Wednesday, September 12, 2007

It's a Play About Hate

I thought it was strange when Brian Camenker announced on the comeback Massresistance Radio show two weeks ago that Amy couldn't be with them because she was in Wyoming "researching" the Laramie Project.

Then to my surprise I read Massresistance's latest "update" on their site:

Parents in Acton fighting back: Holding community forum Oct. 3 -- featuring national speakers -- to expose homosexual play "The Laramie Project" being presented at high school!

Many of you may be aware of the pro-homosexual play "The Laramie Project" that's being presented in colleges and even high schools across the country. It's an extremely offensive piece of propaganda that uses the murder of the gay college student Matthew Shepard to push acceptance of homosexuality and horribly demonize Christians and others who have moral issues with homosexual behavior. It is also an extremely violent and profane work, meant to be psychologically jarring, with little value beyond that.

When the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School administration decided to have students produce the play this November, concerned parents in the Acton-Boxborough school district requested MassResistance’s assistance in answering back. While school officials declined to halt the production of this R-rated play, (even after pleadings from parents with school officials) the School Committee did agree to allow an alternative viewpoint forum to be held in the school auditorium for the community. This play is being pushed in several schools in Massachusetts beyond, and we hope that this forum can be used to help concerned parents everywhere to combat the message of the play -- that traditional religious values are dangerous and hateful, that “seeds of hate” exist in every community, and that homosexuality should be accepted and celebrated.

Here's the coverage in last Sunday's Boston Globe of the upcoming forum:

This promises to be VERY informative. Confirmed speakers include: James Lafferty, who attended the Matthew Shepard trial in Laramie, Wyoming; Linda Harvey, researcher on homosexual programs in the public schools, Stephen Bennett, former homosexual, now married with two children; Dr. John Diggs, internist and international lecturer on sexually transmitted diseases.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
Auditorium Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007 7:30 pm
(Charter Rd, connecting Mass. Ave. & Hayward St.), just off intersection of Rts. 111 & 27 (Main St.).

So now we know who the "concerned parents" in Acton is. Bay Windows outed Amy from Acton in an article published in November 2005 which was then repeated by Article 8 in a fundraising "update". And now Massresistance A.K.A. Brian and Amy are trying to censor the play in the town's high school only the town isn't having any of it.

An alternative forum is going to be held at the high school with the typical Massresistance/Article 8 cast of characters. Since this forum is going to held on public school property I certainly hope that none of the speakers will be using their time to promote their religious views, although I'm sure the ACLU will be watching.

Who else but Massresistance would spin a play about a man who was murdered by two anti-gay bigots into an attack making the "Conservative Christians" victims? The "Christians" who are depicted in the play are the Fred Phelps "God Hates Fags" group. It makes more sense when you recall that the Fred Phelps' group were in Lexington supporting Mad Dad David Parker. Birds of a feather... It also makes sense now that Amy was so concerned about Acton adopting the "No Place for Hate" program. All the pieces are falling into place.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What are the hacks from Massresistance (James Lafferty, Linda Harvey, Stephen Bennett and John Diggs) going to do at this forum since it is supposed to be in response to the play "The Laramie Project"? Are they going to say that it was ok to kill Matthew Sheppard because he WAS gay? I don't get what they want to have a voice about?

Anonymous said...

It doesn't matter what the actual topic is, these bozos have a set script they spout as often as possible, and they see this as just another opportunity. I was at a presentation in Quincy about gay marriage last year and this so-called Dr. Diggs was there...presenting one of the most offensive, deceitful and ultimately pitiful attacks on us by focusing on gay sex. You know, bringing up the "ick" factor. He even had props! So I'm going to this shindig on Oct. 3rd to watch the show and rouse the rabble. We should all go!

Anonymous said...

I think Mike hits the nail on the head: these folks look for any soapbox to stand on. In the Globe's article (in Northwest Weekly), the opponents use a local parent to attack the the play as age-inappropriate for high school kids and to complain that it "demonizes" Christianity. (Speaking of which, let's not forget the well-documented and heartless harassment of Shepherd's mourners by those exemplary Christians Fred Phelps and his congregation.)

If their beef really involves victimized Christinas, why have they scheduled anti-gay "experts" like Lafferty, Bennet, et al. for their forum? To me this all looks like brazen exploitation: They know (because it's worked before) that if they raise a stink, nice, fair-minded suburbanites will let them hold a forum where they can air their views. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know those views will turn out to have little to do with how The Laramie Project hurts their kids' tender sensibilities and lots to do with gay-bashing.

So, do you go to the forum and confront them? Or do you organize a boycott and work to deprive them of an audience--which is, after all, the air that they breathe.

Anonymous said...

Mike - No, DO NOT go to the forum. The plan is to have no one (or as few as possible) attend. Let the bigots argue amongst themselves :)

I go to this high school, and we live in a very liberal town. My best friend growing up had lesbian adoptive parents and I know of no problems whatsoever in our neighborhood. The most popular teacher in the entire middle school is openly gay, and no one cares that he has a boyfriend. Most people in this town dislike these sorts of "pro-family" conservatives, or at least strongly disagree with them.

I honestly wonder what they and the 10-15 parents who opposed the play (probably the only Christian right-wing people in our whole town) think they will accomplish. No one in the school supports them, and no one is going to go listen to their disgusting hate-speech.