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| Fistgate
Is Repeated Sidebars: By Ed Oliver Fistgate was held again
this year on March 24 in the same building at
Tufts University with the same message about how
to practice homosexual sex. Kits of plastic gloves
intended for "fisting" and oral sex
were distributed at Planned Parenthood's table in
the lobby. More students attended
this year. Out of approximately 650 attendees,
about 400 of those were students. Public funds were used
for the event with at least two school buses
transporting students from Methuen High School
and Marblehead Public Schools. Adam Glick,
Conference Coordinator, said he did not know how
the buses were paid for. Other children were
transported by public school teachers in private
cars. The private homosexual
sponsor, GLSEN, is given state funds for many
purposes and does not publicly report on how the
money is spent. There was a heightened
sense of security this year with many Tufts
campus police being highly visible in order to
stop parents from seeing what occurred at the
conference. Although Tufts University
was able to claim ignorance about the event last
year, they obviously became complicit this year
when they welcomed the conference back. They
provided the security muscle to keep the strategy
sessions and indoctrination of the children
running smoothly. The Boston Globe gave the
official spin about the conference in its Sunday
edition the day after under the headline,
"Alert against threats to gay teens."
The first paragraph repeated the canard about
suicide and safety in schools. The conference,
said the Globe, was merely an attempt to overcome
homophobia. Some
Attempts at Change Obviously, the conference
was stung by last year's bad publicity and tried
to avoid that this year. But it was only an
attempt at window dressing said one participant.
Some of the differences were:
Security Was High Conference Coordinators
Adam Glick and McCray stated that the press
wasn't allowed into the workshops when they and
the campus police forced this reporter to leave.
When asked why, they said it makes the
participants uncomfortable. When asked what it
was that would make the participants
uncomfortable, they did not answer. At the start of the day
when I reported to the press registration desk, I
was given a press kit and a sticker by a teenager
and told no cameras or recording equipment were
allowed. I was not even asked to register. I
wasn't told the workshops were restricted. When I
explained this to Glick, I was told that even if
I registered as the press, I could only have
access to the display tables, lunch, and the
performance and awards ceremony. The description of the
workshop, "Last Year's Setback," said
in part, "Over the past year, one of the
nation's most successful safe schools programs
for GLBT youth has been beset by attacks from
reactionary forces both inside and outside the
public education bureaucracy." It continued
that "backsliding" is now evident in
areas such as parent notification policy, teacher
certification standards, students rights
regulations, and HIV/AIDS parameters. The
workshop aimed to explore strategic responses to
such "challenges." It is interesting to note
that the presenters of this particular workshop
planned to mention Massachusetts News' role in
"setting back" the gay agenda in the
schools. They had issues of the paper on hand in
the classroom. It was to this particular workshop
that MassNews was refused entrance. Taxpayer Funded When asked if any of this
was taxpayer funded, Glick said no public funds
were used for the event. He said it was paid for
entirely by donations and registration fees.
There are many obvious questions about the
funding including Glick's salary, but Glick would
not answer them. The student participants were
obviously recruited through the public schools
and their teachers. The shroud of secrecy aroused
suspicion. Glick said no
professional development points would be awarded
to teachers for attending because there weren't
enough hours. However, GLSEN provided a yellow
certificate of completion which says the teacher
participated in professional development
activities for 6.0 hours. Keynote
Speaker Promotes Sexual Activity The keynote speaker in
the morning was the executive producer and head
writer of the TV show "Dawson's Creek,"
Greg Berlanti. Berlanti was obviously
there to inspire the kids as a young, successful
gay role model. It soon became apparent during
his speech that his success hinged not on his
talent, but because he pushed to include
homosexuality in his work, which was rewarded by
those who control the levers of popular culture. The approximately 400
kids were treated to short film clips of
Berlanti's "work." One clip showed two male baseball players flirting on the ball field. Another showed two young men meeting at a dance. One of the men said to the other, "You're so out, so fun." They then kissed passionately. After that, they went off to dance together. Another clip showed an emotional scene where a boy told his father he is homosexual. The father would not accept it, and the scene ended with the father getting thrown out of the house by the son as though the father had a problem. Sidebar: March 26, 2001 Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts distributed kits for fisting and oral sex. They contained a single plastic glove, a package of K-Y lubricant and instructions on how to make a “dental dam” out of the material. The instructions explained how to cut up the glove with scissors until all that remains is a rubber rectangle with the “thumb” portion protruding from the middle. “Use the thumb space for your tongue,” say the directions. The label on the ziplocked package says, “protects against STD’s,” and bears the Planned Parenthood logo and phone number. GLSEN (Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network) got into trouble last year for hosting a workshop that gave young teens explicit how-to instructions on homosexual sex practices such as “fisting.” The ensuing scandal was subsequently dubbed “Fistgate.” Regarding “dental dams,” Dr. John Diggs, a specialist in internal medicine who lectures about STDs, said that the kits create a false sense of security. “I’ve written a brochure about this whole thing,” he said. “The way I describe it is, I ask ‘How many people want to take a bite of a sandwich without taking the wrapper off?’ ‘How many people want to suck on balloons?’ Nobody does.” Diggs said when you encourage kids to use such a barrier by saying it is “safe,” then when it comes time for them to use it, they find they don’t like it and throw it aside. Because they are already in an aroused condition they continue on and increase the chances of spreading STD’s orally like syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV, human hepaloma virus and hepatitis B. A further sampling of literature available to the children included a brochure titled “Be Yourself,” published by the activist group, PFLAG. It purported to answer questions for “gay, lesbian and bisexual youth.” It states, “Most people have some attraction to the same sex during their lives,” citing the discredited Dr. Alfred Kinsey as its source. It also stated: “Being gay is as natural, normal and healthy as being straight.” A pamphlet put out by the left-wing “Political Research Associates,” titled “The ‘Ex’ Files, ” hysterically brands the ex-gay movement, “A New Threat to Democracy and Diversity.” The brochure offers information on how to “challenge” those who say they are psychologically or spiritually healed of the homosexuality disorder, or who no longer choose to practice homosexual sex.” Several issues of a magazine called “Radical Teacher” were also available at an information table. A small sign on the table announced: “Coming May 2001, K-12 Radical Methods.” A perusal of one particular gay-themed issue of “Radical Teacher” revealed articles titled, “Strange Bedfellows. Thoughts on the Bans Against Faculty-Student Sexual Relations and How They Can Hurt Us,” and “Teaching Outside the Curriculum: Guerilla Sex Education and the Public Schools.” Sidebar: Some workshop titles at Fistgate II were:
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