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 lobbyDecember 6th, 2009
To get to the Four Corners region of the American Southwest, you get off the plane at Albuquerque and take US 550 toward the northwest. But you best be sure to stock up on refreshments, gas and restroom breaks before you leave the northern suburb of Bernalillo, because that’s just about the last chance you’ll get to stop until you reach the small village of Cuba, NM (pop. 590). There, you’ll have a few places to stop and eat: McDonalds, a Subway, El Bruno’s for Mexican food, and the venerable Cuban Cafe, among a few other choices. Last time through there a few months ago, I stopped for a restroom break at the combination McDonalds/Chevron station and found this scrawled in large letters on the stall door:
Cuba’s pretty small. I suppose that Cuba could probably use more of a lot of things. But for such a small town, it struck me as being relatively self-sufficient. I guess that’s out of necessity — the nearest other town of any size at all is a ninety minute drive away.
My immediate needs resolved (the restroom break, not hookers), I decided to head over to the Cuban Cafe for lunch (split pea soup, a grilled cheese sandwich and a Coke). As I ate, I read a copy of The Cuba News (published monthly) to get a lay of the land. There was a great article about the very early days of the town’s founding as a mission outpost, another “news” article that appeared to be compiled by someone scratching down disjointed notes while watching Glenn Beck on Fox News, a rant against the local police department for their vigorous enforcement of traffic laws (Cuba is a notorious speed trap), and the usual assortment of announcements for pot luck dinners, revivals, and other community events.
But as I was reading the paper and thought that I had gotten an idea of what the local landscape was like, I came across another listing that reminded me that no place could be nailed down to just a few simple images, not even a place as small as Cuba. There in the Religion announcements, amidst the Catholics, the Baptists, the Presbyterians and Assemblies of God, there were two — two! — separate announcements for Bahá’i meetings taking place around Cuba.
The Bahá’i faith, if you don’t know, was founded in nineteenth century Persia and emphasizes three principles: the unity of God, the unity of religion, and the spiritual humanity of all people around the world. Their main focus is in peace around the world, and they believe that all religions in some form or another embody the wonderment of the one God that unites us all. Those are some pretty high-minded (one might say liberal) concepts. (Update: They may be “liberal” but not so much where homosexuality is concerned. But they are decidedly unconventional nonetheless.) There are an estimated six million Bahá’is around the world, and out of the 590 people living in Cuba, there are enough Bahá’is to support not just one, but two different meetings of the faithful for worship and meditation.
Well that reminded me of a very important lesson, one that I should have known well from my own background, but that we all have a tendency to forget no matter where we come from. Wherever you go, you hold the responsibility to see exactly what is in front of you and not your preconceived expectations of what you expect to find. Any place — even an isolated town of six hundred souls — is more complex than any snapshot or isolated image can muster.
My great-grandmother used to defend her rural Kentucky background by saying that hicks are just people who don’t know anything about the rest of the world, and that you can find hicks in some mighty fancy places. With her definition, I’ve run across a lot of hicks in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Dallas, Boston, London — just about everywhere you can imagine, I’ve met people who thought they knew everything there was to know about middle America. I expected to find hicks in Cuba according to the more conventional meaning of the word, but it turned out that I was the one my great-grandmother would brand the hick. I can’t say whether Cuba really needs more hookers or not, but the world could probably stand a few more trips to Cuba.
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
“Google” is a trademark of Google Inc.
© Box Turtle Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
Posts 
Posts via daily email:
Emily K
December 6th, 2009
Baha’i might be “liberal” for the most part regarding their main tennants, but they are extremely conservative regarding homosexuality. They have a history of trying to cure it.
Jim Burroway
December 6th, 2009
Emily, thanks for the tip. I’ve updated the post accordingly.
Richard W. Fitch
December 6th, 2009
Great to see another edition of “Sunday Driver”. Each time helps remind me that we are all a part of the fabric of life.
Phil
December 6th, 2009
Jim, your great-grandmother hit the nail right on the head! I’ve known hicks, many with college degrees, who go to high-paying jobs, live in fancy houses in big cosmopolitan cities, but couldn’t tell you who is the governor of their state!
All they concern themselves are things that affect their lives – which bars are “in,” what’s fashionable to wear or decorate one’s home with, mostly status symbols. I guess what it all comes down to is a lack of curiosity and/or a case of being extremely self-centered.
Arvin
December 6th, 2009
As an Iranian-American (or American-Iranian, just in case the precedence of either ethnicity or nationality does not advance prejudice) who lived in Iran half of his life and inevitably rubbed against a number of Bahais–especially here in the US–I can tell you from my own humble experience that the majority of Bahais that I have come in contact with adhere mainly to the mystical nature of the Bahaism rather than the strict literal theological decree one usually “read” off of the official manuscripts.
That being said, Bahais do tend to have a noticeable tie to their faith, and they do indeed assist each other in a confide of their religious community — think of it as Jews who support Jews or marrying mainly among their own faith.
As far as homosexuality, I believe they are more acceptable than other monolithic religions but personally haven’t probed enough to give you a definitive answer in this regard. I remember being invited to my parent’s friend’s daughter’s wedding who had decided to conduct their religious ceremony in Bahai customs. The most striking feature was the way they went on about their vows and culmination that led the spiritual assembly to declare them as a couple. They were simply asked:
“Do you take this man as you husband?… Do you take this woman as your wife?…”
And bam, That was it. No embellishment, no dragged out litany of mindless gabber; just a simple “yes” and we were off to the partying. Sweet and lucid.
Joe_in_PHX
December 7th, 2009
I have been to (or through) Cuba, NM at least a dozen times. It definitely does have a certain something that’s hard to put your finger on. It’s not one of those quirky, progressive revamped old mining towns like Jerome or Bisbee. But it doesn’t feel like one of those dismal little dying cowtowns either (for example, Bowie, AZ).
Karen Bacquet
December 7th, 2009
Just because there are two communities of Baha’is doesn’t mean that there are a lot of them. Baha’i create a separate community within each civic entity — Baha’is within a city limits will make up a different administrative entity than those outside. A Local Spiritual Assembly is elected when the number of people Baha’is reaches nine, and a Baha’i group can be formed with only two Baha’is. My guess is that Cuba has two Baha’i couples in the area — one living in the city limits, one in the county (or judicial district)outside those limits.
Leave A Comment