QueerToday.com - September 26, 2007 - Boston -Amy Contrada, author of the vehemently anti-gay MassResistance blog and tireless crusader against the Laramie Project play, failed to report that her own daughter will star in Acton High School's production of the play this November. Despite the fact that her daughter will play a TV reporter and serve as a Moderator for the play, which sensitively chronicles the death of Mathew Shepard, Contrada remains committed to organizing an anti-gay forum at the same High School in October.
Friends of Contrada's daughter first posted messages on QueerToday.com on the evening of September 25. "When you meet her (The daughter of Amy Contrada), it's hard to believe that her mom is like that - she's such her opposite," wrote one classmate. Another drama club friend showed their support by posting "Go C****!"
Contrada's daughter is clearly a brave, compassionate, and inspiring young woman who is willing to lead in the face of adversity - in this case coming from her own mother. Her efforts to encourage acceptance instead of hate is both a testament to her own courageousness and to the power of social support. She clearly has strong allies in the Acton Drama Club. We at QueerToday applaud Contrada's daughter, and we will keep her family in our thoughts because have seen how Contrada's style of homophobic religious terrorism can painfully tear families apart.
Contrada insists that the Laramie Project is "an extremely offensive piece of propaganda that uses the murder of the gay college student Matthew Shepard to push acceptance of homosexuality and horribly demonize Christians and others who have moral issues with homosexual behavior." The forum that Contrada has organized will feature a prominent "ex-gay" leader and several other right-wing speakers who will present theories about "homosexuality" that have been debunked by every major psychological association.
Contrada has also been very active in the controversy in the Lexington school system surrounding the popular children's book, King & King. The issue was referenced in the Democratic debate on September 26th. In response, all of the Democratic candidates said they would be comfortable teaching second graders about "all types of families." John Edwards acknowledged that young people are "leading us on this issue."
While Contrada dealt with her family drama, her cohort in hate Brian Camenker, who was recently slammed on the Daily Show, was caught trying to sneak into a meeting of the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). It would do Amy good to have a Mayor Sanders moment. May we recommend her local PFLAG?
Mathew Shepard's mother is currently working to ensure that the Mathew Shepard Act will continue to gain support. On September 27th the hate crimes bill passed in the Senate setting up a potential battle with the Bush Administration.
The Acton High School production of the Laramie Project will begin November 2nd. Tickets can be purchased at abdrama.org.
The anti-gay forum at Acton High School is on October 3rd, at 7PM and is open to the public.
LGBT youth seeking friendship and leadership opportunities should contact the Boston Alliance of LGBT Youth to learn about a group near you.
For more information about this story or QueerToday.com contact Mark Snyder. (Please note that it is our legal right to post any e-mail sent to us in regards to this issue.)
Update: Sept. 30, 2007 MassResistance took our article out of context, reworded our comments, and encouraged their readers to send us hate mail. Compare their version of what we said, to our original post above.
From MassResistance E-mail Blast:
This is the face of evil - targeting a family and child.
The Boston-based homosexual newspaper "Bay Windows" has done a lot of
disgusting things over the years, from their hate-filled,
sexually-laced attacks on Pope John-Paul II when he died, to their
pornographic "personal ads" featuring sickening homosexual sex acts.
But this is among the worst. They are attacking a mother and her
vulnerable high-school-age adopted daughter in a particularly vicious
way. They've published an article with the message that the daughter
should be ashamed of her mother and distance herself from her mother -
calling the mother horrible, vulgar names.
They appear to be doing this because Amy Contrada, a MassResistance
activist, has spoken out on issues and because MassResistance is
helping parents on a forum on a homosexual play being presented at the
high school in Acton, MA, where Amy lives.
Amy Contrada's 17-year-old adopted daughter has shown great talent as
an actress, and has won awards over the years. As many of you know,
adopted children, particularly those of a different race (she is
Asian) face particular emotional struggles. Claudia loves acting and
it has helped the bond between Claudia and her parents, who also have
a love of theatre.
The Bay Windows article links to a disgusting blog posting about her
and her daughter, which says:
". . . Contrada's daughter is clearly a brave, compassionate, and
inspiring young woman who is willing to lead in the face of adversity
- in this case coming from her own mother. .. we have seen how [Amy]
Contrada's style of homophobic religious terrorism can painfully tear
families apart . . . I can't even imagine the horror of living in a
house with that bitch Amy. Poor, poor kid."
The Bay Windows article also links to a list of students in the
Acton-Boxborough High School Drama Club. (Why is an adult homosexual
newspaper doing this?)
Even worse, quotes from students from the high school are included in
these "reports." It seems that the adult homosexual activists at the
school's "Gay-Straight Alliance" club have been working with the
blogger and others.
(These attacks on Amy, involving her daughter, began last May, after
she helped expose the atrocities of "Youth Pride." )
Here's the link to the "Bay Windows" article.
Here's the blog which the article links to. It also includes the
quotes from the kids from the high school appear. The blog,
"QueerToday", is run by an extremely disturbed 24-year-old man named
Mark Snyder. He is a "GLBT queer" activist who is connected to a
number of extremist homosexual organizations that target children,
including BAGLY (where he used to be office manager), which has led
kids to counseling on body mutilation in order to "become" the
opposite sex. Some of the regular contributors to the blog include
"firecrotch", "queerfemme" and "Becca dBus" [See YouTube video of this
person]". [NOTE: If the blog entry changes or disappears, we will
re-post it at MassResistance.org.]
But Snyder is mostly known for organizing vulgar and hateful protests
against churches. In 2005 his protest outside of the Tremont Temple
Baptist Church in Boston included dragging coffins in front of the
church doors screaming obscenities with megaphones. It was so horrific
that Boston riot police were required to protect the parishioners.
(Amy was also our reporter and photographer on the scene that day.)
Snyder also led the "Queer Kiss-In" demonstrationat the Cathedral of
the Holy Cross in 2002.
Here's the church riot that Mark Snyder organized in 2005.
Amy and her husband were forced into a no-win situation by the school
when the "Laramie Project" was chosen as the fall play. Their daughter
had her heart set on acting during her senior year; being involved
means a great deal to her. A number of parents, including Amy,
beseeched school officials not to select this very controversial play.
But they arrogantly refused. So parents have organized the Oct. 3
forum to publicly voice their concerns.
(In fact, Amy Contrada has no part in the forum. She is putting her
efforts into our banquet which takes place the following day.)
Imagine what it must be like for a very sensitive and vulnerable
17-year old, and for the Contrada family, to have to deal with this.
But the "queer" activists seem to be reveling in it. This is the true
sleazy, self-centered face of the homosexual movement, that cares
about no one else's rights and nothing but their immediate emotional
desires.
(Why is a Boston-based adult homosexual newspaper so obsessed about a
high school play in Acton? Probably for the same reasons they focus on
children's activities in schools around the state.)
This is an evil, disgusting thing to do to a wonderful (and
courageous!) family with a beautiful daughter.
DO NOT allow these people get away with this. LET THEM KNOW that good
people will not stand for it.
The Hate Mail:
From: Takeshi & Jennie Kurono
putrid. This is why we need to get you homosickos under control. Someone
needs to stuff you asses back in the closet and bolt the door shut. You do
nothing but destroy the peace. I can't wait until you crash and burn. You
sicko!!!!!
Date: September 28, 2007 6:44:52 PM EDT
Subject: Your concern for Claudia
I have to actually rephrase this, as your lack of concern for her family and the disunity you seem to aggressively be trying to cause. Does the word truth-a-phobic fit here? I would have to think so, as the truth is, your disrespect for Claudia and Amy's privacy and personal beliefs is appalling and a very sad statement of how the homosexual community acts towards others who disagree with them. Is disagreeing a crime? It seems you would like to make it one by mislabeling it a hate crime when really it is a free will choice of opinion, just like your own blatant and harmful expression you have displayed. However, I see much harm in trying to tear at the fiber of a family's existence and harmony. Your expression of truth is a true hate crime, as you are doing untold damage to a 17 year old girl and her mom.
So sorry that your representation of your beliefs must become truly harmful and hateful and a true display of what you really represent. Not a fair cause or concern for others, but a selfish act of emotionalism in the face of truth that you do not wish to hear.
In truth God has created you but not for sinful purposes, that is a choice we each make each day. God does not make an alcoholic drink, or a sex abuser abuse others, nor does he force you to make the choices you make, to live a life that he has clearly warned will not end in blessings, but sickness and curses, unless you repent and ask his forgiveness, then there is NO sin too great for him to heal and deliver any of us from. There is hope for everyone if we CHOOSE it. There are many who have been delivered from many different sins, including homosexuality. God says there are many who are hard hearted and will choose to refuse this message of truth and that it will actually make them angry to hear truth. I pray that is not any of you reading this. God believes in free will, so even if you choose to deny the truth in this email, he will not cause you to choose differently, it is up to YOU. God loves you, Jesus died for you and the Holy Sprit calls you to Him and desires to grant you true peace in your inner most being....it's the ONLY way to true inner peace, joy and life, and it will last for eternity! Ask Jesus into your heart right now and ask him to make Himself real to you and he WILL.
A parent concerned for both sides of this issue, from Maine
17 comments:
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!
Good for her for standing up to her mother.
I can't even imagine the horror of living in a house with that bitch Amy. Poor, poor kid.
Ryan, thanks for participating in QT often. I agree with you! But I must ask that you please consider using other language instead of "bitch" in order to foster a more welcoming environment for the queer women of queertoday.com to participate in discussions. Thanks so much, I know it is habit and engrained in our heads and culture so it can be challenging.
----
Unfortunately, we have an epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth (40% of all homeless youth) and I know many of those youth have parents like Amy Contrada.
What a great positive twist in events, and congratulations on the scoop! I'm linking this at my site.
Oh I used the word bitch on purpose, not because it's sadly an accepted verbage for women in general. But because Amy earned that title.
I would never want to offend my lesbionic sisters.
PS - I'm SO not pc, I actually personally believe the world is far TOO pc for it's own good.
I personally feel that as long as men have more power than women, we did not earn the right to use that word in a way that is directed towards women. I do not consider myself "PC" either, I think "PC" prevents important honest discussions. However, I do believe in social justice and the power of language, and the reality that men have more power than women, and the reality that when men use the word "bitch," it is a form of oppression.
When I hear words like "bitch," I am offended (and I don't id as a lesbian). That word is used to put women down in a way that doesn't really have an equivalent for men. So many times in our culture hard-nosed, assertive women are called "bitches" while men exhibiting the same qualities are hailed as leaders. You probably agree that this is a major problem. I really believe that the word "bitch" itself is a big part of perpetuating that problem, and that no one, even Amy Contrada, deserves sexism. Based on your comment that "the world is far TOO pc for it's own good" my guess is that you eschew political correctness because you're worried about a sanitized, censored world where people can't speak the truth for fear of hurting a single person--especially when that person might seem to have it coming. I don't want that either, but I don't think it's necessary to needlessly use offensive language to state that belief (which is actually quite seperate from the Amy Contrada issue, since she clearly has no problem offending anyone needlessly). Also, I have heard many people give the same "the world is too pc" defense after I've called them on using anti-gay slurs--not something I bet you support, either. I ask you to re-evaluate using the word "bitch," not because I want a world where we're afraid to step on each other's toes, but because I think both of us don't want to offend unless we have to.
Oh, and does anyone know what day the Daily Show piece originally aired? I can't get the player on that page to work on my computer, and I want to find it somewhere else. Thanks!
Kasey, it aired in Nov '05. Here's the Globe piece about it:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/10/interviews_no_laughing_matter_for_local_notables/
I am aghast at the terribly poor taste, judgment and lack of respect for this site and people to be publicly discussing a 17-year-old high school student in this way. The girl has wronged no one. If you disagree with the actions of the mother for whatever reason, that is one thing, but to be embarrassing the daughter and the family in this way shows the very lack of tolerance and respect that people reading this site ask for themselves. I hope someone has the common sense and decency to pull this whole post down ASAP.
Thanks for the link, andrea.
MJ_Davis...I'm not sure you're reading the blog that we all are? Are you upset that we're proud of the actions of Amy's daughter? Because I think we are all very much in support of the actions that Amy's daughter has taken, and proud of how she goes forward with her beliefs despite her mother's zealotry. It's not a secret that she is involved in the play (you can read her name and roles on the school's website) and it's her mother's fault that the rally is happening. The only person that should be embarrassed here is Amy Contrada, who is clearly too stupid to recognize that her boycott of the play only makes her look completely idiotic. There are probably other parents of Acton-Boxborough drama students who do not support the Laramie Project, but, like most parents with good sense and maturity, will buy a ticket, cheer on their kid's hard work, and have a discussion about their own values later (if they happen to disagree). Amy Contrada's daughter has already embarrassed her just by being Amy Contrada; but this rally has given her daughter a chance to show her peers how strong and independent she is, and a chance to distance herself publicly from her mother's clownish diatribes. Increased discussion of the issues has only led to a broader consensus that the Contrada/Camenker duo are a pair of quacks, and not that they're any kind of force to rival the Phelps clan in Kansas. Obviously, being the child of someone who has created an antagonistic public persona has its challenges, but the public is not to blame for that . Between her radio show and website, it's clear that Amy wouldn't have it any other way.
mj_davis2002
Where did you get the information that the young Contrada is 17 years old? It isn't mentioned in this blog, however it is mentioned in the MassResistance blog and in Brian Camenker's recent email blast.
So I take it that you are one of their supporters or minions. And if that is the case YOU should be ashamed of YOURSELF!
well well well
what do we have here
IS THIS KTN REDUX?
POTTY MOUTH RYAN SWEARING AGAIN
Cub reporter Hosty all excited about a "scoop"
and the chief HATER Lang there to sanction it all.
Pathetic.
Courts a Tough Road to Gay Marriage
By JAY LINDSAY – 3 days ago
BOSTON (AP) — When bells rang in 2004 to celebrate the nation's first gay marriages in Massachusetts, opponents warned that liberal courts were moving to permit gay marriage around the nation.
Three years later, despite attempts in many states, the nation's highest courts haven't followed Massachusetts' lead. Last week, Maryland's high court became the latest after New York, Washington and New Jersey to refuse to grant marriage rights to gay residents.
"We were very disappointed to lose," said David Buckel of Lamdba Legal, which led the court fights in New York, New Jersey and Washington. "But you have to expect it in a civil rights movement because what you're doing is creating enormous change and there are enormous forces lined up against us."
Gay marriage opponents said the losses, coming in the states thought to be most open to gay marriage, show how far advocates overreached after the ruling in Massachusetts. Gay activists point to gains, such as court-ordered civil unions in New Jersey, and say they are prepared for a long fight. Two gay marriage cases are pending before high courts in Connecticut and California.
One reason for the court struggle could be that an anti-gay marriage decision in a liberal state such as New York creates cover for other high courts who face the issue, said Yale law professor William Eskridge, a constitutional scholar who supports gay rights. For example, the Maryland court cited the New York decision.
"There's a lemming effect," Eskridge said. "The fact that all the other lemmings are doing it makes the other lemmings feel not so bad about it."
Marriages in Massachusetts began six months after the state's Supreme Judicial Court ruled in November 2003 that gays had a constitutional right to marry.
Gay marriage proponents carefully selected where to advance litigation next, weighing factors such as whether the state had anti-discrimination laws protecting gay residents, the strength of the gay community and a state's legislative composition, Buckel said.
At the same time, opponents across the country immediately began to work to put marriage out of judicial reach by passing state constitutional amendments defining the union as between only a man and a woman. Twenty-seven states now have the amendments, including 14 that approved amendments in 2004.
Even in the legal venues deemed gay-friendly, that swift public backlash against the Massachusetts decision had an impact.
"I think that frankly has scared judges in state courts a bit, even in states where they've tended to be quite liberal," said Dale Carpenter, a University of Minnesota law professor.
First came the loss in New York in July 2006, followed by the decisions in Washington state, New Jersey and Maryland. Tony Perkins of the Family Research council, which opposes gay marriage, said the rulings were about more than political expediency — they're also legally correct.
"There actually are some good judges that do what they're supposed to do," he said.
Gay marriage advocates made a strategic blunder by becoming unwilling to accept modest steps toward marriage, such as same-sex partner registries, said Lynn Wardle, a Brigham Young University law professor and gay marriage opponent. A less provocative approach might have been the difference in the one-vote losses in high courts in Washington and Maryland, Wardle said.
Buckel said gay advocates would continue to bring court cases where appropriate. The process of going before the judiciary helps gay advocates reach lawmakers and the public, and that can clear the path for expanded rights, even if there's a court loss, he said.
High court losses don't mask huge gains for gays in the last decade, Eskridge said. Nine states have approved spousal rights in some form for same-sex couples — Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.
Every state will eventually have to create some kind of legal structure to deal with the financial and social realities of same-sex relationships, Eskridge said. It may not be gay marriage everywhere, but it will be some form of expanded rights, he said.
"It took generations to make any progress on race," Eskridge said. "This stuff doesn't come overnight."
ugh can we go one day without talking about gay marriage, seriously people. old news.
Hey, I am gay teacher and a GSA adviser, and I think that in the future it would be best not to discuss any kids under 18 by name. It is a common policy at school not to include names and faces of kids. Not to mention that, if she wasn't feeling guilty about doing this play, she sure as hell is now. Besides, as much as I dislike the Amy Contrada's of the world, you have to give her some respect for letting her kid be in this play. And yes, I know that is not what Amy would do, she would go and take pictures and throw them up all over the internet, but who wants to be like that?
Usually I would agree with this logic.
Our original post did keep her name private, but it was published publicly on the school's play web site so I assume that is why BayWindows went ahead and published the name. The school and her friends who posted on queertoday made it public first, and the anti-gay hate male soon followed.
I have a feeling this young woman is strong enough to handle her name being published, she has lived with a very public anti-gay zealot for her entire life.
She may say she had no part in the forum, but I was driving aound with my friends and saw her driving my dad's car and then saw her get out of it. We then freaked and fled from her. But yeah she was at the forum.
Thanks for all the support. I you want to come see Laramie Project you should get tix now as they are selling out fast. Go to MKtix.com to order before we're all sold out.
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