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
