As the world began to process the terribly sad news that 49 people, mostly gay and many persons of color, were killed as they socialized and danced in Orlando, a fraction of a minority of humanity’s darkest corners thought the opportunity was right to celebrate.
Around the campus of Oxford University in the U.K., some of these unfortunate souls chose to exercise their right to express themselves; preachers set up shop on Cornmarket Street in Oxford’s main pedestrian area to cry out to anyone who would listen that the victims of the Orlando attack deserved their fates because of who they were.
But if there’s one positive takeaway from the days following this devastating loss, it’s that love trumps hate, always.
It didn’t take long for word to spread around the college town, and counter-protesters showed up in droves to drown out the hate with hope. What was the scene of vitriol and fear became one of music and love.
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Jack Remmington (above left, posing in front of his new best friend), a participant in the impromptu demonstration, tells Queerty, “There were four of five of them — a couple of Americans, a Scot and a Brit I think. They had microphones and placards. We became aware as word spread and people posted photos. There were then opposition demonstrations from queers with accordions and trumpets to drown them out.”
That was enough to get the preachers to leave their first position.
“They moved location due to the small protest so a group and I walked over to where we thought they would be and I suggested we all sit on the steps where they were speaking,” Remmington explains. “We then began singing some songs like ‘Don’t Stop Believing,’ ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ and ‘Wonderwall.’ I also shared a photo of us dancing with the location so others could come and join. I would say eventually over one hundred people were involved, and it steadily grew as word spread around Oxford.”
Too often the fervent and fearful, whose numbers pale in comparison to everyone else trying to live their peaceful lives in pursuit of connection, suck up all the oxygen in the room by virtue of their seemingly bottomless well of passion. It’s nice to see the equation flip.
“I just wish I’d known earlier in the day and I’d have worn short shorts…” Remmington adds as an afterthought. You and us both, Jack.
He BGB
Don’t Christians know that is the quickest way to get to hell by judging and condemning others? Do they not see the irony in being a hypocrite? Do they not think straight people who have sins are needing to be condemned too? Do straight people not practice sodomy? The last I heard backdoor is pretty popular with straight couples.
MaxH
Why are American Christians coming here, we have enough of them already. There is now a Mormon church at the end of my street, MORMON!!! I must say they are much nice than Jehovah’s witnesses but just as laughable.
Brian
Why don’t these students go and protest in front of a mosque or Greek Orthodox church where anti-homosexual sermons are preached on an almost daily basis? Don’t these young things have the courage of their convictions?
crowebobby
Because those Muslims and Greek Orthodox believers are preaching in their own space, where they have every right to be. These a-holes are on the street invading everyone else’s space.
Billy Budd
They are absolutely right. There is documented homosexual behavior in more than 450 species of animals and only one of them is homophobic. I recommend you to read the book: BIOLOGICAL EXUBERANCE by Bruce Bagemihl.
JessPH
@Brian: Students don’t go to universities to hear hate speech from those lowlifes. They did the right thing by driving them away.
Billysees
Everyone everywhere should strive to seek out and adopt better ways of treating LGBTs.
Here’s a few good ideas from the positive side of scripture —
1. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another….Romans 14:13
2. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God…..Romans 15:7
3. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing or tolerating with one another in love…..Ephesians 4:2
4. …live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble…….1 Peter 3:8
5. Be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone….Titus 3:2
6. Stay out of the seat of the scornful and the judgemental.
7. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men…..Matthew 5:13
Hateful, mean-spirited and scornful public rhetoric, even cynically quoted scripture by angry, immature, conservative, fundamentalist Christians, namely towards LGBTs, is constantly being ‘thrown out’ and ‘trampled on’ by all sorts of mature minded folks who simply know better and because they’re better acquainted with common-sense and love-sense.
The moral of this story could be —
Christianity without good quality works and deeds and with all kinds of loving attitudes included won’t amount to a hill of beans…….James 2:26
Billysees
#6 above should have been written —
Don’t use scripture verse to be judgmental or to sit in the seat of the scornful.
MarioSmario
@MaxH: I think your biggest trouble is with Islam, comrade. Your anti-Americanism trumps even “love”. Gay rights, my azz. You think gays are a poison and that’ why you support it. Typical suicidal brits.
MarioSmario
@crowebobby: Please don’t mention they are Muslim; the anti-American gay left wants to believe they are Mormon. Helps with their cognitive dissonance.