Pole-itics

As the media barrage me with mournful stories about the death of the Polish president, I wonder how much American know about this man and his twin brother, former child stars in Poland. Celebrating the life of this man is comparable to celebrating the life of President Botha of South Africa or Yasser Arafat of the PLO. As an American with Polish genetic roots, I am all too familiar with homophobia in Polish Catholic culture.

Lech Kaczynski and Theodore Kaczynski were not closely related, but, in the minds of gay rights activists, they might as well be. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the President's brother and former Prime Minister, is a well known closeted homosexual, who, like many Gestapo Gays before him, preaches against any legalization of gay rights in Poland. All this homophobia has been loudly supported by the too-powerful Roman Catholic Church in Poland.

Fascists always can depend on kicking gay people to gain popular support. And, it seems, the U.S. media continues to turn a blind eye to LGBT rights when it comes to reporting obits of politicians.

Appreciation

An open letter of appreciation:

Herr Ratzinger,

Danke. I wanted to convey my heartfelt appreciation to you. Your expressions of homophobic venom and actions of covert enabling of sexual exploitation of minors by your religious brethren has helped my gay/lesbian brothers and sisters, present and future, a great deal.

By banning gay men from the priesthood, you have spared them from a tortured life of self-hatred and schizoid behavior. By banning women from the priesthood, you have encouraged Catholic lesbians, who feel religiously motivated, to look elsewhere. By horrifying the most reactionary Catholics with your hypocrisy, you have dealt a potential death blow to an institution which would darken and pollute the lives of families with gay/lesbian children into the future.

And, if you yourself might have some sexual secrets of your own to share or confess, I would encourage you to get them off your conscience now. It could not be a better time. You could not do much more harm to your institution. And, you will feel much better.

Yours in the light of day,

Paul Creeden

Uganda

As the Ugandan parliament wavers on passing a law to allow for the death penalty for gay men in that country and Uganda's executive still supports the 14-year jail sentence for being gay in Uganda, the Ugandans rejoice over the potential of massive oil revenues from the western part of that benighted country.

Ah, oil! Now it becomes glaringly obvious why no louder pressure is being put on Uganda by other governments, including the U.S. government, to avert the potential massacre of homosexuals in Uganda. It seems the new Africa-obsession includes good old homophobia and scapegoating, as long as those natural resources keep coming under the auspices of corrupted governments, propped up by international corporations.

Baran

Bernard Baran has lived a saintly life. He would probably deny this opinion. (Click picture to get more details.)

Baran was wrongly convicted of child molestation at the age of 19 by false evidence drummed up by a homophobic district attorney in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in response to accusations leveled by people who themselves should have been on trial as abusive and dysfunctional human beings. Bernard was and is an openly gay man, who left high school and worked as a child care worker. Bernard Baran served a 21 year sentence in high security prisons rather than admit guilt to crimes he did not commit. He was given the opportunity to leave prison after 5 years if he admitted guilt for crimes he did not commit. (Click picture for more details.)

Bernard Baran, a slight, gentle and soft-spoken man, had to be moved from prison to prison over his 21 year hell because of severe and repeated abuse by other prisoners.

Baran is free now due to the discovery of evidence in his favor which was lost/suppressed/hidden by the district attorney who prosecuted him. When Bernard's persecutor, the district attorney, died, tapes showing the manipulation of the 3 and 4 year olds whose 'testimony' cost Bernard 21 years of freedom.

The story does not end there. The government is tying up Bernard's case with endless red tape. One would think in a gay-friendly Massachusetts that allegedly gay-friendly Governor Deval Patrick would intervene to see to it that Bernard's case came to a swift resolution. And, one would think that he should receive prompt compensation for this unbelievable injustice.

Bernard Baran is living his life now as a simple man with his own apartment and a job as a landscaper. There was no compensation awarded to him for the injustice he suffered. Yet, he remains a man with calm acceptance and assertion of his truth.

Homophobia is not dead, even here in Massachusetts. Practice entails looking at reality in the moment and facing the world for what it is. Bernard Baran's practice of sacrifice of his freedom for half his life in order to preserve his truth and integrity is a great model for me. His persecutors' insistence upon continuing their persecution of him is evidence of what is evil in the world.

Episcopalians

American Episcopalian bishops were ordained in Uganda this past week. They were ordained in Uganda because the African Episcopal churches have become the new epicenter for religious-based homophobia in the Episcopal Church. Is it any wonder? The Prime Minister of Uganda spoke at the ceremony to lend his official gravitas to the proceedings.

Now, let's relax. There are hardly enough Episcopalians around to change a light bulb. So, I am not heralding an alarm. I would simply like to point out that this trend of public declaration of bigotry by Americans in other countries is exactly what the racist Southerners did forty years ago in their rage over equal rights legislation and desegregation. It is exactly what sexist politicians did thirty-five years ago during the feminist movement.

This illustrates one basic fact. Those who have aversion to change will waste their time, resources and energy resisting it. This works to the benefit of change agents who are patient and persistent.

My practice is to calmly and methodically focus on change for the evolution of my life. I trust in the force of change over the force of resistance to change. Water dissolves rock over time.