Things in Poland are getting nastier, if you can believe it. You may recall Lurch-like Education Minister Roman Giertych proposed banning gay teachers and, in fact, any gay discussion from the nation's schools - a move that's irked the European Parliament. Well, now, a representative from the "children's rights" ministry has suggested compiling an entire list of gay-verboten professions.

Writing in Poland's Dziennik, Ewa Sowińska insists, We must prepare a list of jobs, where homosexual people will be banned". This move, of course, would stop the sissie scourge, thus giving Poland a step up in the contest for worst human rights violator in history.

Meanwhile, another group of politicians are suggesting a ban on porn, even the straight kind. Under the proposed prohibition, persons found with skin rags will be sentenced to a minimum of one year in jail, where they'll have nothing to do but wank. Really clever.

The plight of Polish gays may seem futile, but there's at least one man determined to stop the evil twins - Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński and President Lech Kaczyński - and their repressive reign of terror: Szymon Niemiec.

The so-called first openly gay man in all of Poland, Niemiec fights tirelessly to bring his beloved nation into the 21st century. After coming out at in 2001, Niemiec established Poland Equality, through which he organized the country's first gay pride parade. Sadly, the conservative government pulled a plug on the party after three years.

Niemiec remains undeterred, however, and continues to fight injustice through his blog, where he just posted this letter to his government:

His English may not be the best, but he certainly gets the message across.

In addition to his daily commentary, Niemiec's also appearing in a documentary on the plight of Poland's pansies. We haven't had a chance to see the finished product - because, well, it's not done - but we do have this clip we can share with you. Watching Niemiec makes us realize that, despite America's problems, we have it pretty fucking good.

For more information on this project - which will air this summer - click here.

But, wait, there's more!

Niemiec has penned an English language autobiography - the bizarrely entitled Rainbow Humming Bird on the Butt - in which he retells his story, as well as blasts the lid off his movement's infighting. According to Lee Andrews - Niemiec's editor and one of the documentary's producers - a number of Niemiec's peers put their own individual rights above the movements. And Niemiec's not having it. We've included the publicist-endorsed synopsis below:

Szymon Niemiec's autobiography transcends his journey in life as an openly homosexual in his native Poland. In this book the author shares his ever hopeful quest for equality in the post communist satellite republic. The author and his countrymen are increasingly searching for their identities.

Throughout the written prowess one can sense the sheer determination of Szymon to express his hopes form himself, his nation and those minorities still oppressed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book starts out with the innocence’s of the author’s childhood experiences and tribulations. Candidly the author shares his mother’s difficult birth and the attending doctor’s prognosis and prediction of Szymon’s imminent death as an infant. Fortunately the doctor was not correct and with the attentive and loving care of two devoted parents and grandmothers he defeated the odds. Szymon’s childhood experiences are humorous, touching and sincere. Whatever the reader’s life dispositions might be Szymon’s dreams are all of our dreams – freedom.

During one of the author’s first visits outside of Poland to Egypt he discovers that ice cream is made in many other flavors besides the standard Vanilla and Chocolate which his country was limited to during the Communist regime – with his childhood innocence he assumes that he is in heaven discovering all the new and wonderful flavors. He writes through the innocent eyes of a child as when his parents disclosed their intent for divorce. Szymon, aged 10 informs his parents that he would petition the judge – vehemently making the court aware that he is not in agreement with his parents’ decision of divorce.

Growing up in Poland Szymon’s ambition as a youth was to become a Roman Catholic priest. He aborted that idea while in primary school. It was after witnessing Roman Catholic Nuns sorting through gifts donated to his school by Christian Missionaries from the USA and Europe. The author discloses that he watched discreetly the Nuns rummage through the packages selecting the best items placing them aside and keeping them for themselves. It is understandable that any child witnessing such a breech of trust and ethics would rebel against the institution. The Nuns actions did not however disawy Szymon’s strong faith in the Creator. He merely decided to change religious associations.

Although he lived in a Communist nation, he had somewhat of a privileged life but he was astutely aware of the persistent fact that many people surrounding him suffered many more difficult times than he or his family. The majority of Poles waited all day in long lines for bread which sometimes was stale or meat that was bad. This angered the author as he and his countrymen. Although Poles produced and manufactured more than enough for their nation, these items were shipped out by the communist throughout Russia and other Soviet republics. The populace was left to forage with whatever the Soviets decided was their lot.

A touching recollection in the book centers around Szymon as a child offering to his mothers his government issued tickets for candy so that she may exchange them for meat for the family. This was Polish life working hard and hoping for the basic creature comforts to be available at the local government distribution centers.

Szymon had other deeper issues of concern to him as a teenager. He discloses his innate attraction to men at age 17. The author explains what life as a closet homosexual was like in Poland - Poles were forced to remain underground and in the closets in fear of reprisal by the notorious “secret police.” In 1994 Szymon utilized the Internet chats to examine and explore his interests but still lacked the courage to engage in sexual activity with another person. Instead he continued to date and have relations with females. He felt attracted to both males and females but only displayed his secret homosexual passionate vicariously online for several years. A few years passed and he amassed enough curiosity to meet an Internet chat peers for his first sexual encounter with a male – after which he that he was homosexual. The rendezvous was not as horrible as he had predicted. Szymon immediately realized that no female embodied or evoked these type strong emotions within him that he felt after his first male-male encounter. It all made sense to him, this was exciting and he did not want anything other.

This self examination and exploration of his physical attractiveness to men brought difficult times for Szymon’s family but not for him. He had discovered the answer to his burning desires. His mother admitted that she sensed his deference and when he acknowledged his secret she sought the assistance of a physiologist and they helped her deal with the emeotional trauma. Szymon’s father never talked to him about sex until he was twenty-years old. Upon a later discovery of his son’s secret lifestyle he blamed Szymon’s mother for making him into a “faggot.”

Szymon like all Polish gays had no formal social place to gather – the gay establishments’ were hidden during the communist era in Poland and in fact for several years until the year 2000 – a decade after the fall of the Soviet Iron curtain. As Szymon notes in his book the “secretive mentality “was still in effect because of the Polish Communist Secret Police‘s 1985 mass detention of nearly 5 000 alleged gays and their establishing the “Pink files.” This action was still quite vivid in everyone’s memory. Poland’s secret police coerced those arrested by threatening to release the files to the public with allegations of deviant homosexual behavior. Fearing for their lives the majority obliged the police request to act as informants within Polish society against others. Szymon was only 11 years old during this episode but everyone knew about the arrests. As a young man he knew the dangers of his passion but fear did not stop him.

The fall of Poland’s Communist rule in 1989 gave hope to Szymon and the homosexual community. It was their hopes and expectations that individual liberties would be extended to all Polish patriots. Perhaps this was naïve to assume but they did. The democratic freedoms which united Poles marched and struggled for against Soviet rule was also rightfully theirs – but never extended.

Working a print news journalist for one of Poland’s leading Newspapers in 1998 during a TV interview Szymon announced to his countrymen, who until then had no public face for a homosexual that he was gay. Immediately his life changed including the termination of his work contract. Szymon’s face and name were everywhere in the Polish News as an “Official homosexual.” He became the nations “Gay poster boy” instantly. With this declaration he also lost his privacy. Neo-Nazi organizations posted his private telephone number on and his physical home address on the Internet. This exposure led to many death threats, Szymon was beaten by his countrymen several times and his homes windows have marks of Molotov cocktails. Szymon’s windows were replaced countless times because of destruction by vandals. He was given the title of “Poland’s First Faggot” by his adversaries.

None of the negative issues really mattered to Szymon whose mission was to help his fellow gays in the enormous quest for equality and dignity in an overtly oppressive society. He writes about the many teenagers whom he counseled during their attempts to discover expressions for how they too felt. Gays from throughout Poland called him from far away villages for counsel.

Szymon become more active in civic affairs and founded Poland’s first Gay pride in 2001 which ran until 2004. when the then Mayor of Warsaw banned it and also 2005.

During late 2005 Szymon’s body gave way to the tremendous stress - he was hospitalized for over 1 month. Many people thought he would die and many rumors circulated. During his medical crisis he it was his decisions to give-up the gay pride organization to one of his board’s officers and at the time close personal friends. Assurances were given to Szymon of many things which did not come to pass.

One can read and then imagine the author’s frustration and uncertainty about his life and health and also self-doubting if he and his organization could make a difference against an oppressive government and unorganized gay community lacking dedicated leaders.

After regaining his health in 2006 Szymon again became active in the gay community he also became an ordain minister accomplishing another childhood dream.

Szymon marched on fearlessly at one point in his vocal opposition spoke to a German News journalist addressing the governments planned 2006 ban of the 2006 Gay Pride Parade. Szymon statements that “Gays” were the new “Jews” of Poland provoked the prime minister to threaten Szymon publicly with incarcerated for making the statement about his government. In his remarks Szymon was referring to the 1968 mass exodus of Jews from Poland whereas the government gave each Polish Jewish national a one-way exit passport with no rights of return.

Szymon’s as well as all Polish gays minorities bete noir is the former Mayor of Warsaw now the country’s president. Before the elections the presidents political party used antiterrorist’s fears against the gay community; attaching a “discovered” fake bomb incident in Warsaw to gay activists. In the same year the presidents “Law & Justice” political party government closed the most popular gay friendly clubs in Warsaw. The Polish media called this the case of “La Madame’s War”.

Although Polish gay parade organizers were threatened once again by the government of being banned in 2006 and Szymon was sidelined from work inside the organization which he founded after betrayal by his friend – He too worked effortlessly individually soliciting International activist, artist and persons to demand reinstatement of the Gay Pride Parade. The combined efforts drew worldwide attention and forced the government to retreat from its position. Many gay communities answered their colleague’s calls and a successful 2006 parade with record numbers of International participants was launched.

Throughout Szymon’s emotional traverse in his autobiography the reader can vividly image the daily life and struggles not only of a young homosexual man moreover a people. It is a battle between the old verses the new, tradition verses superstition, fear of the unknown are ever present which the author knows must be defeated. He also shares the knowledge that the struggle equality goes beyond sexual orientations or any social identities. Szymon eloquently states that until all Poles are free to live in their democratic republic, none truly are free.

To date the “Pink files” still exist as does a secret police.

Szymon’s book teaches us to never surrender our dreams and as he embarks upon a new mission donating the proceeds to aide in Poland’s first Homosexual Outreach Center – this writer is certain that he will defy the odds and accomplish this dream as well.