Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The Pink Menace!



My dads generation loves to point out how good the old days were....A simpler time, when milk and honey ran freely down golden streets. Of course, this is also inverse to the stories he told me about walking five miles to school, in the snow, with his brother on his back when I complained that I didn't want to go to school...

The good old days weren't always so good. They may have been simpler, but simple doesn't always equal better. For example, this educational film meant to warn young boys against the dangers of homosexuals. Its no wonder at all that my dad sent me bad messages about being gay, given the messages he received himself....like the educational film above, "Boys Beware". Itwas released in 1961 by Sid Davis productions.

The ideas expressed in this movie are the ones that shaped the minds of the generation before me, and by extension, my generation. Somehow though, as my dads generation grew up, they retained this message long enough to resist gay marriage which I always find ironic from the generation that rejected most/all social norms and gave us "flower children". Even the most staunchly conservative young people of his day still had their flirtations with sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But still the message that "gay=bad" stuck like glue.

The movie itself makes a shameful attempt to equate Homosexuality with Pedophilia. The two are not the same in any sense. As I watched this film and heard its exhortations against strangers, it was hard not to hear it through my parents voices. And so the echoes of films like these ripple down the generations...but on to the movie....

Lets take the case of "Jimmie Barns". Jimmie played baseball all afternoon and decided to thumb a ride home.....HE'D DONE IT A HUNDRED TIMES BEFORE.....



Um...really?...Who the hell were Jimmies parents that they let him hitch rides with strangers a hundred times before. I know times were different...but not that different. Perhaps, "Jimmie" is discovering something about himself as well because he repeatedly hangs out with an older man instead of his friends. And "Jimmie hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time"...uh, not even playing baseball with his friends or chasing girls...he is in his midteens after all. Methinks "Jimmie" is a closet case....Hey, if this film can be ridiculous, so can I.

Cue Rod Serling...

What Jimmie didn't know was that Ralph was sick. A sickness that was not visible, like smallpox, but no less dangerous and CONTAGIOUS. A sickness of the mind....you see, Ralph was a homosexual. A person who DEMANDS (wow...high maintainance) an intimate relationship with members of their own sex



Not the Pink Menace! That stuffs contagious!...like all other forms of "mental illness"....But seriously, people still believe this crap today.

America was already deep in anti-communist hysteria and it didn't take any work at all to tack homosexuals onto the list of people to be afraid of. If you think about how many people are living "out" lives today its astounding to consider that there were just as many back then, living in the closet and that these people were decent people who never harmed any child or subscribed to the communist agenda. They served your food. repaired your car, bandaged your injuries, defended their country, and suffered in silence. Yes folks, we've been here all along and demonizing us by equating us with pedophilia and mental illness is a worn out lie. Although I must say, This is actually the fairer minded opinion if you put it up against the "burn them at the stake" attitudes of previous ages.

Apparently some of Ralph's cooties rubbed off on Jimmie and now he's gone and caught "teh gay"....Poor, Poor Jimmie. But here's the funny thing...

But by now Jimmie felt a fondness for Ralph and they continued to go places together.



I told ya...."Jimmies" closet door just swung open. And why the hell did Jimmie get probation? what is this? guilt by association?

Next the movie takes a darker, more sinister, and more shameful twist in that it portrays gays as predators and murderers....

but not all homosexuals are passive. Some result to violence as in the case of "Mike Merick".



This is the truly awful part of this movie. Things like this DO happen in everyday life. I try very hard to make sure my kids understand that there are things you do to keep yourself safe...and to NEVER trust strangers. Too many kids have died to scenarios just like what this movie depicts....BUT.... The shamefully wrong part though, is when the murderer is cast as gay.

Most of the pedophiles that come through Jays Job at the S.F. county Jail are straight though that doesn't really have much to do with why this happens. Pedophilia isn't about gay or straight at all but about dominance and repeating what was done to them by their abuser. Looking at the stats victims are more often abused by people they knew, like their father, step-father, uncles, older brothers etc than by a complete stranger. Also, reports of abuse more often come from heterosexual homes. Though, Gay people are just as capable of doing these awful things too, as a recent case sadly shows. though this happens not because they are gay but because of something else that happens to them that causes such a sickness to develop, and equating all gay people to this act does a disservice not only to gay people, but also to the victims of these crimes.

But these were the messages that shaped the attitudes and opinions in my fathers day and he in turn passed them on to me. Its no wonder that when I came out I had so many fears about what I would become. These are the messages that we have to erase by showing the world who we really are....and that our love is as real as everyone Else's.

This has been a Gay Family values community service message

12 comments:

  1. I love this advert.

    They played it on the BBC Radio One drive time slot not so long ago for a laugh.

    You have to admit it is pretty good that these adverts that were once meant in all seriousness can now be played on one of the most listened to shows in the country and become a national joke :D

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  2. The good ol' days, the good ol' gays
    Ahh, the good ol' days... How sweet it sounds... Why do people like to reminisce about those days? I think it's because those were the times when they were young, when their whole life was ahead of them, when they had some great choices to make that were supposed to determine their lives forever. And now, when they are old, there are not so many choices left to make, and not so many years to live... So, now those years seem like a bliss. Who wouldn't like to be young and full of hopes & dreams? But does it mean that things were better, that opinions were fairer, that people were better? Perception is reality, and if we perceive life through our young eyes, we see it in a better light, but it doesn't make it better, just like years later, when we get old[er], we perceive life with our old[er] eyes that saw sorrow & tragedies of life, saw unfairness & pain... and sometimes these eyes can't see all the good things anymore, can't see that life actually became better, fairer, with more freedoms and opportunities; because nothing can compete with that sweet feeling of being young and light-hearted when the whole world is at your feet. Well, it's time to stop hanging on to your past so much, romanticizing everything and staying blind! It's time to let things go and open your eyes!

    Homosexuality as contagious mental disease
    I wonder if people thought that schizophrenia is contagious? Or any other real mental disorder? So many misconceptions, so many mistakes based on fear inherited with Bible!
    Oh, I just realized why hitchhiking was outlawed in the USA... because of "them damn gays" who offered rides to children! It crept me out me for so long... this strange prohibition... now it makes sense to me... finally!

    Homosexuality OR pedophilia?
    If only this documentary said "pedophile" instead of "homosexual" it would be right about everything. It's a great problem all over the world, children get molested all the time, and I won't even try to lie saying that gays cannot be pedophiles! Of course, they can, it happens. Just like gays can rob banks, or mug people on the streets, or shoot people. Because we ARE people, just like everybody else, "gay" is not an entire definition of some kind of lifestyle, like the one that Buddhists have when they swear not to kill even a tiniest bug, because it's a God's creature. I'm looking forward to those times when this sleazy lie would finally rub off of people's minds.

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  3. My pedophile encounter story

    And this is the time for yet another story from my life.

    I was 13, but I always looked a couple of years younger than my age.

    This guy came to me on a very crowded bus stop, we all were waiting for our buses that had a habit to show up once an hour or two, it was evening in late November, it was dark and rainy. He asked something (like what time is it), then made a remark about the weather, then something else, and we ended up talking about stuff. He seemed normal. But then he asked if I had a girlfriend, then if I ever had a kiss… sex… masturbation… Yeah, it got weird.

    But when he started saying that masturbation is fine, that everybody does it, that there is nothing wrong with it (in case I'm curious and wanna try), I realized who he was… I mean I already knew about pedophiles, I knew what they do and why, but I never expected to meet one, that's why I didn't spot him right away. So, I started to plot my exit strategy.

    He offered me to go to the previous bus stop (to get a better chance to get on a bus), and, of course, he "knew a shortcut." Too late, pal, I know who you are, I won't go with you anywhere.

    But the thing is, I was scared to even go to someone and say something about my suspicions. People were so strange those days, they cared only about themselves (that's what it felt like). I was afraid no one would take me seriously, no one would help, no one would offer to walk me home. There was only me. I could count only on myself. So, I pretended that everything's fine, but didn't agree to any of his attempts.

    Finally, my bus arrived and he got on it, too. He told me where his mother-in-law lives. While we were in a very crowded bus, he was rubbing against me, rolling his eyes up and making faces of pleasure… It looked weird, totally crazy… I looked around to see if someone else can see it… no one cared that some creep is rubbing his genitalia against a kid…

    Then he got off the bus right after me, on my bus stop. Another lie! I felt hopeless. And now really scared. I was alone with him in a very lonely place on my bus stop. I was thinking very rapidly: what should I do? scream and run? kick him first in the nuts? I was getting ready for a fight, I would't go down easy!

    We got to the other side of the road, where another bus stop was, there were two women talking (my last chance to cry for help). He stopped me and asked if I wanted to go to his place the next day where we could masturbate together, or just hang out. I said I'm not interested. And finally he let me go: he reached out his hand for me to shake, I shook it, we said "good byes" and I left.

    I almost ran. It was so dark, I could barely see anything. I was afraid that he followed me to find out where I lived, so I ran past my house and made a turn around the block, then, assured that he didn't follow me, I went home.

    I didn't tell my parents anything. I wanted to at first, but they were in a good mood, talking about something and laughing, waiting for me for dinner. So I just kept it to myself, didn't want them to get upset or scared, didn't want to take away that good evening they were having…

    The next week was scary: every time I was outside going to school or back, I was looking over my shoulder expecting to see him following me to finish what he started. During recess time at school I was looking through the windows hoping that I won't see him there, scared that he's standing out there on the street looking back at me.

    After that week I could finally say that he's not coming after me. So, I just decided to forget the whole thing. And I did. Amazingly, years later I remembered about it like it didn't actually happen to me, like it was a scene from a movie I watched a long time ago. But then details started coming back to me: it was all true. I'm just grateful that I got out of it alive, that I was smart enough to make the right choices and lucky enough to be left alone.

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  4. can anyone tell me if you see the embedded youtubes on the FRONT page of this blog. I get a bunch of broken images but when I click on a particular post...everything is fine.

    I'm having trouble across alot of websites that I visit with not being able to see thumbnails or preview images that I had no problems with before.

    If its just my computer than I can live with it but I need to know if its affecting you guys too.

    Bryan

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  5. @K!r!lleXXI at thirteen I would have probable started to cry probably i was a cry baby back then

    @Bry, It seems fine to me

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  6. @Bryan, I analyzed HTML code of front page and of post page: looks like they automatically cut out embedded code to prevent videos from appearing on the front page. I don't think it's an error, probably it's done for some reason. So, nobody should see video previews on front page.

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  7. Wow...that was an intense story Lexxi. It would have scared the piss out of me as a kid too. I'm glad you came out of it o.k.

    As to blogspots youtube issues...I cant imagine why they would do that? no one else does. Maybe I need to contact them.

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  8. @SwAmPeX
    Maybe you just think you would. Kids are actually tougher that we think they are sometimes. And 13 is adolescence already, not "cry, baby, cry" time... You're selling yourself short.

    @Bryan
    I'm glad, too. Wouldn't want my first gay sexual experience to be that way, especially when I didn't know I'm gay at the time. I think, if it would happen and I would stay alive (in Russia pedophiles pretty often kill their victims), this experience would probably turn me away from being gay, leaving a significant psychological scar.
    I forgot to post the point of the story: we never think that this can happen to us, because chances are against us, but it happens to someone, right? so we gotta be prepared. I wasn't. I hope you'll make sure to take every precaution with your kids and will explain them what should they do exactly. Some instructions can really help. There's no way to guarantee that you'll always be there to watch them, so they just need to know what to do. I guess, there should be websites about that with instructions.

    YouTube and Blogger. Actually, I just noticed that your Thanksgiving video can be seen on the front page, so it wasn't cut out of the code. Maybe their script malfunctioned. But if other blogs on blogspot don't have this problem, maybe it's something else? It's better to contact the support, because all we can do is make assumptions.

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. It seems to be blocking YouTube videos from the front page. I don't know why.

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  12. Truth is, in this era many communists in the eastern bloc were saying homosexuality was a product of the decadent west (although East Germany did decriminalize homosexuality BEFORE West Germany or the US, in 1968). Meanwhile, western nations were constantly calling the gay community a product of a far left communist movement.

    In other words, gay people right across the world, east and west, were being scapegoated to further exterior political causes. But as with how the GDR was more liberal toward homosexuality than, say, Poland; likewise, in the west there were more liberal areas that helped promote rights. In Canada, it was Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who famously said, in 1967. It would have been unheard of for the US President to say so publicly on a national broadcaster.

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