Mannie Blog, LGS, SPAIDS, InterSection, Israel/Palestine, Jewish Issues

The letter below was sent to the Sunday Age newspaper on 27 August 2003 after all the articles and letters in the paper relating to gays and lesbians in religious organisations becoming bishops, priests and related levels of religious power.
The letter was published on Sunday 31 August, but was so badly censored that it was virtually unrecognisable.
The censored items are in italics, and as can be seen, what is left does not altogether make sense!
Mannie De Saxe
2/12 Murphy Grove,
Preston,
Vic 3072
Phone(03)9471 4878
email:josken@zipworld.com.au
Homosexuals (pronounced om - homo meaning same) have been
around for as long as heterosexuals, all part of Homo(pronounce
omo - meaning human) Sapiens. So it is interesting to see the
monotheistic religions tearing themselves to pieces over whether
they should recognise these “sexual deviants” as humans or
otherwise. (Sunday Age, 10, 17, 24 August - “Your Say” and
articles)
The sooner they tear themselves to shreds, the sooner homophobia
(hatred or fear of homosexuals) will come to an end.
Who cares what religions do to each other as they quote the man-
written bible to justify their hatred of fellow men and women - who
prefer same-sex relationships - so long as the end result will be
human rights for all people regardless of their sexual orientation?Many of the world's major religions justify their hatred of
homosexuals by selectively quoting from the same book - and
interpreting these quotes to suit their own ends while ignoring the
fact that murders, bashings, violence, verbal abuse and hatred are
the results of their evil spewings.
Religions are man-made, after all (not woman-made), and when
religions disappear homosexuals, women, people of different races,
will all be liberated in new freedoms for humanity.
Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay Solidarity, Melbourne

On 24 August we sent the following letter to The Age newspaper in Melbourne in response to its series on male suicides and the correspondence which followed. The letter was published in the paper on 26 August with the exception of the last sentence which I have placed in italics in this copy.
Mannie De Saxe
2/12 Murphy Grove
Preston
Vic 3072
Phone:(03)9471 4878
email:josken@zipworld.com.au

The series on male suicides and the letters following their
publication (The Age, August 2003) all seem to have ignored one of
the main at-risk groups - gay males, particularly in the 15-24 year-
old age group.
Is this because our society continues to be so homophobic or is it
because the mainstream media continue to ignore the issue?
The recently issued report: "Don't Ask Don't Tell - Hidden in the
Crowd: Documenting the links between sexuality and suicidal
behaviours among young people" (Australian Research Centre in
Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, 2003) states that
suicide is one of the leading causes of death among 15-24 year olds
in Australia. The report further states that research in Australia has
identified that same-sex attracted young people may be up to six times
more likely to attempt suicide than the population in general, with those
in rural areas being particularly at risk. Nowhere in your reports or
letters were these matters raised. Maybe you should now spend some time on
asking questions about these at-risk young people in our communities - or
are we now a society that no longer worries about our younger people,
particularly if they are gay or lesbian? Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay
Solidarity, Melbourne.
There has been no feedback in the paper.