Civilization, Theocracy, Revolution and Gay History

Gay people have been with us from the beginning of time, from the depths of prehistory to the current period of the history in its dialectic unfolding. Looking to nature we find that the expression of gay sexual orientation is part of the great expression and evolution of life and the total lack of intolerance within nature that is so prevalent in human civilization. With the development of civilization we find intolerance toward gay people that has its roots deeply planted in religious beliefs, especially the three great monotheistic expressions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Of the three, Judaism and Christianity are the most historically intolerant. These two have actually spread intolerance to other areas of the world, such as in the recent program in Uganda that has resulted in the government there attempting to enact the death penalty for gays and even foreign gay rights organizations. Unfortunately, even left revolutionary thinkers have unwittingly fallen into the trap of anti-gay hysteria. Despite being self proclaimed atheists, they follow theistic reaction against gay people less the biased quotes from the Bible. We will show by taking the path of nature, how human endeavors of civilization became philosophically polluted via class division and how this was passed via religion into the minds of many anti-religious revolutionists to continue the persecution of minorities originally identified by bigots as worthy of destruction.

The natural world is full of wonders, each adapting on an ongoing basis to a constantly changing environment. Within the context of nature we can find fish that change sex at seeming will, “fathers” that rear the young rather than the mothers, homosexual relationships among dolphins, porpoises and other mammals, three way relationships among some ducks, monogamy, polygamy, infantile sexuality, infanticide, abortion and every other sexual expression, permutation and combination conceivable. There is even a case where a monitor lizard female in total isolation, will have a virgin birth giving birth to all males that will later breed with her and re-establish the lineage. We do not see these beings praying for forgiveness of sins and persecuting one another over their differences, nor holding themselves superior for the ability of virgin birth. Nor do they kill, imprison and torture. Though chimpanzees have been known to murder and go to war, they as a rule do it for other reasons than bigotry. Evolution, adaptation, hunting, preying and reproduction or non-reproduction are rampant and part of nature, each in context and moving in natural rhythm. Humanity is part of that great expression of nature, though alienated there from by the civilizing process by a calculating process of self appointed rulers.

In nature, procreation seeks to strengthen the given species, each looking for the best qualities in their mate. Often this ends up with the strongest male dominating the collective female community to pass on his genetic strengths, including health, strength, energetic performance and beauty. The males who don’t “make the grade” are left without mates as the dominant male possesses all the females to the exclusion of all others, so they often turn to expressing natural drives with each other. Just because one male, such as in many herbivore communities or among elephant seals, dominates and excludes the rest, does not mean that sexuality switches off at that point in the rest. To find sex that switches off, one must look to ants, bees and termites where one individual is entirely responsible for birthing the entire population of workers and a few males. Within some species, the female matures much more slowly than the male. This is true for most dolphins and porpoise sub-species. As the males sexually mature first, they have to wait until the females are ready for procreation. Until then, males will pair bond with each other, forming life long bonds, even when females are ready later on. The male dolphins and porpoises will form monogamous relationships, even crossing sub-species lines to find a suitable life long same sex partner. They think nothing of whether or not a homosexual coupling is for or against God and society. Yet these mammals have a central nervous system more complex than the human nervous system. Young male dolphins and porpoise same sex couples readily have sex with one another on a whim. There are no theological debates and whether or not it is good for dolphin or porpoise society, they just do it and move on together as lovers in common pursuits.

In an internet article on animal sexuality, an important recognition was made concerning animal sexuality and its variety. The following was found in the Wikipedia encyclopedia.

“The presence of same-sex sexual behavior was not scientifically observed on a large scale until recent times, possibly due to observer bias caused by social attitudes to same-sex sexual behavior. Homosexual behavior does occur in the animal kingdom, especially in social species, particularly in marine birds and mammals, monkeys and the great apes. Homosexual behavior has been observed among 1,500 species, and in 500 of those it is well documented[3] (there are approximately 1,250,000 species of animal in the world). Georgetown University professor Janet Mann has specifically theorized that homosexual behavior, at least in dolphins, is an evolutionary advantage that minimizes inter-species aggression, especially among males.”

In contradiction to this, Christians are quick to respond with their own view.

“There Is No "Homosexual Instinct" In Animals. Anyone engaged in the most elementary animal observation is forced to conclude that animal "homosexuality," "filicide" and "cannibalism" are exceptions to normal animal behavior. Consequently, they cannot be called animal instincts. These observable exceptions to normal animal behavior result from factors beyond their instincts.”

The above is meant to suggest upon further reading that animals “can’t work things out”. It suggests that varied sexuality among animals is the figment of human imagination used to defend “perversions” in human sexuality among people who can reason things out. Yet when one observes nature during predator hunts, the extent of animal calculation among wild cats and dogs becomes apparent. Human hunters in hunting-gathering societies plan hunts in a similar manner, i.e.,, herding, corralling, ambush, camouflage and trickery. Wild animals do not lack intelligence. It is also known that prey animals can use calculating intelligence to avoid capture. Part of this is incredible versatility is variable camouflage that is the envy of the military establishment. It is known that the tame versions of cats and dogs have smaller brains because it requires less intelligence to scavenge or live on hand outs provided by pet lovers. In a breeding experiment in Russia concerning the developing of tame foxes for the fur industry, it was learned that with careful selection for tameness, the appearance of the fox radically changed in ten generations. Their coats, ears, tails and “speaking” all changed. They ended up becoming dog like. The one danger of focusing characteristics through selective breeding, is in-breeding, which opens the offspring to various diseases. Even within the human species we see this among inbred ruling classes that have developed conditions such as hemophilia. Unfortunately, eugenics enters the picture as various societies attempt to promote a desirable type of human being. Though breeding for certain characteristics is desirable for certain functions as in hunting dogs, it has a drawback in genetic dysfunction and weakens the animal against the challenges of a changing planet.

Even tame animals have varied sexual expression. As a kid, I recall how the dominant cow would mount others in the herd just as a bull would do. Further I recall dogs that would attempt sex with people. The latter is a common joke in comic movies. Christian protests notwithstanding, animals do have varied sexual expression, as varied as if not more so than humans. Those who are alienated from nature, having little contact with even farm animals, can be convinced of the above Christian argument due to ignorance of the truth as a result of lack of contact with nature. Removal from nature now runs so deep, that people will now believe in any concocted fantasy. Many who have spent their lives in well lit mega-cities and malls, have no concept of the glory of the night sky. They have no understanding of forests save that which is depicted in movies. Alienation from nature has its roots deep in the history of civilizing. Human beings can be tamed too! And that is what we have after a protracted history of careful development in secret and/or unconsciously. Contemporary civilization has developed “breeds” of tame humans, perhaps by accident, perhaps by design, just like in dogs. In dogs, what was once a chance discovery later became a calculated plan. There are the show quality types, the fighters, the working type and a host of others all bred for select and specialized duties. We like to think in the human community that for different types of people “it was all by accident”, but is it? The selective breeding in the ruling class to magnify their power and wealth is a historical case for deliberate breeding among peers. This is so true, that relationships even of a heterosexual type with “commoners” was frowned upon and discouraged. It was fine to “go whoring” but not fine if a serious relationship developed. Yet despite injunctions, some of these relationships flourished and produced “non-royal” children with diseases like hemophilia that has its roots with Queen Victoria and the subsequent royal line which spread to pre revolutionary Russia. Hemophilia can now be found in the non-royal population.

In the bird community, some females court and have sex with more than one male. This is also true with primates such as chimpanzees and bonobos. Among birds, there are three way relationships between female, male and male. Though chimpanzees will form a dominant relationship, there is often “cheating” going on by the females, who like strange sex on the side apart from their dominant male partner, who is polygamous and “keeps” the whole female population for himself. Bonobos live for and continually have sex as a societal bonding activity. Every conceivable sex act is performed by bonobos including sex with the under-aged without thought of legality or “age of consent” laws so prevalent in human society in an unequal and combined manner, which is to say that laws vary from region to region. No member of the bonobo community goes without sex in all its variations. The sexual activity of the animal kingdom is varied and virtually endless in expression. From the same internet encyclopedia below, more instances of gay animals are recorded.

Male penguin couples have been documented to mate for life, build nests together, and to use a stone as a surrogate egg in nesting and brooding. In 2004, the Central Park Zoo in the United States replaced one male couple's stone with a fertile egg, which the couple then raised as their own offspring. German and Japanese zoos have also reported homosexual behavior among their penguins. This phenomenon has also been reported at Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand.

“Homosexual behavior in male sheep (found in 6-10% of rams) is associated with variations in cerebral mass distribution and chemical activity. A study reported in Endocrinology concluded that biological and physiological factors are in effect.” These findings are similar to human findings studied by Simon LeVay.”

"Approximately eight percent of [male] rams exhibit sexual preferences [that is, even when given a choice] for male partners (male-oriented rams) in contrast to most rams, which prefer female partners (female-oriented rams). We identified a cell group within the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus of age-matched adult sheep that was significantly larger in adult rams than in ewes..."

The foregoing is only a taste of the debate and research ongoing at this time. We humans like to think of ourselves as somehow special and “removed from nature”. Yet nothing can be further from the truth. Alienation from nature and being separate from nature are two entirely different things. One is the result of civilizing processes and the other mere fantasy. Alienation from nature means being separated from the knowledge of its ways and of how to live within that direct context. Separation from nature is impossible as we are dependent in several ways upon nature; the loss of any one part spells death for the individual or the race. Alienation from nature began with the development of civilization and has ended where many people in huge cities have no more contact with nature than as inconvenient weather and their own bodily functions. Separation from nature comes from religious indoctrination that states that “human beings are not animals, being a little lower than the angels.” They are part of a “supernatural creation” and separated from nature being above the animals in God’s creative hierarchy. This part is the fictional account propagandized to humanity by self serving and interest identifying priests in collusion with the rulers and alienated from nature. It does not help one iota when these same priests who condemn this behaviour end up being exposed for doing exactly what they condemn in others.

Alienation from nature began slowly with the development of civilization. Specialization led to the forgetfulness of the old ways. At the outset, civilization developed the seed of its own destruction. At first this was only for those few who specialized, but over the eons, this became increasingly the norm for larger sectors of the population. Then came the removal of peasants from the land, agricultural and herding ways. This occurred beginning with the advent of industrialism. What was pioneering for some became the template of a permanent revolution when applied to regions where people still hunted and gathered and/or farmed. The process was this: Invade the country or region and take over with superior weaponry if not numbers. Destroy the culture by forcefully removing the children and re-educating them. Sequester, kill and/or imprison the adults. Destroy all traces of the culture inasmuch as possible. The children having been re-educated to be subservient to the new masters won’t be able to return to the former ways. This process is an outline of what occurred in the new world and what is now going on in China. Studies of tamed animals show that re-introduction into the wild is not an easy process and seldom successful. The same is true with people who have been raised as miners or manufacturers. Once cut off from work, they know nothing of agriculture, animal herding or hunting gathering. Yet with the elimination of social programs, this is seemingly what is expected by the bourgeois state. Since this does not occur without re-training, we end up with an “underworld” of beggars and petty criminals. Coupled with all this are all the psychological problems that developed within humanity. The one thing that runs consistently through the programs and pogroms is the anti-gay mandate of the conqueror. This fact shows up in the universal anti-gay attitude of all monotheistic religions though on all other issues, they are at each others throats.

Once humanity worked out the rudiments of animal husbandry and agriculture, we entered into the age of civilization and surplus value. More food meant the ability to expand populations and to specialize in non-agricultural, non-husbandry and non-hunting-gathering pursuits. The observation of cycles of plants and animals were keys in taming and subduing them for human use. The observation of these was coupled to the seasons and the movement of the sun, moon, observable planets and stars in the heavens. Predicting when to plant or mate animals became a specialized function and was the precursor to religion. Devices and building were constructed to see the movement of the heavenly bodies and to time plantings according to stellar positions at the appropriate moment. In marginal areas, this science was crucial to survival. Early astronomy-astrology thus discovered and developed was crucial to civilization building. A distinct group of people were formed to devote their lives to the study of the stars and the predictions that could be made to ensure future success. The birth of mathematics can be traced to this point. Many early civilizations became sky obsessed. It allowed people such as the Dogons, the Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, Aztecs Inca and Maya to develop complex and long standing civilizations. They all had magnificent stellar temples that stand to this day, like the worlds pyramids, Angor Wat, Teotihuacan and others. This was possible through a complex understanding of nature and how the activities of the heavens interpenetrated human affairs and nature. The Chinese called it “the mandate of heaven” prior to Mao Tse Dung’s revolution. The specialization of this sector of human endeavor was the foundation of all religion. Great temples the world over are aligned and designed to crucial points and times in the heavens. Religion thus having this foundation, wonders far from this when it goes into questions of human behavior.

It is truly stated “Property is theft” by Proudhon, a one time associate of Karl Marx who later parted from one another. From the outset, there were those who wanted to take surplus value without working for it. It might have been triggered by natural catastrophes, of which there have been many in human experience, or just out of sheer greed. One defense against this was to develop an army and this took breeding lots of children. Priests and those who took the power of state to themselves had a dual purpose in having a large standing army that did little else but military activity. One was to defend against marauders and competing states; the other to invade for purposes of imperialist expansion and enrichment, the main purpose to protect ruling class privilege. When humanity was small in numbers, there was little war. When, as a result of surplus production, larger numbers of people became a reality, competition for resources increased. Often, the competition for growing space meant conflict. Those with superior numbers and/or weapons simply took what the loser had. The losers were either killed or put to slavery to serve the new masters. Their children were re-educated to serve a new master. Over the ages, great wealth was accrued by a few powerful individuals. That number shrank while the numbers of the poor grew exponentially. The whole military apparatus was another specialization that was developed and improved. Still, before the advent of modern automatic and robotic weapons of mass destruction, large numbers of soldiers were needed and this meant making children. Anything that interfered with that agenda was in contradiction to the desires of militarist conquest. And this is where the intelligentsia of the priest craft came in.

The intelligentsia knew things that most of humanity was ignorant of, either because most were too busy trying to survive in hostile environments or because certain knowledge was deliberately kept secret and mystified to impress the masses with the power of the elite. With long standing civilizations such as Egypt, China and India, there was the long periods of observation coupled with the development of mathematics. This allowed for highly accurate predictions concerning the sun, moon, planets and stars. Most people, as in the animal kingdom, were mystified and awed by natural things like eclipses and periodic flooding. There were aware of the mighty power of nature in the storm, flood, volcano, seasons and earthquakes. These were the old gods who were personalized by the priest-craft, especially since they had some ability to predict the “moods and acts” of nature. From many gods their evolved a hierarchy from lesser or demigods to one great all powerful deity. As the priests could predict great changes except for catastrophes like volcanoes, flash floods, earthquakes or asteroid strikes, they had to have a reason why they couldn’t predict accurately all the time. Gods took on human characteristics and foibles that reverberated through history to the current Christian Judaic and Muslim God. A televangelist will tell you “God gets ticked!” meaning that disobedient humanity will be punished severely. Another tells us that “God will strike Florida with an asteroid if gay day is allowed in the Florida Disney World.” Yet another one shouts as he prances around flapping a Bible high in the air, “I’m sick and tired of catering to homosexuals!” Some of these self same anti-gay preachers have been caught doing the very thing they rant against. Does this revelation to humanity humble them? No! They attack all the harder. A recent event of a fundamentalist minister who held influence over 30 million evangelical followers, put the whole movement into confusion and turned the tide in American politics in a run off election.

Over the eons, one of the groups selected for special persecution was gay people. This is because they did not comply with the injunction to couple with women and have lots of children, to build civilization, increase wealth and power, to soldier on and go forth conquering. A notable exception under “God’s heaven” was the hoplites of Sparta who managed to topple the mighty invading Persian Empire. From there, we have Alexander the great and his male lover conquering most of the known world after marching through and taking Persia. The hoplite society was an openly homosexual one that encouraged relationships between experienced warriors and fresh young combatants in training. Couples were encouraged which formed tight fighting bonds in combat, hence the ferocity of the hoplites. Few fought so hard as he who was protecting or avenging a lover beside himself in battle. Women were put in the background and were related to only for the purpose of procreation. No army prior or since has taken hold of more territory and Alexander stands to this day as the envy of military commands everywhere including the US Marines. The hoplites were the exception, the rule is a strict bar against homosexuality to the point of putting gay people to brutal and torturous deaths as an example to “preserve morality and country” (read preserve the interests of the ruling elite). This of course is excused because God is against it, and the priests/cardinals/popes who claim close kinship and communication with the deity enforce “the will of God.” Had they understood the methodology of the hoplites, civilization might have taken a far different course than it did. However, civilization, with the aid of stupendous natural disasters took a different course. The most notable “recent” catastrophe was the one of 535 AD. History changed course where old civilizations collapsed and new ones emerged literally out of the ashes. Much was forgotten, to be relearned, but old prejudices and superstitions carried on right into contemporary times of the 21^st century.

With all this conquering and being conquered was the “acquisition” of property of all sorts, obtained by robbery and oppression. The mightiest oppressor of all took the largest windfalls and spoils of war. Great kings, dynasties, warlords were built on this great robbery of the aboriginals, peasants, farmers, miners, crafts people and workers. It was all taken by force, sometimes by conquest, sometimes by taxation and enslavement. The mighty oppressor had the help of his armies and priests forming an “unholy trinity” of alliance against the masses. The preaching of gods and terror kept the people under control. They were encouraged to raise more soldiers against the godless, the infidel, the invader, against anything anti-god, anti-king, anti-priest, including any who would not make more soldiers, the in-community homosexuals. All visiting evils upon the community by way of plague, famine, pestilence and catastrophe was blamed on evil doing including and especially “unproductive gay unions.” Alternately, people were told they were ungodly or not god fearing enough, i.e., they did not support the church well enough.

The idea is continued in the “family values” campaign of contemporary bourgeois politicians aided and abetted by the fundamentalist evangelicals. It helps the program immensely that heterosexual unions result in children and there is nothing like children to make adults conservative and careful. Under the constraints of capitalism, whether legal or financial, it is difficult to raise children. Added to this is the fact that raising children demands a lot of time and energy. Mothers often complain that they work two jobs; one to earn money so the kids can be raised and the other, unpaid, child rearing itself. In the natural course of capitalist degeneration, this task increases in difficulty in direct proportion to capitalist degeneracy. The fear factor takes over and the sum of ones life becomes the children, grandchildren, great grandchildren ad infinitum. But, in keeping with the knowledge of breaking a culture, teach the children nonsense from an early age. What we mean here is the teaching of Santa Claus, Easter bunnies, misinformed religious fantasy, fantasy land concepts like Disney World and the like, the lie of real democracy, laws such as the arbitrary (state to state, country by country) age of consent and majority definitions. They are taught to be submissive to authority, usually by intimidation and bullying, no matter how corrupt or criminal and to be truthful though lied to continually. They are taught the knowledge of how to be a productive person in society including getting married and producing more children generation by generation. Once hooked into this program, all their efforts go into bringing up the next generation of exploitees. This becomes a self perpetuating system that virtually runs itself. Once old enough and experiencing the folly of this life under these capitalist circumstances, it is often too late to do anything but go on in quiet desperation.

They lash out against anyone who is not in the same circumstance as themselves aided and abetted by bigots from on high who know exactly what they are doing in buttressing up the bourgeois state. With children being “brought up” in such a civilized manner, little wonder there is little or no time for culture or protest. Children by nature can be more or less wild and they have to be “tamed.” This is done on all quarters by the bullying of superiors, whether adult, teacher, cop, boss or the state. In turn in the face of the bullying example, children are taught not to be bullies and parents get upset by child to child bullying, but not the genocidal bullying of their own bourgeoisie even against members of their own society. The wildest kids are virtually untamable and they may wind up as artists, poets, gay, lumpen proletariat, revolutionary or criminals. This course of events disappoints parents and state. Some “disappointments” are grudgingly allowed. Others like revolutionaries are not. The same bourgeoisie that espouses family values does everything contrary to protecting family values, such as destroying social safety nets, getting rid of day care for working moms and lowering wages in various “fair trade” off shore deals for cheaper labour. Recently, the sub-prime mortgage crisis caused a huge rise in family poverty.

The intellectual weapon of choice against gay people to this day is certain passages taken out of context from the Bible. Little regard is given to the love relationship between David and his lover Jonathan, whom he loved more than the love between a man and a woman.(2 Samuel 1:17-26) Even less regard is given to the book of Ruth that describes throughout, her love for Naomi in an obvious lesbian relationship.(Ruth 1:16-19) Nothing is stated about the young man who approached Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was being led away to be tried. The young man cloaked only in a robe was seized upon by the arresting soldiers, whence he slipped out of the robe and fled away naked from Jesus whom he sought to approach. Jesus said nothing in condemnation. These are left unsaid. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is seen as the wrath of God encouraged by homosexual advances toward two angels taking refuge in Lot’s house. Nothing is said about the class nature of the cities as described by Old Testament prophets, where the cities were rich but with held bread from the needy, disregarded and trampled on the old and abandoned babies to die. They were described as being murderous, self centered, selfish and “stuck-up” by the same prophets.(Ezekiel 16:46-56) This part sounds very much like contemporary capitalism. The evangelical and the like win by taking things out of context and ignoring the rest, winning by repeated lying and intimidation. We can do the same, but what is given is in context!

It is a curious thing indeed that most leftists today and in past were and are anti-gay, taking as it were, the rabid unreasoning attitudes of right wing religious bigots. One great notable exception in history is V. I. Lenin, who enshrined protection of gay people into law in the revolutionary period and post insurrection era of the newly born Soviet Union in 1917. Not until his death in 1924 and the subsequent take over by Stalin did this change until Stalin made homosexuality illegal again, reverting to old church and bourgeois norms. Not since the days of the Spartan hoplites has the world seen such open acceptance as with Lenin. Were that leftists would be more Leninist and less Stalinist! Lenin should be regarded as the hero of the gay movement, but is virtually unknown for this contribution by many. For that we can credit the Stalinists and Stalinist factions.

Variously and especially after the unfortunate demise of Lenin, leftists from post Lenin and Stalinist backgrounds have been anti-gay. Even after the Stonewall event in June of 1969, leftists have left gay people out of the picture and have been dreadfully slow and anti-dialectical in dealing with the issue, even well into the 21st century. Gays have often split from various movements, creating yet another faction within a sectarian and factional landscape. Gay Alliance Toward Equality (G.A.T.E.) was a once undeclared Trotskyist faction that formed due to a split to deal with the gay issue after Stonewall. As the Trotskyists of the day did not support gay rights and were even anti-gay, the gay faction split from them and formed the G.A.T.E. Faction.

The gay reform as it has become in the absence of revolutionary support has resulted in a privileged class of the gay bourgeoisie. Former revolutionaries of gay and straight stripe have found their way into the bourgeois fold, usually bought off to shut up. We see this particularly with gay politicians voting consistently against gay reform issues. Gays as members of the bourgeoisie have increasingly turned against further gay reforms, even trying to move backward under the insistence of fundamentalist bigots. The working class gay is still persecuted on the shop floor and does not have the same liberties as his bourgeois counterpart. The working class gay must remain “invisible” or be persecuted out of the job. Though there is some legislation to ostensibly protect people based on sexual orientation, in practice there is no teeth in it to give real protection when needed. Again it looks good in print, but is useless in real life struggle. Such struggle under bourgeois society entails the courts and expensive legal battles, the reserve of the wealthy. The over exploited and under paid worker has no recourse in this arena.

We return full circle to where the function of the masses under the leader is to produce wealth and to reproduce themselves as soldiers to “fight the good fight” as cannon fodder in one of the most profitable enterprises on the planet; war. Many organizations whether church, state or revolutionary have a set catechism to be adhered to by the neophyte. The neophyte is to be kept away from all thinking and counter ideas promulgated by others not of the particular sect or faction. Thus we have a form of dumbing down that parallels the bourgeoisie’s educating system of dumbing down. Super specialization becomes the hallmark of super exploitation and the means of opportunists to place themselves into the role and position of the bourgeoisie. Historically, the bourgeoisie did this very thing when it seized power and wealth from the aristocracy and church. The masses, having been alienated from their roots and even from their own nature are blind to the truth, having that substituted with a surrogate truth that comes in many flavors. To return is an extraordinarily difficult task and is the stuff of psychoanalysis.

But there is a time to leave the library, the campus, the monastery and the scriptorium and join the masses dealing with all their issues in revolutionary struggle. It is also time to educate the masses in a real direct participatory manner. The bourgeois state has done its job well and profited immensely. Today the working class is divided and ignorant, with the “union brass” bureaucracy of labor heading the masses. Most of the workers are not even unionized, the unions being gutted of membership by the collaboration of union bosses, gangsters and corporate bosses. Real income has shrunk by various methods of bourgeois funny money. There are many distractions added to the old superstitions of religious intolerance and bigotry. An anti-terrorist program that clogs the news is in full swing. There are fancy polluting cars with built in obsolescence. There are sports galore for every season of the year, malls everywhere, pubs, video games, TV and vacation destinations. All around and about are seething masses bent on ending super-exploitation, suppressed and put down by extreme violence. Epithets are common place. Queer, faggot, gay and homo are among the most common diatribes promulgated by almost everyone.