<=============================> < > < ANTI-PRESS EZINE #50 > < > <=============================> "We're Positive About The Negative" This E-dition filed 02/14/05 from NENYland (pronounced nee-nee-land), the northeastern corner of New York State (i.e. the hinterlands). Our Precision Reality Center, located in Plattsburgh -- The Fake City -- features Bull Tracker 9000. More details at the end of this e-dition. (C) Copyright 2005 Anti-Press * ASSTUTE HALL OF FAME: The Compliant Citizen * A guy, around twenty years old, apparently able-bodied, made a comment we couldn't ignore one day at the Kafe coffeehouse. "People have to get over it," he was telling an older woman as they grabbed some coffee. "Bush is our president and there's no reason to complain. He was reelected, that's it. All this protesting -- it won't change anything." We were sitting nearby. "So," we asked the compliant guy, "what are you going to do when they draft you and you have to fight in Iraq?" The guy looked at us and shrugged off our observation. "They won't take me," he stated. "I'm gay." * A Real Reason To Cry * It's all about socio-economic stratification: the haves remain blissfully ignorant of the plight of the have-nots. There's an ad that's been running on the TeeVee lately for a jewelry store chain. A young black couple sits at a table, sharing a tender moment. They're well-dressed, nice clothes; upscale types. The woman cries. Why? Because her husband just gave her a diamond ring for Valentine's Day. At this point we wish we could interrupt that stupid ad, confronting the couple with the truth about diamonds. Diamonds aren't rare; they're plentiful. But major diamond companies buy up and horde all the stones, creating an artificial high-priced market. A Twilight Zone experiment: the black couple in the TeeVee ad are wrenched out of their modern storybook world, finding themselves in South Africa during the "good old days" of the diamond trade. The need for work would force the husband to work at a diamond mine, separated from his wife for long periods. Since the mining company is so concerned about theft, the husband would have to live on site, stuck inside the compound. No families are allowed. He would be paid low wages for his backbreaking labor and a good share of that would go back to the company for the food and housing. After all, a company town is a real moneymaker. The diamond business has always exploited black South Africans. In fact, black Africans were doing OK, living off the land with farming, until the sly white settlers came along and forced them to work in the mines by imposing taxes. With the lousy housing provided by the company, the miners enjoyed such comforts as crippling concrete beds. That's after a long day of exposing their lungs to air polluted with asbestos or other "healthful" materials. But things have improved since then: the miners don't have to sleep on cement mattresses. As for the air quality... But the upscale couple in that TeeVee ad doesn't have to worry about a hard mattress or clean air or being treated one step above slaves. They would probably be insulted if you told them about the sordid history behind the diamond business. After all, diamonds are beautiful. So beautiful that they make you cry. (Source: "The Underside of De Beers Diamonds," article by Janine Roberts. ABUSE YOUR ILLUSIONS, Edited by Russ Kick, 2003.) * Alpha Hates Omega? * He created everything: He is everything. God is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the straight and the gay. December 16, 2004. Thursday evening. Another Common Council meeting in Plattsburgh, NY. A citizen asks why the city charges $350 for a political information booth at its Mayor's Cup Festival, a weeklong event during the beginning of July. This citizen, one of God's creations, says he believes in free speech; anyone should be allowed a booth free of charge, whether it is the Boys Scouts or the Ku Klux Klan. The Mayor responds that he doesn't believe that a free society should allow hate groups at public events, especially someone like the Rev. Fred Phelps who shows up with his followers with signs proclaiming "God hates fags." You see, God created the Mayor gay. The Mayor is an openly gay Republican. A front-page article about this exchange appears two days later in the local newspaper. The following day, Phelps, all the way over there in Topeka, Kansas, opens his Sunday sermon by quoting and commenting on the article. This sermon is archived on his delightful Web site, . Phelps -- another one of God's creations who can look like so kind and grandfatherly in a photograph -- doesn't understand why Plattburgh's mayor has said bad things about him. For a passing moment Phelps sounds genuinely hurt: "I've never done nothing to him." [SIC] By ignoring his double negative, we see that Phelps is implying that he's the injured party, that Plattsburgh's mayor has no reason to attack him. Really. Well, maybe Phelps didn't do anything directly to the Mayor but... The anti-Gay Baptist minister led a picket in 1998 at the funeral of Matthew Shepard. Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was killed for just being gay. After being brutally beaten and pistol-whipped, he was tied to a fence, left to die. He was found hours later, somehow still alive, despite a fractured skull and brain stem damage. Never regaining consciousness, he later died at a hospital, his injuries too severe for doctors to attempt surgery. After being imprisoned, the two men who killed Shepard decided their crime was justified by citing a particular book: The Bible. At Shepard's funeral Phelps and his followers held up signs like "Matt In Hell." A section of the main index to Phelps' Web site is entitled "Memorials". It includes a counter for the number of days Matthew Shepard has supposedly spent in hell. Just below this counter is this statement: The site also features a list of scheduled pickets by Phelps and the members of his Westboro Baptist Church (WBC to you.) Here's one item of note: Some say God is Perfect: you can see it in his creation. Phelps is a living example of imperfection. He says his mission is one of love but the word "hate" features prominently in his messages. In his sermon he calls Plattsburgh's mayor an "anal-copulating freak," also suggesting that the Mayor might be a "little scat nibbler." One tries to remember if Jesus used such loving phrases. God, the Supreme Creator = Love & Perfection. Phelps, self-proclaimed Man of God = Hate & Imperfection. So what is going on here? Does God exist? If He does, He must have a wry sense of humor. The last laugh will be on the Rev. Fred Phelps. One day he might find himself standing before Jesus, shocked to see the Christ wearing the face of Matthew Shepard. ============================================================= NOTICE: Unless indicated otherwise, all articles by Anti-Press. Articles submitted by others do not necessarily express or reflect the opinions or beliefs of Anti-Press. WHERE WE'RE AT: Anti-Press Ezine radiates from our Precision Reality Center. We're presently entrapped in the alleged city of Plattsburgh, northeastern New York State (NENYland), USA. (Valentine's Day: a holiday when lonely singles suffer for the sins of happy couples.) EMAIL: Antipress1@aol.com NEW POLICY: WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY UNSOLICITED ARTICLES. We will accept a letter of comment (LOC) on any topic raised in our ezine. **Maximum Length: 300 words.** Plain text format. If you don't want your email printed, please tell us. To avoid being deleted as spam: Put LOC in the subject heading. 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