GenQ - For the not so straight individual

Hey GenerationQ’ers,

Welcome to another ‘That time of the Month’. It’s actually getting more and more difficult to write this column, since the frequency has gone from weekly to monthly. In Melbourne alone so many things happen that I feel like I can’t keep up!

I suppose the first thing I should mention was the triple shooting that occurred in the Melbourne CBD on June 18th. GenerationQ.net was there for you with constant updates every couple of hours, unfortunately this story was a heartbreaking one.

In the aftermath of the event, the world learnt of one man who paid the ultimate price, interjecting the fight and losing his life to save the life of another. As people mourned, I recalled to my colleague, Whenever something bad happens and you find out people just walked by and let it go, we always say ‘why didn’t someone step in?’ When Brendan Keilar went above the call of duty and did step in, he lost his life.

I think out of every trying situation human spirit will ultimately find a way to find strength and unity, and time and time again we rise to the challenge.
Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any crazier, the latest terrorist attack in the UK has sent England into high alert (http://www.generationq.net/articles/Terrorism-at-Glasgow-airport-terminal-00001.html).

June began with the backlash towards popular Melbourne queer nightspot ‘The Peel’s success in banning heterosexuals and lesbians from its premises (http://www.generationq.net/articles/The-Peel-wins-ban-against-heterosexuals-and-lesbians-00001.html). I won’t rant on about too much about yet another example of poor media coverage, however I think generationQ.net was one of the few media sources who actually reported that the ban was indeed also against lesbians. Perhaps Peel owners wouldn’t have received such harsh reactions regarding ‘hetero-bashing’ if this was more widely known.

And just for the record now, The Peel *is* letting heterosexuals and lesbians inside the venue, but are willing to exercise their right to have a person(s) removed if they disrespect the venue &/or its homosexual patrons.

And what about news earlier in the month about the word ‘Dykon’ becoming an official word in Collins English the dictionary (http://www.generationq.net/articles/Dykon-to-become-official-word-00001.html)? Other words included ‘Barbeque Stopper’ and ‘hoodies’. I guess it is a sign of the changing times, however I think it’ll be a long time before we see the words ‘Beef Curtains’ and ‘Muff Diver’ on those pages.

Rounding off your monthlies for June, a wacky story and an uplifting one. Firstly, we know that queers can have some pretty strange sex practices, but this story blew me away, for all the wrong reasons: http://www.generationq.net/articles/Jail-for-killing-gay-lover-with-a-shoelace-00001.html

And to end on a high, one can only hope there will be more stories such as these found in the genQ news pages: http://www.generationq.net/articles/First-gay-adoption-in-Australia-00001.html

Thanks all for reading, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do and hopefully next month will be void of any violence or cruelty, and packed with the fun and naughty! Check out what you are in for this month on the site here: http://www.generationq.net/articles/July-2007-on-GenerationQ-00001.html

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