Ex-Homosexual Offended

The religious nutbars are at it again. What’s getting them unglued this time is this poster for San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair:

A predictable response comes from the Christian News Wire reporting on (quote) the Sick Perverts in San Francisco. (Aren’t all perverts sick? Oh never mind.) Here they go:

This year, "Perverts Without Morals" chose to deliberately mock Jesus Christ, Christians and The Last Supper, by depicting half naked homosexuals, leather men and women as the 12 Apostles, and display sex toys in place of the bread and wine.

A bloody fist can be seen in front of the central figure portraying Jesus Christ, possibly representing the vile sex act of "fisting" - where one's fist is fully inserted into another individual's anal cavity.

They seem to know a lot about this kind of thing. More than you’d expect decent Christians to be aware of at any rate.  Wonder how? Wonder no more:

Stephen Bennett, president of SBM and a former homosexual said, "This is the most vile, vulgar and disgusting public display of filth I have ever seen in my life.

A “former homosexual”? Funny, I wasn’t aware you could change. I guess all those “pray me straight” sessions must work after all. Who knew? Anyway, “former homosexuals” are apparently a bit like former smokers – more anti gay (or anti-smoking) than those who never partook in the first place. Repressing your natural tendencies must make you pretty frustrated and angry. Mix that in with religion and we have:

There is no doubt a double standard when Christians and Christianity are mocked by homosexuals and degenerates in such a blatant, vile and sick way. Where is the media outrage over this event? We Christians will no longer tolerate this abuse nor be silent.

Bennett ended, "I call upon the homosexual Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, GLSEN, and the Gay and Lesbian Task Force to publicly condemn this blatant mockery of Christians and Christianity by some within their community, and condemn this sick public display of immoral behavior. I call upon the Miller Brewing Company to pull their endorsement of this event. I call for the organizers of this filth to immediately apologize to Christians worldwide and remove this Last Supper mockery. I also call upon every law abiding official and citizen in America who has any morals to do what they can to shut down this Folsom Street 'Filth' Fair once and for all."

And there, once again, we see the religious in their true colors. Calling for immediate censorship of anything they don’t like, and (of course, you knew this was coming), an apology. Because we all have to apologize when someone makes fun of their invisible sky fairy and they get upset.  And Rick Warren thinks atheists are angry.

I think someone needs a hug. But not in a gay way.

Comments

[Dunc]

But of course, when you're making fun of somebody else's invisible sky fairy, then it's a vital free-speech issue.

Fun quotes:

"Count us among those who act on our belief in freedom of the press.

...

Christian Newswire wishes to be counted among those on the side of free speech and in defense of the principles behind America's First Amendment.

...

I for one am not willing to go one inch down the road that ends with the media publishing only that which Muhammad would approve."

Gary McCullough, director, Christian Newswire

[Patience]

You know what he needs?

A good spanking.

I crack myself up.

[Bourgeois_Rage]

They sure do like the words sick and vile.

[vjack]

You've just been tagged with an evolution meme blog-tag: http://tinyurl.com/23xc5b Enjoy!

[Lepht]

man, that ex-gay stuff makes me sick. i just wish these people were open to evidence so they'd finally accept homosexuality as a perfectly natural genetic occurrence, stop trying to shoehorn Leviticus' foul and violent bigotry into modern life, and leave the poor people the hell alone...

some day, fundies 3000 miles away won't give a shit what i or anyone else do in our bedrooms.

L

[Nero]

Bet they love the free publicity. After reading that I wish I lived closer so I could go check out the "filth fair".

[Tom Foss]

Dan Savage has been collecting other parodies of the Last Supper, which haven't generated nearly so much controversy. It's pretty clear, given the ubiquity of Last Supper parodies, that the Godbots have seized on this one out of homophobia and little else.

So, next time some half-hearted apologist brings out the "what harm does it do?" card, let's remember to include "causing people to suppress their natural sexual urges, thereby becoming bitter, self-loathing, self-destructive individuals." See also: Ted Haggard, Larry Craig, and so on.

[Angry Professor]

What gets me is the fact that da Vinci's "The Last Supper" is not biblical, and was painted by a(n alleged) notorious homosexual.

WTF, seriously? Why do they care?

[sophia8]

So that's what "fisting" is! I've often heard the term but had to guess at the meaning before.
I'm ignorant about these strange sexual practices - I'm not a Christian, you see. Funny, I always thought these fundie Christians were against sex education.

[PhillyChief]

I'm glad this is being discussed. I found christian opposition to the ad earlier in the week and had to respond on my blog:
http://youmademesayit.blogspot.com/2007/09/folsom-street-fair.html

I was looking for alternate last suppers. Thanks for the links. Really glad to see quick responses and support to battle the looney christian objections.

[Marcus Ranum]

Maybe the gay community could offer to trade apology for apology. You know, if the christians apologize for 2000 years of hatred, oppression, and church-sanctioned murder, then the gays could apologize for a poster making fun of christians.

Sounds fair.

[Marcus Ranum]

So that's what "fisting" is! I've often heard the term but had to guess at the meaning before.

Yeah, it's kinda like a real big hail mary.

[Patience]

Fisting also exists in the lesbian community, but we have a much better place to stick such things.

[American Scot]

That is hilarious! Good for them!
If Jesus was a real person, (I don't think so) then he probably was gay. He had a fag hag (Mary Magdalen) and 12 men with him everywhere he went!

[American Scot]

That is hilarious! Good for them!
If Jesus was a real person, (I don't think so) then he probably was gay. He had a fag hag (Mary Magdalen) and 12 men with him everywhere he went!

As far as I know, which isn't very much, fisting isn't exclusively a homosexual activity.
Notwithstanding that interesting diversion one doesn't need a contrived pretext in order to mock any flavour of Christianity or Islam, or any other superstitious belief. It is preposterous enough that grown adults continue to believe in sky fairies in spite of the underwhelming evidence, after thousands of years of painstaking research, for their existence.
Stephen Bennett might consider himself to be formerly homosexual, but that doesn't confer on him any additional insight or intelligence. He is still a deluded buffoon.

[Jeremy Henderson]

Am I the only one who's noticed that despite what the Christian New Wire claims, the "fist" in this photo is not bloody? It appears that it's just made out of dark pink rubber.

Isn't it really odd that they're creating details that aren't there, just to try to make the photo more offensive? Though there are links to the poster in the article, there isn't actually a photo there, and I imagine a lot of the CNW's readers will be too horrified to click on the link (and probably a fair number of them more than eager to see the photo, *wink*) to actually see the picture, so to their minds their will in fact be a bloody fist, where in reality there is not one.

[outeast]

Skeptico,

A while back you posted a link to an Australian comedy duo who did a debunking/satire/pisstake of your beloved 'Secret'. If you hit your YouTube search box you'll find they deid a similar hatchet job on Christian gay-to-straight conversions. Very funny and well worth a look:)

[Rev. BigDumbChimp]

This reminds me (on a much smaller level) of the Christian right's boo hooing over Serano's Piss Christ.

I happened to live in Winston-Salem where it was given the award by SECCA which then caused the big uproar from Mr. Southern Blowhard himself Jesse Helms. Being a budding artist (or at least I liked to think of myself as such) and a raging atheist, it was all very interesting.

[viggen]

Hm.

I honestly don't see how this incident is any different from the incident with the Mohammad cartoons in the Danish newspaper. It just goes to show that Christians and Muslims are basically the same.

[Tom Foss]

As far as I know, which isn't very much, fisting isn't exclusively a homosexual activity.

I don't think there are any sexual practices which can be considered "exclusively homosexual." Oral sex, anal sex, fisting, and anything else happen just about as often in the heterosexual community as in the homosexual community.

[inkblot]

I'm gay, and I thought that ad was tasteless. We homosexuals say we are not all perverts, and then we make a poster like that. The Christian magazine overreacted, though.

[Adam Seale]

Not the most tactful advert, but talk about over-reacting.

I'm starting to think we're going to have to outlaw making fun of rightist Christians. Because, after all, they're special. We wouldn't want the big bad liberal comedian to hurt anyone's feelings.

[inkblot]

Adam: I think that's a bit one-sided, but you have a point.

[Jimmy_Blue]

What exactly about that poster says homosexuals are perverts?

[noncivilised-eye]

Ok...so let's get this straight. They can HATE us...but we can't poke a little fun at them?

by the way, "former gay" is a crock...either he was never gay, or he's just doing all his fisting in the closet.

pride is power.

[A.C. Chase]

Former gay, eh? Funny religious folks. Still believing homosexuality is a choice. Actually, it is more sad than funny. Ignorant too.

[Niobe]

Funny that WOMEN apostles are upsetting but the Black Jesus is intentionally unmentioned.