots/news-story/9d6af1c3bc77c6175fff4a7e543fcfbe

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/20/one-nation-candidate-quits-two-days-inappropriate-tweet

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-11/one-nation-candidate-tracey-bell-henselin-under-fire/8175544

http://www.outinperth.com/one-nations-tracey-bell-henselin-lgbti-destroy-families/
 

Halloween in Australia

Its not Halloween in Australia 

 

 Its Beltane night in Australia as i am writing this, i am currently single and have no plans to connect with any other Pagans tonight.
 For the last few years the ignorant masses in Australia have stated to trick or treat on October 31st which is Halloween and Samhain in the northern hemisphere. These people don't seem to realise its not Autumn here, but i shouldn't be surprised these are probably the same people that celebrate the Winter Solstice or Yule at the height of Summer.

 I don't even know if we can blame them, the shops are still selling all the Samhain paraphernalia at the wrong time of year, and it seems respect for the religious holy day has been ignored in favor of cheap commercialism. 

  I have lamented this take over of Beltane before here Halloween 2015 and i have been saddened by the lack of interest in Samhain 2015.

 I don't know what to do about it. There are fewer trick or treaters at my door this Beltane, probably due to me politely informing the adults that they had the wrong night in previous years. However if we accept that those avoiding my house are the same people that know facts, then that would mean that these people are purposely being religiously bigoted, and that's pretty sad.

 If there were more Pagans in my small town then perhaps we could make a big show of trick or treating at the right time of year. But sadly there isn't and i feel that these people would just start double dipping so to speak. 

 Possibly the worst part is that i would love to share our most holy night with the non-Pagans, but no one comes to my door on Halloween/Samhain.

 If you know anything about Beltane, it isn't really an appropriate night for responsible guardians to send their children to strangers houses. It negatively effects our holy Beltane rites and it basically means we have had to delay any real celebrations until well after the streets are cleared of the seasonally deluded and their brood.

 I had mused in the past abut celebrating  Día de Muertos or the Day of the Dead on the 31st, perhaps doing the Day of the Dead thing early in the evening and then getting back to the Beltane celebrations later in the night. However i didn't know if The Day of the Dead was seasonal or an actual date (dates really), and i was also uncomfortable with the cultural appropriation aspects of doing this. But i have since discovered that The Day of the Dead was originally an Aztec festival, and was originally celebrated in Summer! So that set the time of year about right, and this year among the tatty "Halloween" merchandise i saw a number of Day of the Dead items, mostly calavera (candy skulls), so it appears the cultural appropriation cat is already out of the bag. Also i feel less guilty about this aspect due to my dealings with La Santa Muerte.

 So what to do? Tonight more than others i actually find myself annoyed that the ignorance, laziness, or religious insensitivity of others had made me concentrate on Samhain when i could be celebrating Beltane.

Door to door for Día de Muertos

 Obviously you should only go door to door for  Día de Muertos, if you are actually celebrating the festival as respectfully as you can. An appropriate costume would be colorful and have candy skull make up or a devil mask. a funny poem might facilitate the exchange for lollies.

  Going door to door for Beltane

 If people really must go Mummering on Beltane perhaps we can at least expect them to do so respectfully. A modified Hoodening could work. You should really only go door to door on Beltane if your family is needy, or perhaps you have at least given to a respectable charity.
 Dressing as fairys, goats and other horned animals, rabbits, bees, and the Obby Oss (Mari Lwyd) might all be appropriate.
 Singing the Obby Oss carol or a Beltane song, a Beltane blessing, or reciting a clever rhyme could easily replace the inappropriate "trick or treat?".

Going door to door on Halloween / Samhain

 Make sure you have the correct night, its April30th / May 1st in Australia. Only go to peoples houses that are participating, they will have "spooky" decorations and will have their front light on. Go in a costume, you have to put some effort in.

Reactions to the dondale chrisis.

Reactions to child abuse.

 Most Australians were appalled and disgusted by the horrible revelations made by the four corners program. This program exposed the government sanctioned abuse and torture of children in detention. 

 Some Australians however reacted in a very different way. They took to Parliament to try to water down our anti-discrimination laws. I am so ashamed that some Australians reaction to seeig Aboriginal children tortured was to try to remove the limited protections they have under the law.

 It should be noted that our anti-discrimination laws are only ever used in the most heinous and public of cases.

 We can see a few familiar faces behind this pro-racism push. 

 There is Cory, who made a name for himself with his homophobia, but he seems to be spreading his prejudice around. Cory has loudly attacked the freedom of speech of his victims, when those victims accurately describe his attacks as homophobia.
 It should be noted that he did not seek to change the fact that the big religions are exempt from most anti-discrimination laws.

And we cant forget Pauline ruler of One Nation, who has made racism and bigotry her platform as a professional politician. Pauline is well known for her attacks on freedom of speech and expression.

 Roberts of One Nation seems to be a conspiracy theorist. I think the fact someone voted for him means we need a re-think of our voting system, like at least making information on the candidates available to the voting public.

 I cant see much information on Brian Burston, being that he is pro-racism and willingly joined One Nation we can probably assume sadly, that he shares its other bigoted views.

 Rod Culleton is another One Nation member, i cant see much about him, other then he claims to have helped farmers against the banks, and has had a larceny conviction annulled. One wonders as he is with One Nation, if he would support farmers of another race, religion or sexuality?

 These people and their pro-racism reaction to the Dondale kids expose sicken me. If they are your government representatives please let them know we need to strength anti-discrimination laws, not weaken them.