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Gay Thought Police

Looks like NZ's Gay Thought Police have leapt onto the condemnation bandwagon of a writer who dared to question the circumstances around Boyszone's Stephen Gately's death.
"It's like gazing through a horrid little window into an awesome universe of pure blockheaded spite. Spiralling galaxies of ignorance roll majestically against a backdrop of what looks like dark prejudice, dotted hither and thither with winking stars of snide innuendo."
Not a direct quote from Gay NZ, but by including it in their article, a point of view that could easily be ascribed to them. Of course, if they don't feel that way, I'll happily retract.

But honestly, two men in a civil union taking a 3rd male home, to then have one of the men dead on the couch - um, surely questions should be asked. Questions were asked about Michael Jackson's death. I doubt there are many calling for the head of journos who asked anything unpalatable of his death. But in the case of a gay icon - woah - do not dare to say anything or the thought police will come after you! Groups will be set up calling for your resignation, advertisers will pull their ads, and the screaming banshees will rake you with their words.

Related Link: Gately's death inspires "hateful, homophobic" article ~ GayNZ

Comments

  1. I read the article in question and watched reaction to it from the UK over the weekend. I am as conservative as they come but was sickened by the piece, just as I was by some of the stuff about MJ when he died.

    There is a time and place for these questions but just after his death was not the time.

    Personally I question the motives of both the journalist and the paper for its timing. Was it a case of any publicity is good publicity???

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  2. Charmaine,

    Of course there is the appropriateness of the timing. Many people are completely clueless when it comes to respecting those that have just died and their loved ones.

    But, reading the reaction to this doesn't seem to be directed to the time and place for such comments, but more at the journalist for daring to utter such an opinion in print and at the paper for daring to publish it.

    Just wait until an article such as that one will be made illegal in the not too distant future.

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  4. Why should questions be asked again?

    Because he's gay?

    I wonder why you want to know so much about it. The autopsy stated he died of natural causes. Isn't that enough for you?

    Lots of people die of natural causes. Sexuality isn't actually a factor when it comes to natural causes (do you wish it was by chance?).

    So I do wonder why you want to know so much about the sex lives (if indeed the guy coming over was even there for sex - there's no proof he was) of Mr Gately and his husband.

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  5. Boganette, I think all celebrities face hard questions when they die, because people just want to know.

    And there are always wild, crazy stories that if the first account was taken as true, we wouldn't have these stories to reflect on.

    Not that this story has any similarity to the second, I personally accept the findings of "natural causes" but I'm not surprised reporters want to write stories suggesting possible conspiracies abound, and celebrities are unfortunately fair game.

    The fact that this writer (and their newspaper) published this story right before the funeral is extremely poor taste, and the timing of the article is to be condemned.

    The questions raised are not that offensive in themselves, given that Cowles had been caught on camera assaulting Gately previously - fodder for the conspiracy theory as much as a previous public incident of wife beating would have made the story for a non-gay couple.

    Such a puff piece might have died a natural death (no pun intended) if it had at least hit the pause button for a few weeks.

    Aside from that, it looks like Dochev was there for more than a cup of tea:

    Mystery surrounds his final hours after it emerged his civil partner slept in the bedroom with Bulgarian Georgi Dochev – who the couple had met earlier in a gay nightclub in Palma, the island’s capital.

    Yesterday Mr Dochev, 25, was in negotiations to sell his story to a Spanish TV channel for upwards of 70,000 euros.


    Dochev eventually sold his story to the UK Sunday Mirror or some similar publication, which I would suggest is far more sleazy than the original article, particularly because his story didn't correspond that well with the official version.

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