Looking for feedback on comments by a local politician....

[Harper_is_Bush]

Hi

I'm looking for some help identifying to someone if his comments are "hateful" or not.

In my home town we have a guy named Chris Buors who is a politician and a prolithic writer of letters to the editor...mostly on the issue of drug legalization which he is very active in.

Because he has a political history of running for provincial and federal elections he's considered a person of interest and has been profiled on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Buors

Part of his profile repeats some of the comments he made on a "Cannibus Culture" forum, and states that for those comments he's been accused of being a homophobe. He resents this accusation and has railed against it strongly.


I engaged Chris at another forum (newwinnipeg.com where Chris is known as "tigerman" - and told him that I believed his words about homosexuals were hateful. The most glaring reason for this; I told him, was because he continued to use the terms "deviant", "immoral", and "abnormal" to describe homosexuals even after he had been advised by other posters that they were hurtful terms.

He got quite upset with me over what he felt was a criminal accusation and challanged me to post his comments and if there was an "inkling of hatred or agression" towards homosexuals he would leave the forum. The thread was pulled before anyone could weigh in due to chris complaining, yet he maintains I lost his challange.

So, I decided to post Chris' comments elsewhere and allow others to judge.
It's quite a lot, and I apologize in advance for posting what I suspect most will find offensive. It's a pile of garbage, so if wading through garbage isn't your thing then I advice you hit the back button now.


July, 2005

Homosexuals are diviants I don't see any refutation of that.

I edon't care what they do to each other. I don't want them such diviants in my social circle....if that makes me a bigot, hand me a medal. I'll proudly wear it.

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:LFKNFncX3rwJ:www.cannabisculture.com/forums/showflat.php%3FCat%3D%26Number%3D1095371%26page%3D0%26view%3Dcollapsed%26sb%3D5%26o%3D%26fpart%3D12%26vc%3D1+%22Chris+Buors%22+%22The+movies+with+my+cousin%22&hl=en


Between July and October Chris' entry was updated at Wikipedia to reflect these controversial comments about homosexuals. The comments that follow are all from a single thread:


October, 2005

What is Wikipiedia?
A pro-homosexual propaganda "encyclopiedia?"

There is normal which is hetrosexual, 99% of the population, then there are sexual diviants. 1% made up of various others.

Prefering sex with women to sex with men or both or a dozen all chosen behaviors.....even the bodily fluids people.
Biology has nothing to do with any of that kind of behavior.
Hetrosexual is the norm.

Nothing I have said implies that I think homosexuals are "different" than any other human being. They bleed red.
That's why I object to words like different instead of diviant.

The science is junk behind the homosexual's in nature stuff. How many animal participate in S and M?

I don't want to hang out with sexual perverts of any sort. The S and M people, the scatologists and others I judge as engaging in immoral acts.
Turns out I don't like other people thrusting their morality on me, so I do not advocate thrusting my morals on others.

men kissing men is immoral.

I think anal sex between men is immoral.

They make moral choices that I disagree with."

Chris is a huge fan of Thomas Szasz and attributes most of his philosophical and societal beliefs to the man.

Intersting was Szasz's anaylsis of what happened in Nazi Germany.
Hitler of course rounded up all the homosexuals and exterminated them along with all the other so-called undesirables. Today, the percentage of homosexuals in Germany is similar to pre-Hitler times and in line with the rest of Europe. If the "in the genes" theory held water, one would expect a lot fewer homosexuals in the German population. Homosexual, as well as all other sexual behaviors are chosen by people who are exercizing their own moral judgements.

How about the trait to have sex with animals? Is that passed on through the genes?
My argument was that homosexuality has nothing to do with genes at all.

Deciding that scat, s and m and homosexuality is immoral does not mean that I have an abnormal fear of those sexual situations, It means I find them vulgar and don't want to participate and no...none of that is "normal."

http://www.cannabisculture.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1172121&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1

If you'd like to explain to Chris what you think of his comments you can find him posting as "tigerman" at newwinnipeg.com
He also has an email address that can be found on his webpage which is listed at his wikipedia entry.

He defends the word "deviant" by claiming to intend only the scientific translation (ie. deviate from majority). He is not writing scientific articles, however, and he continued to use the word even after being told that deviant has a connotative meaning (ie. synonymous to low-life, scumbag).
For that I feel he is practicing hate.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. He's practicing ignorance

Come on, even this little old straight lady who has lived a sheltered life knows that S&M isn't an activity practiced solely by homosexuals-from what I've seen on TV and read on the internet, it is a practice that many heterosexuals indulge in. Gay and lesbian couples I know don't.

Scientific studies (some of which have been televised on channels like Discovery) show that the brains of gays are structured differently than straight men, and look more like female brains. I don't know about any genetic studies on homosexuality, but hasn't this bozo ever heard about changes in cells, etc, that happen?

He says he won't push his morals on others, but his language speaks otherwise. I found it interesting that he felt anal sex between males was immoral - why not between heterosexual couples as well? The act is the same, the only difference is the actors.

No, he's a sorry person who appears to be ignorant and proud of it.

[fiveleafclover]

2. Yeah, from this alone

he seems kind of David Duke-ish. And his typing skills make me think of AOL.

[Harper_is_Bush]

3. Yes, but I don't think he was making the point...

that S+M is practiced solely by homosexuals. He brought up S+M is an example of a behavioural choice that he also finds immoral and abnormal.

Good question about the anal sex.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. You may be correct

but the way he phrased it made me think that he felt S&M was something commonly practiced by nearly all homosexuals.

[noamnety]

5. About the word "deviant"

If he's using it to mean any deviation from the majority, and doesn't admit to it having a negative connoctation, then I'd ask him if he's comfortable using the word deviant to describe other minorities. Deaf people? Are they deviants? Disabled vets? Does he believe families who adopt children are best described as deviants? What about using it to describe minority races?

Get him on the record defining which groups of people are deviant.

[Harper_is_Bush]

6. Excellent point. n/t

[kaneko]

7. prolithic??? lithic indicates the use of stone

does he mean prolific? producing abundant work- in the case of the politician quoted so much nonsense that the use of stone may not be inappropriate.

[Harper_is_Bush]

8. Yes, abundant is what it's supposed to mean. My bad.

What do you think of his comments (rather than my spelling) though? :)

[Brian_Expat]

9. Why give him attention?

It only encourages him.

[Harper_is_Bush]

10. Yes I know, but...

this guy wants a career in politics in my community. If his previous comments get no attention that would be complicit acceptance of his comments.

If he was just some goof on a forum I wouldn't give him attention.

[Brian_Expat]

13. If he runs for office. . .

. . . just be creative in how you confront him. For instance, hand him a "bigot" button and ask him to wear it proudly.

When he asks why, present him with his quote you've called up, in a public forum.

[closeupready]

11. Seems homophobic to me

And if you read his comments, they make no sense, especially side by side.

All we can really say for sure as to "deviancy" is that in Anglo culture, homosexuality is a statistical deviation from the statistical (uptight, white bread) norm. :D

[BR_Parkway]

12. Szasz's comments and logic were really interesting - if gayness

were genetic, then Hitler wiping out the gays would have stopped the spread of gayness. Since we're out there with all those heteros sharing passing on the genetic material when we're not engaged in that good 'ole, if deviant, S&M.

The guy has some issues, it's called bigotry. I wouldn't want people like him in my social circle, I think his choices are immoral.

Since I'm "choosing" to practice gay sexual behavior, ask him when he decided that he prefered the str8 sex over the gay stuff - is he saying he was born bisexual and "chose" to be str8?

[AndyS40]

16. The problem is most people have a very poor understanding of genetics.

IF "gayness" were 100% genetic, and Hitler actually did wipe out the PROGENITORS of gays worldwide, then maybe that would work.

The problem is, again, that most people have a primitive understanding of genetics.

Gay men and women are born from people who are usually heterosexual. Therefore if it is a gene, it is a recessive gene. Wiping out gay people wouldn't eradicate it.

[NMMNG]

14. Let's see

Most of his statements show basic ignorance, and don't make any real sense at all. It surprises me that he is running for office, but then again considering the imbecile we have as President I really shouldn't be surprised.



The comparison of homosexuality and beastiality could easily be construed as hateful. It is designed to provoke a reaction of fear and disgust in the minds of those who read/hear it.

His constant use of the word "deviant" could also be considered as hateful. While the word in and of itself is not negative, it has taken on a negative connotation, particularly when used in regards to people and behavior.



Overall I think this guy is a staunch right-winger trying to win his platform on the "down with gays" platform. He needs to be fought hard, and painting him as the ill-informed hater that he is will be a good tactic.

[AndyS40]

15. Ask him whether

he can substitute the terms "diverse" and "variant" as opposed to "deviant".

If he can't, ask him why.

If he is wedded to the negative connotation of "deviant" he is a bigot.

Gay people are variants from the predominate heterosexual population. No one disputes that. No one who is a non-bigot really cares.

[Harper_is_Bush]

17. Good...I will, thx.

I know after the recent controversy he is seeing himself now as a victim of PC and considering this a fight for free speech.

Basically he's a wack job. He has said to me "The people yearn for a free speech champion."