You’ve just crossed over into… the Queer Zone

It’s nice to be reminded on occasion that, in spite of all the bad shit going on in the world, there are still incredible people doing good things all around us, trying to make life better for people who are desperate, confused, scared, hungry, etc. I had the occasion to speak with one of those people a few days ago. Here’s our interview.

MARK: What’s your name, what do you do, and do you live in Ypsi?

QUINN: My name is Quinn Phillips. I’m a youth specialist at Ozone House Youth and Family Services, a non-profit which serves homeless and at-risk youth in Washtenaw County. I’ve lived in Ypsilanti since I started at EMU in 2006. I stuck around after graduation because I absolutely love this town! Where else can queer hipsters in zombie make-up hold hands in public and not be looked at strangely?

MARK: I understand that I live not too far from a designated Queer Zone. Can you tell me what exactly this means? Is my family in danger?

QUINN: I’m a co-facilitator of Queer Zone, a support group for LGBTQ and questioning youth ages 13-20 at the Ozone House Youth Drop-In Center (on Hamilton St. a block from the Ypsilanti Transit Center). We meet every Friday night from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

MARK: Let’s say that I was a gay teenager, growing up in Ypsi. Why would I want to go to the Queer Zone? And what would I find there?

QUINN: First, the Ozone House Drop-In Center is a great place for any teen to hang out on weeknights from 4pm-8pm. It’s a very welcoming space for youth to meet new people, get a free meal, check Facebook, do something creative, and know they are safe and supported. All our services are free and confidential.

People come to Queer Zone for fun, food and a sense of community. It’s so refreshing to walk into a place where everyone identifies as LGBTQ, even the staff. We do have nights open to straight allies, but usually our group is for queer and questioning youth only. This ensures that youth feel safe. Many youth in this area are not able to be “out” at home or with friends. This is a place they can come and really be themselves without fear of rejection or violence.

We talk about issues that are important to queer youth and give folks a chance to be heard. Equally as important, we spend time relaxing, dancing, making art, watching movies and forgetting for a minute that society considers us “different”. Did I mention free food? The fabulous Bee Mayhew has been hand-delivering delicious soup from Beezy’s Cafe for us to enjoy free of charge. What more could you ask for? Check us out our Facebook page here.

MARK: What are the biggest issues facing LGBTQ teens today in Washtenaw County right now?

QUINN: Homelessness among queer youth is a huge problem. 40% of homeless teens identify as LGBTQ. LGBTQ youth are also at much greater risk for suicide, substance abuse and mental health problems due to the discrimination, rejection and violence they face. Ozone House has a 24 hour crisis line, emergency youth shelter and counseling program for youth facing these and other issues.

Many of the young people we serve at Queer Zone are youth of color from lower-income families. These kids have to deal with racism, classism and homophobia from their peers at a time when they are just trying to fit in and figure out who they are. They are often less likely to have families that are accepting of queer identites than white middle-class youth. Finally, the epidemic of anti-gay bullying has been getting a lot of deserved attention lately, but Michigan schools are still not safe places for queer youth.

MARK: I have a friend that serves on the Ozone board, and he was telling me that you’ve recently lost funding for some of your Ypsi programs. There was one in particular that he noted. I believe it had to do with hiring teens to do outreach in the local community, identifying at-risk students, and making sure they got the care they needed. Am I remembering that correctly?

QUINN: Yes. You are referring to the Street Outreach program at the Ozone House Drop-In Center. It’s an incredible program where we employ local youth to do outreach about our services to their peers at the places they hang out. These Peer Outreach Workers can build trust with other at-risk youth in a way that adults can’t, so it is our most effective way to spread the word about the work we do.

Each fall we have scores of kids apply to be a Peer Outreach Worker. It’s a great first job for many teens. We help them develop skills they need to be successful in the work force and to improve interpersonal relationships. It is amazing to watch them transform into young adults over the course of a year. When they graduate from the program, youth often tell us, very emotionally, how much their lives have changed for the better from having the consistent support that Ozone House provides.

This year we did not receive the funding for this program, which we had been awarded annually since 1999. Social service agencies all across the state are being asked to do more with less money in recent years. Ozone House has been named one of best-managed non-profits in south-east Michigan, and we are certainly working hard to ensure we do not have to cut any programming.

We have always counted on local support for our programs, and this year it is more important than ever. There are a lot of ways community members can help out. Information about volunteering, donating, and events can be found at our website.

MARK: I hear you’ve got a benefit coming up soon. Can you tell us a little about it?

QUINN: Absolutely! The second annual “Kicked Out the Jams!” benefit concert will be raising money for LGBTQ youth at-risk of homelessness on Friday November, 18th at Necto. It will feature performances by Nervous but Excited, Bitch (an Ypsi native, formerly from the duo Bitch and Animal) and other fabulously queer local guests. The cover is $10 with student ID and $15 for general admission (ages 18+). Necto is giving us exclusive access to their venue from 6:30pm to 10pm, so even folks who shy away from clubs will enjoy the atmosphere. Just ask anyone who attended last year’s “Kicked Out the Jams” at the Corner Brewery! We raised over $4000 for local youth and had an amazing time.

100% of the proceeds of this event will benefit Ozone House’s “Kicked Out” fund, for which this benefit is named. The fund was started by Homofactus Press, local publishers of the “Kicked Out” anthology of stories by LGBTQ youth who are “kicked out” of their homes for being queer. The proceeds will be used for our Queer Zone program and 24 hour crisis line, which gives local youth access to help any time day or night.

MARK: One last question…. Just so I’m clear, I suspect that the fundraiser is open to straight folks, is that correct?

QUINN: “Kicked Out the Jams” is open to everyone ages 18 and older. Last year we had attendees of just about every sexual orientation and gender identity, including many straight allies. This year will be no less diverse. If you want to support the cause, but can’t make it to the event click here for information on how to support the “Kicked Out” fund.

And, now that I’m posting this, I realize that I forgot to ask my big “gotcha” question about how, after they fatten these kids up on free soup, they use Satanism to turn them gay. I guess that will have to wait until next time… In the meantime, please consider making a donation to Ozone House.

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108 Comments

  1. EOS
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 4:14 am | Permalink

    What a great way for adult LGBTQ persons to meet up with young, troubled, homeless teens in our community! And with the funding for Street Outreach, Peer Outreach Workers can build trust with other at-risk youth in a way that adults can’t, and bring even more teens to the soiree! And isn’t it wonderful that this activity is funded with grants and tax exempt donations?

  2. Tommy
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 6:27 am | Permalink

    Let me be the first today to say it to you EOS – STFU! And while still with the alphabet, I am just wondering how many more letters can be added to LGBTQ until some better term is used to decribe this community of folks? I, for one would add I and C for inquisitive and curious as long as Q for questioning has been added. there has to be something better out there. Hard for me to figure out how referring to this group as ‘queer’ and having a ‘queer zone’ is something that the LGBTQIC group would endorse. Queers, Fairies, Fags, etc. all seem demeaning and something that would not be supported. I just don’t understand. Perhaps someone can enlighten (not you EOSAHOLE)

  3. Posted October 28, 2011 at 6:44 am | Permalink

    Thank you for demonstrating once again what you’re really like, EOS.

  4. EOS
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 6:45 am | Permalink

    How about E for exploited, P for preyed upon, T for taken advantage of, ….

  5. EOS
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 6:57 am | Permalink

    As I have written in the past, I worked with a 40 year old single man who regularly had teens living in his one bedroom apartment with him whenever the need for housing runaway gay teens exceeding the limited capacity of Ozone house.

  6. Mr. X
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 8:15 am | Permalink

    I find all of this fascinating. Yesterday, there was a post here about a not-for-profit by the name 826, and the work they were doing in Ypsilanti. As I recall, EOS did not leave a comment suggesting that 826 teachers and tutors were only participating so that they could have sex with the kids. Here, however, when we’re talking about people working to assist at-risk teens, because they’re gay, EOS feels that it’s appropriate to suggest that it’s some kind of front for illicit activities. Why is that? And, as long as we’re asking questions, how is it that EOS can call himself a question? I’ll be back later to see if EOS responds. Right now, I’m going to make my first financial contribution to Ozone House.

  7. Andrew Jason Clock
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 8:18 am | Permalink

    EOS, where do we fit the “B” for “bigot ” into your screen name? BEOS? EOSB?

  8. EOS
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 8:22 am | Permalink

    Mr. X,

    Do those 826 teachers and tutors target homeless youth and provide housing for them?

  9. Mr. X
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 8:29 am | Permalink

    Thank you for the inspiration, EOS. I’d been intending to donate to some good causes for the past several months, but I hadn’t actually done it until now. In the time since I left my last comment, I’ve donated to Ozone House, Progressives United and the Elizabeth Warren campaign. Thank you for providing the motivation.

    God bless.

  10. EOS
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 8:53 am | Permalink

    Where ever would I get the idea that some gay men target teens?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAMBLA

  11. anonymous
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 9:14 am | Permalink

    Before you start throwing around words like NAMBLA, you’d better acquaint yourself with Michigan’s libel laws. That’s a very serious allegation, EOS.

  12. TeacherPatti
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 9:43 am | Permalink

    EOS, you really disappointed me.
    Are you heterosexual? I’m going to presume you are. Did anyone “recruit” you to the cause? I am heterosexual and no one “recruited” me…I just realized that I liked boys. I imagine it is the same way for homosexual men who one day realize that they like boys, too. (Yes, I know I’m being simplistic!)

  13. kjc
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 9:46 am | Permalink

    tommy, you can read up on the appropriation of the word “queer”. i know you’re smart enough to understand it.

  14. Eel
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 9:46 am | Permalink

    I agree with EOS, if these kids can’t get their shit together and live their lives as straight people, we should let them kill themselves. That’s what Jesus would have wanted.

  15. kjc
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 9:53 am | Permalink

    interesting…i was thinking about EOS on the way in to work today (really), about his cynicism and how it seems to be entirely commensurate with his Christianity. human beings are not just fallen; they are conniving, dangerous assholes.

  16. kjc
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 9:55 am | Permalink

    meanwhile, in the real world where EOS doesn’t live.

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-gym-teacher-jailed-sex-students/story?id=14831933

  17. Meta
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 10:03 am | Permalink

    Relevant:

    http://i.imgur.com/OPyAs.jpg

  18. Tommy
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 11:01 am | Permalink

    I think reappropriation is the correct term kjc, but I get what you’re saying. I’m just not with it enough to realize that what was once an insult is now embraced. For an old guy, I still don’t understand. Just as my mom used the word ‘nip’ and ‘colored’ to refer to specific individuals, I used the terms ‘black’ and ‘asian’. Used queer too, but it was derogatory and, to me, not appropriate. Perhaps I will start using queer again as it is – I guess – accepted and embraced. I am told by a teacher friend (not Patti) that my recent used of the term ‘Mongoloid’ to describe a kid with Down’s Syndrome hasn’t been reappropriated – yet! Never meant to criticize anyone, just didn’t realize that was once taboo is no longer so.

  19. HomoD
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 11:24 am | Permalink

    oh man…what a load is this string of comments. To avoid the alphabet soup string describing this community, the word queer is used to to simplify those falling into it. Yes queer does have a negative connotation in many minds of the past, but through positive use of term queer it is becoming less derogatory as it’s use grows.

    as for negative comments regarding queers, it stems from the all-too-familiar ways that people with little real information about the subject have identified in their minds about people that are different…much akin to racial biases and unwarranted discriminations and lumping all into a single basket. when you actually know a group of people (not a single or two) you find out that all you’ve heard on the streets actually is not what they are about to a large degree. just like the media that highlights the intriguing parts of a story and doesn’t tell you the whole thing, people do the same.

    Yes, there are pedophiles out there, but there is no difference between straights and gays. studies show there is no higher % in either the straight or queer community, but because it’s more sensational, the queers are identified as demons. just as is it supposed common knowledge that witches are identified as on the side of lucifer, there is little credibility to that evidence and if you actually knew a witch or what it actually meant to be one you would laugh at the notion that they want to do evil.

    People like to put other people into boxes with labels just as individuals like to identify with boxes and label to fit in and know they are not alone…it’s the way it is. We must remember that the box is not evil, only some of the apples and every box has the same % of bad apples.

  20. qforce
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 11:31 am | Permalink

    My take on “queer”:
    Some LGBT folks self-identify as queer and some do not. Many have reclaimed the term to mean “not straight and/or gender-conforming”, using it as an umbrella term. It’s an increasingly acceptable term but some LGBT people still find it offensive.

    Please ask if it’s a term that someone identifies with before referring to them as “queer”. Tone and context is also important. To me (a self-identified queer) the term sounds less offensive as an adjective (He is queer and listens to queer music) than a noun (She is a queer. That’s where the queers hang out). That way it seems like queerness is only one part of a person’s identity, not a label used to stereotype and dehumanize (i.e. the gays, the blacks, etc). I hope that makes sense.

  21. kjc
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 11:32 am | Permalink

    “I think reappropriation is the correct term kjc, but I get what you’re saying.”

    touche. i’m not an expert on gays. I just am one.

  22. Amber
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 12:58 pm | Permalink

    another useful word is reclamation, ‘queer’ has been reclaimed for a long while and is empowering to many people today.

  23. TeacherPatti
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 1:06 pm | Permalink

    Tommy, yeah, Monogoloid is not used any more. Generally, EMU special ed teacher program people want you to say the student first, the disability second (student with visual impairment, person with a learning disability). There is a push to get the word “retard” out of schools as well.

  24. E Bush
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 1:20 pm | Permalink

    I think a lot of people get involved in religion because they don’t trust themselves. They throw themselves into it, hoping that maybe the urges or whatever will stop. That’s there choice. I don’t have a problem with it. What I have a problem with is them then thinking that the rest of us are the same. That’s what I think is going on here with EOS.

  25. kjc
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 1:43 pm | Permalink

    “Some LGBT folks self-identify as queer and some do not.”

    yes, cuz LGBT folks aren’t all the same. just like everyone else. i had a professor in grad school who came of age in the ’60s and she hated the word queer, mostly cuz it took her and her contemporaries forever to gain acceptance for the word “lesbian,” which is another word that was previously shameful.

    i find it useful to just refer to myself in general. i never have any reason to call anyone else queer while speaking to them. it doesn’t even come up.

  26. gary
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 1:50 pm | Permalink

    what i found most offensive about this was mark claiming he grew up a gay teenager in ypsilanti.

  27. Posted October 29, 2011 at 11:19 am | Permalink

    If you’ll recall, a few days ago EOS was suggesting that we end all welfare programs, including food stamps, and depend on non-profits to take care of those who can’t provide for themselves (except for churches, who, in his opinion, shouldn’t have feeding the needy as a mission). Now, when we’re discussing a local non-profit that feeds the needy, he suggests that they’re just doing it as a way to attract young people to fuck. I guess the only solution left open to us is to let hungry teens who have been thrown out of their homes to starve to death. Surely that’s what Jesus would have wanted, right?

  28. dragon
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 12:39 pm | Permalink

    I believe EOS is deeply concerned about copyright infringement.

    The figures released to The Associated Press offer a glimpse into what has long been an extremely difficult phenomenon to pin down — the frequency of sex abuse in Protestant congregations.
    Religious groups and victims’ supporters have been keenly interested in the figure ever since the Roman Catholic sex abuse crisis hit five years ago. The church has revealed that there have been 13,000 credible accusations against Catholic clerics since 1950.
    Protestant numbers have been harder to come by and are sketchier because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic church; indeed, many congregations are independent, which makes reporting even more difficult.
    Some of the only numbers come from three insurance companies — Church Mutual Insurance Co., GuideOne Insurance Co. and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co.
    The largest company, Church Mutual, reported an average of about 100 sex abuse cases a year involving minors over the past decade. GuideOne, which has about half the clients of Church Mutual, said it has received an average of 160 reports of sex abuse against minors every year for the past two decades.
    Brotherhood Mutual said it has received an average of 73 reports of child sex abuse and other sexual misconduct every year for the past 15 years. However, Brotherhood does not specify which victims are younger than 18 so it is impossible to accurately add that to the total cases.

  29. EOS
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 1:19 pm | Permalink

    Mark, who claims to be a good Christian, has written that the church should support streetwalkers, reward pregnant teens with smaller class sizes and substitute garden chores for their academic instruction, and support abortion as a means of containing population growth so that we, as good stewards, can prolong the existence of the earth. He thinks those who believe in the Bible are narrow minded and intolerant and that anyone with the opposite point of view should be rude and intolerant towards them. He also denies that God created the earth and everything on it, as He described it in His book, and regularly ridicules those who do believe that God is going to do what He said He will do. Now, when minors run away from home because they choose not to obey their parents, he thinks the “christian” thing to do is to facilitate their hookups with adults.

    Maybe Jesus would have wanted these kids to remain celibate until marriage to a person of the opposite sex and to obey their parents. Maybe He would want these kids to hear the Gospel. Maybe He doesn’t want these kids to be indoctrinated with the idea that sexual orientation is fixed at birth and there is no hope of changing. Because people commit suicide when they lose all hope, but with Christ, all things are possible.

    Because homosexuals aren’t inevitably trapped in that lifestyle, and that sexual orientation is not an immutable characteristic like race. Research proving that change is possible has now been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
    Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse have published a longitudinal study of “religiously-mediated sexual orientation change” in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy,Volume 37, pages 404-427 for any doubters in the crowd.

    Have a little faith Mark. God would never command us to do something where He didn’t also give us the power and ability to obey.

  30. atf
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 1:37 pm | Permalink

    eos, way to conflate sex orientation with pedophilia. you should try diversifying your beliefs with facts.

  31. EOS
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 1:53 pm | Permalink

    A number of studies performed over a period spanning more than half a century — many of which were performed by homosexuals or their sympathizers– have shown that an extremely large percentage of sexually active homosexuals also participate in child sexual molestation. This is simple scientific fact.

    For example;

    Homosexual Alfred Kinsey, the preeminent sexual researcher in the history of sexual research, found in 1948 that 37 percent of all male homosexuals admitted to having sex with children under 17 years old.

    A recent (2000) study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that “The best epidemiological evidence indicates that only 2-4% of men attracted to adults prefer men. In contrast, around 25-40% of men attracted to children prefer boys. Thus, the rate of homosexual attraction is 620 times higher among pedophiles.”

    Another 2000 study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that”. . . all but 9 of the 48 homosexual men preferred the youngest two male age categories” for sexual activity;’ These age categories were fifteen and twenty years old.

    Yet another recent study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that “Pedophilia appears to have a greater than chance association with two other statistically infrequent phenomena. The first of these is homosexuality . . . Recent surveys estimate the prevalence of homosexuality, among men attracted to adults, in the neighborhood of 2%. In contrast, the prevalence of homosexuality among pedophiles may be as high as 30-40%.”

    A 1989 study in the Journal of Sex Research noted that ” . . . the proportion of sex offenders against male children among homosexual men is substantially larger than the proportion of sex offenders against female children among heterosexual men . . . the development of pedophilia is more closely linked with homosexuality than with heterosexuality.”

    A 1988 study of 229 convicted child molesters published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that 86% of pedophiles described themselves as homosexual or bisexual.

    In a 1984 Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy article, sex researchers found that “The proportional prevalence of [male] offenders against male children in this group of 457 offenders against children was 36 percent.”

    Homosexual activists Karla Jay and I Allen Young revealed in their 1979 Gay Report that 73% of all homosexuals I have acted as “chicken hawks” – that is, they have preyed on adolescent or younger boys.

    In a 1992 study published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, sex researchers K. Freud and R. I. Watson found that homosexual males are three times more likely than straight men to engage in pedophilia, and that the average pedophile victimizes between 20 and 150 boys before being arrested.

    A study by sex researchers Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg found that 25% of white homosexual men have had sex with boys sixteen years and younger.

  32. Suzie
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 2:43 pm | Permalink

    > facilitate their hookups with adults.

    This is incredibly offensive.

  33. EOS
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 2:46 pm | Permalink

    Yes, I’m glad you think so too.

  34. Suzie
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 3:11 pm | Permalink

    Let me clarify, EOS. Your words and your assumptions are incredibly offensive.

  35. Posted October 29, 2011 at 3:36 pm | Permalink

    Eos, you’re a bigot.

  36. someone
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 4:40 pm | Permalink

    There’s no point in having a conversation with the willfully ignorant and insincere. Let it go, folks.

  37. atf
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 4:43 pm | Permalink

    all these ‘facts’ are lifted from sources like creationstudies.org, catholicculture.org, and various hatey message boards. people like eos are well-groomed to propagate fear as antidote in place of the real support that places like ozone house provide.

  38. Maria
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 6:32 pm | Permalink

    EOS, this is just too much.
    While at risk youth are well at risk, for abusive adult relationships, among other problems, you paint with a broad and troubled brush.
    Ask yourself why you feel so strongly, what does it mean to you that at risk youth get exploited, is this not just someone’s else’s misfortune?
    As for human tastes, well some people have a wider palette than others…

  39. EOS
    Posted October 29, 2011 at 8:01 pm | Permalink

    Hey, who is being willfully ignorant here? I cited 10 scientific papers that substantiate my assertions. ATF, These are peer reviewed science journals.
    Maria, what two consenting adults do is one thing, but it is everyone’s responsibility in society to protect our youth. Why don’t you feel more strongly about these under age youths’ misfortune?

  40. wetdolphinmissile
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 5:53 am | Permalink

    EOS has gays and pedophiles mixed up…and while speaking about at risk youth, they have been most at risk by going to their churches, not by gay people.

  41. EOS
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 9:17 am | Permalink

    I know it’s not PC to admit it, and I know that many are emotionally resistant to admitting this truth, but the fact is that gays are disproportionately represented in the pedophile population. Only about 3% of the population are pedophiles and 90% of pedophiles are men and, depending on the study, between 25 – 86% are homosexual who themselves comprise only 2-4% of the total population. In 1979, a pair of homosexual activists themselves reported that 73% of gay men admit to having preyed on adolescent or younger boys.

  42. Oliva
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 1:28 pm | Permalink

    Please stop, EOS. It’s not just awful bigotry. It’s extremely hurtful to real-live human beings who happen to read this blog–some who might come just to read this worthwhile interview. Your lashing out says more than any statistics ever could; it says, “Beware: there’s a bigot in your midst trying to bum you out and squash your sense of freedom.”

  43. Brent
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 3:11 pm | Permalink

    Starting with this thread, I’m going to start making a $1 donation to Ozone House for every homophobic comment EOS makes on this blog.

  44. Posted October 30, 2011 at 5:24 pm | Permalink

    Thanks, Brent. That’s awesome. I made my first Ozone House contribution the other day, after EOS made his first comment. As for the validity of these papers he quotes, by hope is that someone will come along soon and debunks them. As memory serves, he’s tried this before, and was soundly discredited. Unfortunately, I can’t locate the thread in which that happened.

  45. dragon
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 6:13 pm | Permalink

    Eos’ entire list of scientific? reports was cut and pasted from creation studies.

    http://www.creationstudies.org/Education/homosexuality.html

    Gomer Pyle says it best:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6_1Pw1xm9U

  46. Maria
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 7:47 pm | Permalink

    I can freely admit that my general fund of knowledge about pedophiles is not au courant.
    Still you insult many fine upstanding gay people who yes, do exist out there. Really.
    If there are pedophiles at a place like this, it should be reported to the authorities. Period. If you know of an active pedophile you should call the police on this person.
    For kids who come out, it’s a difficult time, and they do need support, not hatred for their choice or exploitation for it either.

  47. EOS
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 8:35 pm | Permalink

    I’m not hating these kids. I haven’t said a single hateful thing. I’m the only one on this blog looking out for their best interests. I’m not homophobic. If I feared gays then I wouldn’t be initiating this conversation, would I? A bigot is someone who is so set in their opinion that they can’t be persuaded by evidence. I’ve presented evidence and no one on this site is willing to consider it. No one has presented any evidence to the contrary either.

    Dragon, creation studies merely listed scientific articles on their website – they didn’t do the studies themselves – they are peer reviewed scientific articles. I found a similar list of journal articles on another site. You do understand the difference, right?

  48. Posted October 30, 2011 at 8:39 pm | Permalink

    Most rapists are men. Masculinity is a treatable condition.

    Therefore, we should encourage sex change operations.

  49. EOS
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 8:47 pm | Permalink

    Does anyone think that 37% of heterosexual adults have had sex with children under the age of 17?

  50. EOS
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 8:57 pm | Permalink

    Does anyone think that a 15 year old can have consensual sex with an adult?

  51. The Guy Who Grumbles
    Posted October 30, 2011 at 9:30 pm | Permalink

    “Does anyone think that 37% of heterosexual adults have had sex with children under the age of 17?”

    Well… I’m a heterosexual adult, and I’ve had sex with 17-and-unders… when I was a 17-and-under myself. And I’m pretty sure the number of people who can say that is far above 37%.

  52. wetdolphinmissile
    Posted October 31, 2011 at 4:57 am | Permalink

    enough with the junk science eos, enough!

  53. EOS
    Posted October 31, 2011 at 5:08 am | Permalink

    http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27431

  54. EOS
    Posted October 31, 2011 at 6:42 am | Permalink

    O.K. You don’t believe information that is “tainted” by religious groups, and you don’t believe the scientific literature. How about the writings of homosexuals themselves? (See previous link)

  55. Troll-bait
    Posted October 31, 2011 at 6:50 am | Permalink

    @ EOS

    “I’m not homophobic.”

    Well, maybe not. But, for someone who claims to be straight, you sure seem to be fascinated (obsessed?) with this topic.

    Maybe instead of sitting in your dark basement frantically searching for “cock”-amamie studies that claim to prove your biases — you should actually get out and talk with, and get to know some real, live gay and lesbian people.

    You might be surprised what you could learn.

  56. K2
    Posted October 31, 2011 at 7:05 am | Permalink

    Next, EOS will tell us about how black men, due to the shapes of their craniums, are prone to violence, and constantly crave sex.

    And I love your comment on sex changes, Pete.

  57. Maria
    Posted October 31, 2011 at 7:40 am | Permalink

    EOS, I never said you hated, but there are plenty who do.
    No, 15 year old don’t do consensual sex by law, but they do have sex, and sometimes with people older than 18.
    Again, if you know a case of pedophilia,report it, but don’t just assume it’s happening, because gay teens are in the presence of adults, some of whom are gay.

  58. EOS
    Posted October 31, 2011 at 8:01 am | Permalink

    If single heterosexual adult males offered to let runaway teenage girls sleep on their couch in their private homes, many would be alarmed. It should be no different for gay men who do the same for teen boys. Whether or not someone is present to determine for sure that the two are having sex, it only makes good sense to keep under age teens away from these circumstances.

  59. EOS
    Posted October 31, 2011 at 8:05 am | Permalink

    Troll-bait,

    I know many homosexuals and it is through my conversations with them that I have become informed on this issue.

  60. Anonymous Mike
    Posted November 1, 2011 at 8:37 pm | Permalink

    I found the perfect woman for you, EOS.

    http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/11/01/358324/poteet-homophobic-slurs/

  61. moloch
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 6:00 am | Permalink

    Besides the obvious b.s. from this troll….he assumes the interviewee is male? Is that to stoke fear about “predatory” gay men? Clearly this is all based on fear and stereotypes.

    Here’s a decent article debunking these myths:
    http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html

    “… sexual abuse of male children by adult men is often referred to as “homosexual molestation.” The adjective “homosexual” (or “heterosexual” when a man abuses a female child) refers to the victim’s gender in relation to that of the perpetrator. Unfortunately, people sometimes mistakenly interpret it as referring to the perpetrator’s sexual orientation… The distinction between a victim’s gender and a perpetrator’s sexual orientation is important because many child molesters don’t really have an adult sexual orientation. They have never developed the capacity for mature sexual relationships with other adults, either men or women. Instead, their sexual attractions focus on children – boys, girls, or children of both sexes.”

    Therefore…they aren’t gay. Adult gays and lesbians have relationships with other adults. PERIOD.

    “Other researchers have taken different approaches, but have similarly failed to find a connection between homosexuality and child molestation. Dr. Carole Jenny and her colleagues reviewed 352 medical charts, representing all of the sexually abused children seen in the emergency room or child abuse clinic of a Denver children’s hospital during a one-year period (from July 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992). The molester was a gay or lesbian adult in fewer than 1% in which an adult molester could be identified – only 2 of the 269 cases (Jenny et al., 1994).”

    There you go. LGBT teens have a hard enough time making it to adulthood without having bigots attack those who are trying to help them. Let’s move on.

  62. EOS
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 6:57 am | Permalink

    So if you exclude, by definition, those persons who have sex with children of the same gender as not being classified as homosexual, then the statistics don’t prove that homosexuals are represented disproportionately as pedophiles??? Come on Molech- do you understand the concept of circular reasoning? What a lame rebuttal.

  63. EOS
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 7:17 am | Permalink

    Molech was the god of the Ammonites in the Old Testament to whom the pagans sacrificed their children by laying them on the arms of the idol and setting them afire.

  64. moloch
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 8:41 am | Permalink

    You have no business using the term “reason” to back up your hatred. I’m done feeding the trolls. But thanks for inadvertently encouraging people to donate to charity.

    The name is a reference to “Howl” (yep, a really gay poem written by a really gay man).

  65. Eel
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 8:46 am | Permalink

    As coincidence would have it, EOS is a morlock.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morlock

  66. Paw
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 8:59 am | Permalink

    Look out, EOS, Neil Patrick Harris and family are coming for you!

    Obama has given them their orders.

    http://s3.amazonaws.com/imgly_production/2386993/large.jpg

  67. EOS
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 9:09 am | Permalink

    Yes, the author of your really gay poem, Allen Ginsberg, who in your own words was a really gay man was also a member of NAMBLA and a strong advocate for adult/child sexual relations.

  68. kjc
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 9:26 am | Permalink

    don’t blame gay people for poets.

  69. Eel
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 9:57 am | Permalink

    EOS, what position are you in that you have access to NAMBLA’s membership records?

  70. EOS
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 10:15 am | Permalink

    I’m sitting in front of a computer that has a search engine.

  71. Posted November 2, 2011 at 10:21 am | Permalink

    We get it, Stan.

    You hate homosexuality.

    We get it.

  72. EOS
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 10:23 am | Permalink

    http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=39106

  73. kjc
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 11:07 am | Permalink

    looks like you’re in the minority on that thread, EOS. most are aware that homosexuality doesn’t equal pedophilia.

  74. Posted November 2, 2011 at 12:29 pm | Permalink

    kjc, don’t bother. It takes a pretty significant, life changing event to change the mind of a devoted bigot like EOS.

  75. Eel
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 12:37 pm | Permalink

    Do you often find yourself searching for NAMBLA materials, EOS?

  76. EOS
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 2:23 pm | Permalink

    Well no Eel. Molech mentioned “Howl” and I searched for the poem and the first hit is about Ginsberg and NAMBLA.

  77. Eel
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 2:31 pm | Permalink

    If I’m not mistaken, you mentioned NAMBLA before any mention of Ginsberg.

  78. Eel
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 2:36 pm | Permalink

    And I’m not sure what kind of search engine you use, but I just searched for “Howl” and didn’t find any mention of NAMBLA.

  79. chicagobob
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 8:10 pm | Permalink

    Amazing that EOS would spend so much time trying to “educate” others about how to discriminate and hate. Maybe the problem is that EOS needs to get a life away from the internet and find something productive to do with his life. EOS’ comments remind me that “he who hates best usually hates himself most.” It’s time to get a life EOS; you’re frittering your life away with your meaningless babble.

  80. Exterminator
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 8:11 pm | Permalink

    First mention of NAMBLA:

    EOS
    Posted October 28, 2011 at 8:53 am | Permalink
    Where ever would I get the idea that some gay men target teens?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAMBLA

    First mention of Ginsberg:
    EOS
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 9:09 am | Permalink
    Yes, the author of your really gay poem, Allen Ginsberg, who in your own words was a really gay man was also a member of NAMBLA and a strong advocate for adult/child sexual relations.

    The first link from a google search:

    Howl by Allen Ginsberg : The Poetry Foundation
    http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/179381
    I / I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, / dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for …

  81. EOS
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 9:13 pm | Permalink

    Try Bing – first hit is:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl

    Click on the first link and the NAMBLA association is a boldface title. Yes, you’ve nailed me Exterminator. I had to click twice.

    So much time? Took a couple minutes max.

    Hate? Not in the least.

    Educate? Exactly! Because most straights have no idea of the extent to which many adult homosexuals engage in activities with minors. Hollywood has a gay character in every TV show and none of the characters show this side of the “gay” lifestyle. Most straights know several homosexuals in “committed” relationships and they just assume that means monogamous. Most straights haven’t spent any time listening to the anguish of persons with unwanted same-sex attractions. Most straights haven’t read “After the Ball” and have little realization of how easily public opinion can be swayed.

    Yeah, and six months from now, Mark won’t be able to find the link, but will again remember how I was thoroughly discredited on this subject.

  82. dragon
    Posted November 2, 2011 at 11:56 pm | Permalink

    Yeah, and six months from now, Mark won’t be able to find the link, but will again remember how I was thoroughly discredited on this subject.

    Yeah, all your sickness
    I can suck it up
    Throw it all at me
    I can shrug it off
    There’s one thing baby
    That I don’t understand
    You keep on telling me
    I ain’t your kind of man

  83. lorie thom
    Posted November 3, 2011 at 7:00 am | Permalink

    EOS – you are fundamentally full of shit.

    Ozone House is very successful and we are blessed that they have a foothold in Ypsilanti. LOVE that they are here, love that our kids have that option for support and LOVE that you hate it – ’cause that makes me pretty sure its a wonderful thing.

  84. Posted November 3, 2011 at 7:34 am | Permalink

    Bigots like EOS happily spread the hate from home, but will not take step one to go and visit a place like Ozone House or to establish a dialogue with the groups of people they demonize and marginalize.

    Ever notice how this racist and bigoted individual hijacks every comment thread on this site? It’s unfortunate, because Mark’s post was, in fact, about a very positive local effort to improve the lives of kids.

    I am going to donate $100 to Ozone House simply because of EOS (Stan Eldridge?), so, maybe, it’s a good thing that some people spread the hate.

  85. kjc
    Posted November 3, 2011 at 9:38 am | Permalink

    search engines tailor results to previous activity. not everyone gets the same results, due to multiple factors, including previous searches. so if, for example, you’ve been reading about man-boy love, you’ll probably get NAMBLA as one of your first hits for Ginsberg.

    i must be one of the “several” homosexuals in a committed and monogamous relationship. i had no idea i was so special.

  86. Posted November 3, 2011 at 9:41 am | Permalink

    Who the fuck uses BING anyway?

    I did the search, too, and got this, but then, I’m not cruising NAMBLA sites all day long.:

    Howl – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Background · Overview and … · 1957 obscenity trial · 1969 broadcast …
    “Howl” is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg in 1955 and published as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems. The poem is considered to be …
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl

  87. EOS
    Posted November 3, 2011 at 10:03 am | Permalink

    My browser sent me to the Wikipedia link also. Notice how Allen Ginsburg name is in blue? Click on his name and the new page has NAMBLA as one of the boldface headings. I don’t cruise NAMBLA sites all day either, but it’s always interesting to consider that implying my association with anything gay is a negative to those who claim there’s nothing wrong with homosexuality.

  88. Posted November 3, 2011 at 10:56 am | Permalink

    EOS: are you accusing Ozone House of child abuse? That’s a serious charge. If you have any evidence, cite it. If you don’t, don’t smear them. Since you claim to be a Christian, can I remind you of Exodus 20:16?

  89. kjc
    Posted November 3, 2011 at 11:07 am | Permalink

    “I don’t cruise NAMBLA sites all day either, but it’s always interesting to consider that implying my association with anything gay is a negative to those who claim there’s nothing wrong with homosexuality.”

    don’t be stupid. the negative implication is that you’re obsessed.

  90. Gary Glitter
    Posted November 3, 2011 at 11:41 am | Permalink

    Don’t listen to them, EOS, mate. I search the web all day long for the kiddie stuff too. People just don’t understand our research. They never will. It’s like we’re scientists during the dark ages or something.

  91. Posted November 3, 2011 at 12:15 pm | Permalink

    I stopped going to Catholic church because all the priests were secret members of NAMBLA.

    Actually, I just stopped believing in god, because so many of his followers all bigoted assholes. Not all, but many.

  92. Posted November 3, 2011 at 12:20 pm | Permalink

    I shouldn’t be so insensitive to say “many.”

    A few are bigoted assholes and they ruin it for everybody else. At least they do for me.

  93. Posted November 3, 2011 at 12:33 pm | Permalink

    Alright, so hate shouldn’t be met with hate. I apologize.

    I have little tolerance for bigotry, though, and never will.

    EOS, you’re in denial. You’re a bigot, nothing more, nothing less. The strategies of much of the ridiculous crap you spread about homosexuality is right out of every Southern bigot’s playbook. People who, like you, deny what they truly are. No one likes to believe they’re a bigot in polite company.

    The ones that admit it are at least tolerable for their honesty.

  94. EOS
    Posted November 3, 2011 at 5:45 pm | Permalink

    Peter is just mad that no one ever reads or posts on his blog. He’s the only one who continually resorts to name-calling and expressing his lack of tolerance for others views.

  95. Posted November 3, 2011 at 9:12 pm | Permalink

    As much as I’ve enjoyed this thread, I’m going to pronounce it dead. Sorry, everyone, but it’s time to go home and spend some time with your loved ones.

  96. atf
    Posted November 4, 2011 at 2:14 pm | Permalink

    one more, because sexuality and paraphilia is a complicated topic to sort out.

    ‘girls are twice as likely as boys to be victims of pedophiliac behavior (murray, 2000). in one study, 44% of pedophiles chose only girls, 33% chose only boys, and 23% abused both boys and girls (murray, 2000). boys are less likely to reject sexual advances and to report their sexual advances to authorities than girls, and they will take the initiative in sexual encounters with adults more often than girls will (brongersma, 1990). this may be the reason that violence is less common in sexual contact between men and boys than between men and girls. ‘

    whoever stated before that attraction to children is in fact the orientation of those with pedophiliac behaviors, they are correct – it is not an orientation that extends to adult attraction most times.

    the real invisibility that is taking place in this tragic thread are that girls are much more often the victims of pedophilia by adult men. which has nothing to do with teenage same-sex attraction, or queer resource safe-houses like ozone- which shouldn’t be taking second place to outlandish diversions such as what eos is proud to share with us.

    eos is comfortable in a heterosexist world, and he’ll fight to the bitter end to uphold the status quo. if he doesn’t adapt his script to include a greater diversity of experience- he will lose in more ways than one.

  97. anonymous
    Posted November 8, 2011 at 9:09 am | Permalink

    I know that this thread has been killed, but I thought it worth noting that Jerry Sandusky is both straight and married.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Sandusky

  98. Mr. X
    Posted November 8, 2011 at 12:09 pm | Permalink

    I’m fascinated by what’s going on at Penn State. It’s absolutely amazing to me that administrators, knowing that the guy had been caught in the shower having intercourse with a child, not only chose not to contact the authorities, but looked the other way, for over a decade, as he continued to bring children on campus. This is one of the more disgusting things I’ve encountered in my lifetime. And the fact that this happened in a public university is simply staggering.

  99. Meta
    Posted November 16, 2011 at 9:52 am | Permalink

    This morning, I read an article and thought of you, EOS. You’ll find it here.

    http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/15/Girl_Takes_Life_After_Gender_Based_Taunting/

  100. John Galt
    Posted November 23, 2011 at 1:34 pm | Permalink

    I hope you will also be posting about the egregious anti-Christian bullying taking place in Ann Arbor.

    http://www.annarbor.com/news/crime/ann-arbor-man-vandalizes-10-cars-because-he-felt-life-is-unfair/

  101. Nancy Boy
    Posted December 7, 2011 at 11:57 pm | Permalink

    EOS, between your investigative trips to NAMBLA sites, you should check out this article. I think you’ll find it enlightening.

    http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-big-questions/201106/homophobic-men-most-aroused-gay-male-porn

  102. Eel
    Posted December 8, 2011 at 8:46 am | Permalink

    I would LOVE to hook EOS up to a bonerometer and show him gay porn. How can we make that happen? Would we need his consent, or can I go ahead and start up a Kickstarter campaign?

  103. Meta
    Posted January 12, 2013 at 9:38 pm | Permalink

    EOS, I just read an article and though of you.

    Here’s how it begins.

    A New Hampshire lawyer who works with a virulently anti-gay Christian-right organization has been found guilty of child pornography charges after videotaping her own daughter having sex with two men on multiple occasions.

    Lisa Biron, 43, of Manchester faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison after a jury convicted her yesterday. The jury deliberated for less than an hour.

    Biron, arrested by the FBI last November, was accused of eight felony counts involving the videotaping of men having sex with a 14-year-old girl who was identified by the Associated Press as her daughter. She also allegedly made a cellphone video of herself having sex with her daughter.

    Biron, who claimed on her Facebook page (which was taken down, according to the Concord Monitor) that the Bible was her favorite book, had worked with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, in defending a Pentecostal church in Concord in a tax fight against the city.

    The Arizona-based ADF calls itself a “servant ministry” that seeks to transform the legal system and advocate “for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.” The group issues dire warnings about “the homosexual agenda” and offers a book (available for a donation of $35) by its president, Alan Sears, and senior director Craig Osten, with that title. In the book, the authors claim that “the homosexual agenda” will destroy religious liberty and free speech. In one chapter, they claim that homosexuality on college campuses leads to pedophilia, and that homosexuality and pedophilia “are intrinsically linked,” a falsehood long perpetuated by the anti-gay right to demonize LGBT people.

    Read more:
    http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/anti-gay-zealot-guilty-child-pornography-after-videotaping-daughter

  104. Meta
    Posted January 14, 2013 at 6:43 am | Permalink

    EOS, as you haven’t responded, I thought that I’d try again.

    http://ct.fra.bz/ol/fz/sw/i58/2/11/18/frabz-Lisa-Biron-Christian-Laywer-for-the-antigay-Alliance-Defense-Fun-0da440.jpg

  105. Eel
    Posted February 5, 2013 at 4:07 pm | Permalink

    EOS, I stumbled across an image today that reminded me of you.

    http://i.imgur.com/GS7UZ3u.jpg

  106. Kevin T.
    Posted February 5, 2013 at 5:24 pm | Permalink

    Weird. I just saw an image on the internet and thought of EOS too.

    http://i.imgur.com/rK5A77k.jpg

  107. EOS
    Posted February 6, 2013 at 8:39 am | Permalink

    It’s so nice to be remembered. I think of you all every day too and keep you in my prayers. Has this post been resurrected from the dead?

  108. Andrew
    Posted November 10, 2014 at 4:21 am | Permalink

    “After you fatten these kids up on free soup, how do you use Satanism to turn them gay?”

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