A Matter of Facts and the Bane of Media Bias

KiwiCredo blog no. 17

The editor of Whangarei's Northern Advocate has refused to publish various letters from me expressing concern for young people being exposed to dubious influences in the high school system via homosexual political activism. According to him - Craig Cooper - I have  “a habit of misrepresentation of the facts" which I flatly deny. The background to this bizarre accusation is as follows.

On lst May 2015 the Advocate had published a brief item on how the Auckland Council is to set up a Rainbow Advisory Panel [to] "provide an important voice for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex community." That day I submitted a brief letter to the editor, pointing out that there was no such thing as “the gay community” and quoted the late Brett Sheppard, homosexual editor and businessman thus : "There is no such thing as ‘the gay community”',  from Out! Magazine February 1997.

Subsequently, information came to hand confirming that view from another Auckland homosexual : ACT Party member and Auckland Mayoral aspirant Stephen Berry. So on 3rd May I sent a slightly amended version of that letter to the NZ Herald, where I also quoted Berry. That letter was published on 5th May. No such balancing comment ever appeared in the Advocate, neither my letter

nor any other.

On 7^th  May I e-mailed Mr. Cooper to enquire whether my letter would be published and was shocked at his reply on 8th May : "Hi Barbara. I am not publishing your letter. You have a habit, in my view, of convenient misrepresentation of facts to suit your anti-homosexual agenda.....” He then suggested  I "try my luck” by sending it to the Herald, which of course had already published my other version of it, including that Sheppard quote, to which Mr. Cooper had taken exception.

Worrving aspects of the homosexual lifestyle

As for me having an “anti-homosexual agenda”, usually I only express concern about the militant "gay rights” movement (which, incidentally, even has its homosexual critics - see below) while Mr. Cooper insists that my concern is about homosexuality in general, which he finds “offensive”. Yet, ironically,  there are endless aspects of the homosexual lifestyle which surely warrant criticism and concern.  Take just three sordid examples:

• Homosexual demands for the “right” to frequent public toilets and other public areas for "cruising", and cries of "entrapment" when Police act against this. (1a i, ii, iii) 
• The reality of paederasty/pederasty : defined as "homosexual relations between men and boys.” (1b)
• Barebacking: "Bareback sex is physical sexual activity, especially sexual penetration, without the use of a condom ..... ..it has the connotation of being wild, dangerous and fun...Bugchasing [is] an extreme form of barebacking, in which seronegative gay men actively seek to be infected with the HIV virus. [They] may seek to contract HIV in order to not have to constantly live in fear of becoming infected."(sic!)(1c)

Homosexual Agenda also has Homosexual Critics

While on other occasions I have quoted several outspoken NZ homosexuals critical of the "gay rights” lobby (2) for now the following should suffice, from U.S. homosexual Libertarian author and writer Justin Raimondo : "It's time to challenge the idea that the “gay rights" movement speaks for all, or even most,  gay people. It does not.” Also this :-

"No [U.S.] religious conservative has called for legal measures against homosexuals. The Christian Coalition, the Eagle Forum and other grassroots conservative activists only involved themselves in supposedly ‘anti-gay’ political activity defensively, in working to overturn ‘gay rights’ legislation that attacked their most deeply-held beliefs.”(3)(emphasis added)

Some background to Mr. Cooper's criticism of me

On 13^th  December 2014 came an Advocate feature "Youth Awards set a fine precedent”, about a highly contentious Mayoral presentation to a Kamo High School homosexual student, Joris Kingsley, and lauded thus : "Change for the better.....honoured for his role empowering the ‘gay’ community in the region". Kingsley's “role”, it later transpired, was to instigate and lead a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) ideologically-driven homosexual activist group in his school during 2014. On the real, deeper political activist nature and goals of GSA’s, this from Wikipedia :- “To facilitate activism on campus"etc. (Emphasis added)

So on 15th December 2014 l submitted a letter to editor Cooper for publication headed “Change for the better?” There l questioned that award and how it could possibly be “for the better”.  On 31^st December l enquired why neither mine, nor any other similarly-concerned letter had appeared, and Mr. Cooper simply replied that in his view my letter "was offensive”. Next day - admittedly it was holiday time of course  l again enquired, but he did not reply.

Bizarre reasoning

On 4th January 2015  I again sought an explanation for that curious assessment of my letter, and on 7^th January Mr. Cooper replied with this astonishing rant :-

"Your letters.....in my view your views on homosexuality [utter distortion; actually on homosexual activism] are likely to be found offensive by homosexual members of our community. I would say most homosexuals would find your views offensive..... Your latest letter berating homosexuality uses the success of a young homosexual man as the platform from which to express again your anti-gay views. To attack homosexuality in this manner is to also attack the recipient, who has simply said ‘yes’ to a community's desire to acknowledge his good work. Some of your views are extreme....l  would suggest you desist the practice (sic) of attacking homosexuality and consider rethinking or rewording how you approach the expression of your anti-gay views." And this from someone who, on the 8th May was to accuse me of "misrepresenting facts”!

A game of semantics and evasiveness

On 21^st January 2015 l submitted a further brief letter for publication, commenting on the establishing of a GSA at Kamo High School, referring to it as an activist group. On 5th February this was disallowed on the basis of semantics : The Youth Award was for the leading of a support group, not for an activist group etc. E-mailed hair-splitting debate then ensued.

On 5^th  March l wrote a not-for-publication letter "Confirmation of Social Change activism in NZ schools”. There l showed irrefutable evidence of the presence of activist groups, as spelt out by a UNESCO Global Citizenship Education agenda (GCE), information of which had recently been made public. As the author of this report pointed out: "The final role of Global Citizenship Education is to bend minds for a planetary correct society, one where students, spurred to action, become ‘agents for change’ .” (4)i.e. activists.

I concluded with a question to Mr. Cooper: “Given these most disturbing revelations would you still be favourably disposed towards the establishing of GSA groups in NZ schools, and if so, why?” He did not reply. On 18^th March 2015 I wrote again and asked that question, but still there was no reply.

So it seems that editor Cooper once more had only empty excuses for rejecting my 21^st January 2015 letter of concern regarding the GSA activist group at Kamo High School and such groups in general.

Coming full circle

To return to the more recent Auckland Council Rainbow Panel issue, and Mr. Cooper's unwarranted personal attack upon me, overall I see there a gross lack of professional judgement, as well as evasiveness, inexplicable logic at times, empty excuses and, ironically, a disturbing tendency to misrepresent facts when it suits a particular situation. For example, his excuse for rejecting one of those earlier letters of mine because it was “offensive”; i.e. presumably to him. When asked to explain that however, he simply speculated that it would "be likely to be offensive to homosexual members of our community, and heterosexuals” etc.

My response to that is to quote the Chairperson of the NZ Media Freedom Committee and editor of The Press Joanna Norris : “Your freedom to express yourself is protected by law. [all things being equal of course] The Bill of Rights gives New Zealanders these rights.” However, she continues : “From time to time issues arise that quietly threaten the rights of New Zealanders to express themselves. One such threat is a rising tide of offence-taking and indignation....influencing views and actions.” She quotes Australian author Richard King, in his book On Offence: The Politics of Indignation; of how "people are arguing their right not to be offended overrides the free speech of others", which is precisely what I suspect has happened in my situation outlined here.

Conclusion

Such are the twists and turns on this vexed topic that are preventing free and open expression in many media, and blatantly so in the Northern Advocate. However I believe that my concern here is only the most honourable: to counter the insidious manipulation and exploiting of naive and idealistic young people for a wider, covert, international revolutionary cause, as spelt out in UNESCO’s Global Citizenship Education agenda In this day and age of concern about youth suicide, to name but one social ill, we could learn from Russia, and how it has outlawed to under-18 year-oIds "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations....which the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church see as corrupting Russian youth”.(6) Risk of such corruption of NZ and Western youth would seem of no consequence to many in our news media and in society in general.

Footnotes

1(a i) "Gays cry ‘entrapment’ over Police park crackdown”. Neville Creighton and Jay Bennie named as protesting this in an Auckland park. NZ Herald 12^th  November 1998.(Jay Bennie is proprietor of the Auckland homosexual men's bathhouse or “cruise club” Lateshift and editor of Gaynz.com)

1(a ii) Neville Creighton letter to editor: ”PoIice injustice" re their policy of checking Auckland Domain toilets against homosexual activity- (Homosexual) Express 10th December 1998.

1(aiii) Neville Creighton defends their (above) stance : “lt is necessary for making [homosexual] contacts.” On G &T Show, (Gays & Thursday) Access Radio Auckland, 17^th  December 1998. There is also copious other evidence of homosexual calls for the “right" to have sex in public places.

1 (b) Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus 1991.

1 (c) Wikipedia as at August 2015 :"Bareback (sex)”

2. Lindsay Perigo, Ross Baxter, Michael Coote, Stephen Berry.

3. Justin Raimondo : from his article  “A gay man decries ’gay rights’.” Undated, but accompanied by details of his book Enemy of the State : the life of Murray N. Rothbard, [to be] published June 2000 - Prometheus Books.

4. Carl Teichrib : Mind Bending: Education for Global Activism, page 7, 16^th February 2015 :  Forcing Change (http://www.forcingchange.org)

5. Joanna Norris : “Offence-takers threaten freedom of speech" in NZ Herald 19th May 2015

6. "Russian  lawmakers pass anti-gay bill banning ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations’ in 430-0 vote” by Jason Howerton, 11th June 2013 : Moscow (TheBIaze/AP)

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Examples of differing editorial decisions

Letter to editor of Northern Advocate dated 15th December 2014 : "Change for the better?”

Sir,

I see Mayor Sheryl Mai has presented a “change-maker award” to a young man for his role "empowering the gay community in the region”. ("Change for the better : Youth Awards set a fine precedent” - Northern Advocate 13^th  December 2014)

This is all highly debatable, and indeed cries out to be challenged. "Change for the better?” "Empowering the gay community?" On the contrary I contend that a closer and more critical examination would reveal such "empowering" to be morally subversive : just a Trojan Horse to disguise radical homosexual political activism; this, as part of a vast, covert, ideologically driven international movement for political and cultural change.

As pointed out in my Advocate letter “Gay Rights" (17^th July 2014) Russia is having no bar of such a toxic cultural influence by having outlawed the promotion of homosexual propaganda to youth. Of course we in the West know better, though - or do we?

Barbara Faithfull

On 31st December editor Cooper advised that that letter would not be published because he found it "offensive".

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Letter to editor Northern Advocate dated 1st May 2015 : "Rainbow Panel Created”

 Sir,

I see that the Auckland Council is allocating $56,500.00 to set up a Rainbow Advisory Panel. This, to provide "an important voice for the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex community".

In his Out magazine of February 1997 the late Brett Sheppard, prominent  Auckland [homosexual] editor and businessman, declared "There is no such thing as ‘the gay community‘ ".

So firstly, just who are to be the recipients of this largesse, and secondly, to what purpose? It sounds highly suspect to me, and very likely also to the long-suffering Auckland ratepayers who will be funding it. Barbara Faithfull

The above was rejected for publication because in editor Craig Cooper’s view I “have a habit of convenient misrepresentation of facts to suit [my] anti-homosexual agenda” - his e-mail to me 8^th May 2015.

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Letter to Editor NZ Herald 3rd May 2015 (Published 5^th  May) : Creating  a Rainbow Panel

Sir,

So the Auckland Council has voted to set up a Rainbow Advisory Panel, and with the Mayoral budget initially allowing $56,500.00 for this. (Herald online 30th April) Ostensibly it is to provide "an important voice for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex community".

Yet such an entity is mythical at best. This was pointed out by the late Brett Sheppard, prominent Auckland homosexual businessman and editor, in his Out! magazine of February 1997, where he adamantly declared "There is no such thing as ‘the gay community‘!"

Present day a similar sentiment comes from homosexual 2013 Auckland Mayoralty candidate and ACT Party member Stephen Berry on that Party's March 17^th [2015] Facebook page : "I'm opposed to the idea that there is any such thing as an LGBTI voice. Homosexuals are individuals, with a wide range of varying opinions and it is offensive to try and put all gay people into one collective box based on their sexuality." Well said, Mr. Berry!

Barbara Faithfull

barbarafaithfull@gmail.com

8^th October 2015