Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJuly 13th, 2012
TODAY’S AGENDA (Ours):
Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Bournemouth, UK; Bristol, UK; Charleston, SC; Glasgow, UK; Green Bay, WI; Munich, Germany; Peel, ON; Reading, PA; Rochester, NY; and Tacoma, WA.
AIDS Walk This Weekend: San Francisco, CA.
Other Celebrations This Weekend: Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo, Golden, CO; QFest Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA; Bear Week, Provincetown, MA.
TODAY’S AGENDA (Theirs):
Journey Into Manhood Weekend: San Bernardino, CA. The city of San Bernardino made news yesterday when the county sheriff’s office announced a criminal investigation to look into allegations of misconduct following the city’s announcement it would file for bankruptcy. It turns out that there are all kinds of bankruptcy lurking around San Bernardino’s environs, and not just of the financial sort. Journey Into Manhood will bring its bankrupt hodge-podge of psychobabble and Richard Cohen-style cuddling into the nearby wilderness for a weekend retreat for men who don’t want to be gay. What could possibly go wrong with that? Just ask Ted Cox, a straight journalist, who went undercover for a JIM weekend in Arizona where he discovered that during one of those cuddling sessions, well…
I don’t remember exactly when I felt his erection pressing into my back. It might have been while he whispered in my ear, “Long ago, you were the Golden Child. But, somehow, that Golden Child was hurt, and you put up a wall to protect yourself.”
…I sat on the floor between the outstretched legs of a camp guide, my head leaning back against his shoulder. The guide sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my chest. This hold was called “The Motorcycle.” Five men surrounded the two of us, their hands resting gently on my arms, legs and chest.
And for all of that and $650, JIM claims a 79% success rate. I guess it depends on how you define “success.” One of JIM’s life coaches, Alan Downing, was accused by two of his clients of inappropriate behavior and sexual impropriety. One staffer at an Arizona JIM weekend was none other than Lee Caleb Brundidge, one of the three American extremists who travelled to Kampala in 2009 to host the explosive ex-gay conference that set the stage for the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. I think you get the picture. The whole psychologically-bankrupt manly-man’s he-man butchout and cuddle camp starts today at an undisclosed location somewhere near that other epicenter of bankruptcy, and continues through Sunday.
Family “Research” Council’s Values Bus Tour: Lisbon Falls, ME. Maine will hold an election this fall to determine whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry. So kind of a coincidence is it that the Family “Research” Council, an SPLC-certified hate group, is bringing its Values Bus Tour to the Pine Tree State? The bus, which is part voter registration drive and part campaign platform, will spend this evening and tomorrow at Lisbon Falls as part of that town’s Moxie festival, named for a unique soft drink — and one of the nation’s first mass-produced soft drinks — which is still sold locally. Moxie started out as a patent medicine, which supposedly cured “paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness, and insomnia.” FRC will be there to sell their own version of snake oil. They will be at Lisbon High School tonight from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m., and the bus will participate in the festival’s parade tomorrow morning.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
Gay Pub Raided in London: 1810. From The Times of London: “The existence of a Club, or Society, for the purpose so detestable and repugnant to the common feelings of our nature, that by no word can it be described without committing an outrage upon decency, has for some time been suspected by the Magistrates of Bow-street; who cautiously concealing the odious secret, abstained from taking any steps on the information they had received, until an opportunity should offer of surprising the whole gang. About 11 o’clock last Sunday evening, three separate parties of the patrole, attended by constables, were detached from Bow-street on this service. … The enterprise was completely successful. — We regret most deeply, that the information given at the office was found to be so accurate, that the Officers felt themselves justified in seizing no fewer than 23 individuals, at a public-house, called the White Swan, in Vere-street, Clare-market.”
Two men were found guilty of sodomy and were hanged. Six more were found guilty of attempted sodomy and were made to stand at the pillory. The crowds who turned out for the pillory were particularly violent, throwing rotten fish, dead cats, “cannonballs” made of mud, and vegetables at the convicted men. The men were severely injured and barely survived their allotted time at the pillory.
“Brothers” Debuts: 1984. The first American television program featuring a gay lead character finally debuted on Showtime. The show, set in Philadelphia, centered around the three Waters brothers: Lou was a typical blue-collar construction foreman, Joe was a retired placekicker for the Philadelphia Eagles and owner of a sports bar, and Cliff, who in the first episode left his bride at the altar and came out to his family as a gay man. ABC and NBC had already turned down the series out of fear of portraying homosexuality on prime time, but when Showtime decided to begin producing original television series, they saw Brothers as the perfect fit. After a successful first season, Showtime decided to pick up the series for a second season. Showtime also offer the series for syndication to over-the-air broadcast stations, and the fledgling Fox network decided to jump on that deal. Brother would go on for a full five seasons and 115 episodes.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Robert Gant: 1968. He was Ben Bruckner in the American version of “Queer as Folk.” His HIV-positive character gave the series an opportunity to explore anti-AIDS hysteria and stigma, both outside and inside the gay community. He has had numerous television guest roles, and he acted and produced in Save Me
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Ben in Oakland
July 13th, 2012
I still remember that great line from brothers when the straight ones found out about the gay one.
“couldn’t you do some push-ups or sumpin’?
Seems like an appropriate comment on the JIM nonsense.
PJB863
July 13th, 2012
I watched Brothers intermittently throughout its run. It was novel at first, but as time went on it got old fast. In truth, it just wasn’t very funny and tended to play on stereotypes.
Dave H
July 13th, 2012
I remember watching Brothers regularly during its run. If we were to look at re-runs of it today, it might seem banal, but at the time it was groundbreaking. Gay characters in lead roles (not just occasional cameos or side characters), or even TV shows about gay people, were considered risky at the time. It set the stage for shows like Queer as Folk and Six Feet Under, and perhaps even Will and Grace.
MCB
July 13th, 2012
Someone has uploaded the entire series to Youtube. Normally I’d have a problem with this, but as near as I can tell there’s never been a DVD/video release, and Showtime hasn’t bothered taking it down yet, so I gave it a look. Thus far it’s pretty funny, surprisingly progressive, and decidedly retro. I forgot how much I do not miss laugh tracks.
MCB
July 14th, 2012
*note that by “progressive” I don’t mean that it doesn’t indulge in some stereotypes, but rather that it insists that (1) being gay isn’t a choice and you can’t change it, (2) there’s a wide diversity of gay people, and (3) gay people are perfectly capable of having long-lasting relationships. Considering the tenor in 1984…
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