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Apparently, Emperor Palpatine was a practicing Catholic

For some reason, the Globe suddenly cares what blowhard C.J. Doyle thinks about the St. Patrick's Day parade and Marty Walsh's decision to continue the city's mayoral boycott until it allows gay veterans to march. And what he has to say is:

Saint Patrick was a Catholic archbishop and is a Catholic saint. How do you honor a Catholic saint by providing a platform to those who express pride in rejecting Catholic morality? And who castigate that morality as bigotry, hatred and homophobia?

Indeed. And what better way to commemorate the venerable saint than the imperial storm troopers who march in the parade every year? What could be more Irish and more Catholic than that?

Strangely, the Globe didn't think to ask Doyle for his thoughts on Councilor Linehan marching this year in a parade (with actual Irishmen in an actual Irish country) that has let gays march since 2003. But maybe that's because the Globe didn't actually talk to Doyle - they just quoted a press release he thoughtfully issued just in time to get his name in the press again.

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A religion rife with pedophiles in it's clergy and they have the nerve to talk about morality?

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In the case of the priest scandal, boys were the victims of sexual misconduct much more often than girls, by a factor of about four to one, says Margaret Leland Smith of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. --- Newsweek

@dvdoff: Are you suggesting gays should be allowed to march under the gay pride banner because the Catholic Church was nearly brought down by predatory gays who infiltrated the priesthood, broke their vows and attacked boys? Huh? What's next, an Islamic Jihad team of runners demanding entry for this year's marathon or the Westboro Baptist Church demanding a float in the Gay Pride parade?

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They've had sleeper cells infiltrate the Catholic Church in a master scheme to bring it crashing down. Right.

You can't actually be that dumb to believe that, I gotta chalk this up to just blind bigotry. You know dvdoff was pointing out the hypocrisy of calling the gay community "immoral" despite the Church and Archdiocese of Boston's decades long culture of enabling, defending and hiding pedophiles within their ranks.

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No bigotry. The numbers come from John Jay College of Criminal Justice via Newsweek.

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You didn't note the part where the pedophile priests were vastly more likely to have access to boys than to girls.

Peophiles. Not gays. Pedophiles like children, and access is valued more highly than child gender. Pedophiles like children, not adults.

Homosexual males are interested in adult males. Not children, adults.

You need to learn some facts for yourself.

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and looks to be a steaming pile of horseshit. The comments after Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's debunking of the CUNY research cited in the Newsweek article are a useful read, too.

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Nadia Comăneci just stood up and applauded the mental gymnastics in that post. The Russian judge gave it a 9.4 commenting that it might have been a 10 if it had also thought to include Obama.

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keep throwing your loose change in that collection plate. How proud you must be knowing that you hard earned dollars are going to support those same priests and their lawyers.

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Hi everybody! I just thought I'd take a moment to remind you that, if you enjoy reading articles here but don't enjoy listening to grandpa use the n-word (or, in this case, bigoted asshole cops spewing hatred toward everyone who isn't white and Christian), you can install Grease Monkey and then use the Universal Hub Killfile that I'm maintaining so that you can read conversations free of interruptions by the site's known curmudgeons.

Enjoy!

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The latest episode of PBS FRONTLINE may be of interest.

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The Catholic Al Sharpton.

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when he says:

“Mayor Walsh’s efforts, if successful, would destroy the traditional character of the parade, empty it of its original meaning, and reduce it to a secular community festival, devoid of any religious significance.”

I've read the Old Testament. Like the Southie parade, it too is full of people getting in drunken fistfights, throwing bottles, and vomiting and urinating in the streets. Southie on Evacuation Day: it's like Gomorrah, only with more green hats.

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All of the marching bands in the bible!

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Isn't this parade supposed to be celebrating Evacuation Day? That's a civic and secular event, like Memorial Day, Patriots' Day, Bunker Hill Day, or the Fourth of July. Its roots are in the history of the United States, not in any religion.

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not what you or the government think it's "supposed to." That's the gist of the Supreme Court case.

Like what the parade organizers say, or hate it, they won a great victory for free speech.

If I were running the parade, I'd let a discreet gay contingent march, but I understand how the parade organizers are still pissed off about the Southie baiting and court cases from years ago.

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But taxpayers shouldnt be forced to pay for all the police details and taxpayer funded equipment shouldnt be used (like fire engines or military equipment) for this private event.

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No, the parade organizers won a victory for gerrymandering. Prior to 1993, the parade was public - they used the City of Boston seal on their letterhead, got money & admin support from the city,etc. Not a private organization - which is why in 1992 GLIB was able to march without a federal case being brought. By 1993, though, the Allied War Veterans Council had cut all ties with the city in order that they could deny GLIB - then Mayor Flynn asked the veterans to do the right thing, and many did vote to allow the group. But not enough of them - and then they took a vote to record the previous vote as unanimous in the record (which itself was not unanimous)...and thus was born the revisionist history the Council has been spouting ever since. (And it's also why soon after you saw younger veterans leave the group and ultimately started other groups - because the split had been predominantly generational.) Both the city and the state knew exactly what was going on, which is why GLIB was able to get a court order to march again in 1993.

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The 1993 court order is exactly what the U.S. Supreme Court overruled, 9 - 0.

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No, I'm providing the history that led to the court order being brought in the first place. The Allied War Veterans Council privatized what had previously been an event partially funded and administratively supported by a public entity (the City of Boston), just so it could exclude one group.

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. . .to supplement the larger fundraising of the veterans. So what? There is no obligation for a private group to take government money and have the government tell you what kind of parade you can have.

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Again, not speaking of outcome of the Supreme Court case. Only providing historical context for this group's actions. The AWVC was created for the parade, which took it over on behalf of the city, let's not pretend it was ever otherwise, before sometime between 1992 and 1993 when Wacko and his crew gerrymandered the group's setup in order to exclude gays. They got what they wanted and apparently what they still want, so they're going to have to suck up the bad publicity for ever - or until the old order dies. What they did should be remembered as a black mark on the group and the parade, because it was and it is.

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the truth is that the GLIB forced a confrontation when the Veterans were negotiating. GLIB was backed by a bunch of white-shoe lawyers, so they were arrogant.

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Total bullshit. You made this story up and you know it, hoping that the gullible would fall fort it. They might, but those who know better don't. Nice try though.

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Nope. I was there. And the voting to making it unanimous was documented at the time, one of the local TV stations even interviewed vets about it.

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No. more bullshit. The was no such meeting or vote and you're lying through your teeth. If you want to post, tell the truth. Credibility is not a good thing to lose and as of now, you have none. By the way, I attend every parade meeting every year and have done so for the last 18 years. So I know your throwing bullshit.

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1992 + 18 = 2010.

Or,

2013 - 18 = 1995.

Which means your 18 years of experience are worthless to this topic: what happened in 1992 and/or 1993.

Your appeal to authority is not only a logical fallacy, but it's not even grounded in reality.

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That part happens up at Dorchester Heights Monument with the National Park Service and others. Its open and free to people if they want to attend. Rumor has it that a new cannon will be installed up there.

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Just like Henry Knox, this pear shaped son of Boston would not mind aiming a cannon placed on Thomas Park at few people causing tyranny in (South) Boston.

Luckily we are playing for time with the South Boston Information Center crowd. They will be gone soon enough.

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Dear anon --

Have you seen a calendar of events for this year? All I've found online by Googling are scedules for last year (and earlier).

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I have an inside track :)

Evacuation Day Heritage Celebration, Monday, March 17, 2014

BOSTON, MA: State Representative Nick Collins, State Representative Gloria Fox, The Shirley-Eustis House, The National Park Service, The South Boston Citizens Association, and the Allied War Veterans Council and the Evacuation Day Heritage Committee cordially invite you to the celebration of Evacuation Day, Monday, March 17, 2014.

The ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. with the annual Evacuation Day Mass at St. Augustine’s Chapel, the oldest Catholic Church in the Boston Archdiocese. At the conclusion of the Mass, we will proceed to Dorchester Heights, where General Washington placed artillery in 1776 to force the British out of Boston.

The annual Historical Exercises at Dorchester Heights will begin at 10 a.m., featuring the Lexington Minutemen, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council,the children’s choir from the South Boston Catholic Academy, and the Major General Henry Knox Lodge of Freemasons. The South Boston Citizens Association will present certificates to winners of their Essay/Poster Contest, The commemorative exercises with the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council will include remarks by elected officials and award-winning author, Nathaniel Philbrick as well as Boston National Historical Park Deputy Superintendent Rose Fennell. The Allied War Veterans will lay a wreath to honor the men and women of South Boston in the armed forces, and the Minutemen will fire a salute.

The National Park Service rangers and volunteers at Dorchester Heights will be available to provide information about General George Washington's arrival in Massachusetts in July 1775; the transportation of cannons by Henry Knox from Fort Ticonderoga, New York, to Massachusetts; and the construction of the Dorchester Heights fortifications. After the exercises take place at Dorchester Heights, the Boston National Historical Park rangers will conduct a hands-on archaeology program from 11 a.m. to 12 noon, where visitors can dig through two boxes of material to simulate the work that was done on the site in the 1990's when a 200-foot-wide star-shaped earthwork was uncovered. There also will be ranger talks about the historical significance of the site and information about the replica British 18-pounder (shot weight) cannon of the Armstrong-Frederick pattern of 1760 which eventually will be displayed at Dorchester Heights.

State Representative Gloria Fox will host the Historical Exercises at Fort Hill, in Highland Park, Roxbury, beginning at 11 a.m, with ceremonies by the Minutemen and local elected officials. This fortification, designed by Henry Knox, prevented the British from breaking out of Boston during the siege. Washington was so impressed with Knox’s ability at designing and constructing this fort, he put Knox in charge of American artillery. These two fortifications, at Roxbury and South Boston, were crucial to the first American victory in the War for Independence.

State Representative Gloria Fox will then host a free luncheon at the Shirley Eustis House, 33 Shirley Street, Roxbury, immediately following the Historical Exercises at Fort Hill. The Lexington Minutemen will fire a salute, and Major General Knox himself will make an appearance.

Following the luncheon at the Shirley-Eustis House, author Nathaniel Philbrick will give a short talk on his latest book, “Bunker Hill.” Copies will be available for purchase and signing.

Special thanks to the Mass Bay Credit Union for its support of the Historical Exercises.

For more information, please contact the Shirley-Eustis House at 617-442-2275 or email [email protected].

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It seem like one has to choose between Dorchester Heights and Fort HIll. ;-}

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Doyle's comments suggest it might be time to talk about removing government support from this public exercise of religion, and return the exclusive religious celebration to the small minority that wants to have a a public display of religious veneration of this ancient Irish saint. Such a parade would be similar to that held in veneration of Saint Anthony of Padua or Santa Maria de Anzano.

The Veterans Council as is, a private organization dedicated to religious purposes, should be denied the use of the symbols and names of the United States Armed Services. The United States Armed Forces now allow openly gay servicemen and women, and several veterans' groups exist to advocate for the rights and privileges dictated by equality of service; no group may deny veterans' groups the ability to march in a parade in the name of veterans without disgracing itself. The Veterans Council dishonors these veterans and veterans' groups, and as such should not be recognized as a group capable of or suitable to hold any event in honor of veterans at large.

If another group more representative of the American public, the City of Boston, and the United States Armed Forces wants to hold an Evacuation Day parade, for the larger public of Boston and supported in part by public money, it should remove all religious input from selection of groups in the parade, and recognize the rights of all veterans to be included.

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It's not supported by public money anymore, there is no grant from the city.

It's a freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and free exercise of religion issue.

You don't like what they say? Have your own parade. It would be possible to organize an alternative parade in another part of Boston very easily.

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Pretty sure there are a lot of cops and firefighters pulling extra duty (do they get time-and-a-half on Sundays?) for this event.

Yay, free speech. Eff you, religious bigotry. Pope Francis recently said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Local Catholics need to get with the times.

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just like the cops who were around the Occupy protests or any public assembly or demonstration.

Freedom isn't free.

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if the total number of disturbances/arrests etc during the whole Occupy thing add up to the same number just on St. Paddy's. And this given that the cops turn a blind eye to a LOT of truly disgusting stuff. The idea of anyone associated with this event trying to pull a holier-than-thou pose is hilarious and sad.

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that protecting free speech requires defending the right of people to express hateful opinions. It doesn't mean much if all you protect is the expression of popular ideas. Gotta let the David Dukes and CJ Doyles have their parades, too.

I'm pointing out the folly of suggesting there are zero public costs associated with this parade, that the organizers are paying for everything.

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between accepting government grant money to support your event and the cost of incidental public safety. It's an absurd argument.

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The public safety costs are as justifiable as those we'd pick up protecting a Klan rally. It's distasteful to non-bigots, but that is the cost of freedom.

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we agree.

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The organizers should ask the Pope for support on keeping gay veterans out of the parade.

Wait no they shouldn't because the Pope would allow them to march

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But I like to think there's a special place in Hell for faux-religious hatemongers like Doyle (along with Bryan Fischer, William Donahue and all the rest of them).

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but I know what constitutes "faux" religion. And THEY don't get to decide how they practice their religion. I do.

You don't like the parade? Don't attend. Opinions will vary as to how much they embarrass themselves.

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Just because I'm not religious, doesn't mean I haven't read the Bible. I don't remember too much hating on gays in the New Testament, but I do recall that whole "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers..." bit.

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The gays already have their own fucking parade! Nobody want to see a bunch of sexual deviants, if they did they'd stick around to see them march alone after the St. Patrick's Parade.

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then there would be an awful lot of empty churches and even emptier collection plates on Sundays!

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a bunch of red-faced, vomiting guys in plastic hats knee-walking through puddles of green beer. Yes sirree.

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Knee walking all the way to the shrine of Our Lady of Hurghhh in sorrow and penance. Sometimes their sorrow and penance is so great they don't get all the way to the shrine before they make their offerings.

Take a lot of sweeping to clean up all that free religious expression.

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That even looks like a typical toilet in Ireland (or much of the EU), with wrap around stall and top mounted flusher! (you either get this model or the plumbing all hidden behind the wall)

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Catholic Bashing: Ok
Muslim Bashing: "You're a fucking racist!"

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And none of these bigots represent me -- or any of the people I go to Church with on Sundays.

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if you'd like. I like to think my ability to offend extends to all creeds.

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You could start bashing Muslims but you won't. It's typical of those of you bigots who think it's clever and cool to bash Christians. There are just 2 reasons you people won't ever bash Muslims. The first is those you try to impress with your Christian bashing will get mad at you. The second is fear. You don't have the balls because you'd fear for your safety.

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Which parade in the Boston area is run by Muslims and excludes gays.

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How accepting of homosexuality would they be? Bad comparison.

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Or free shrimp platters. But I figure we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

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DEATH! So maybe Marty should boycott Islam and close the Mosque in Roxbury which also has ties to Terrorist.

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Why, that would be like boycotting all of South Boston because of the IRA. Explaining exactly why we don't would require a certain subtlety of thought, though, and I wouldn't want to hurt your brane.

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jakester. You sure you don't need a box of apple juice? You sound a little cranky. Also, like you are high on airplane glue. Stamping your feet and wailing a bunch of stuff you cooked up with in your tiny fevered brain isn't going to get anyone to take you seriously.

Again, for the slow learners and glue huffers: pointing out that overheated loons like Doyle are homophobic bigots isn't bashing Christianity. Near as I can tell, Jesus never mentioned the gays even once. Feel free to cite Biblical verse to the contrary, you scholars.

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Oh Slimey, wrong as always. Cranky is not the feeling I have. Total amusement when ever I read one of your posts describes it best. Free entertainment is always a good thing. When you write, I have this image of a wild eyed nut job in front of a computer; covered with spittle from cursing at it, outraged that there are other opinions and that they are allowed to express them. The South Boston vets have their rights, the court decision to back them up and there is nothing any of you can do about it. And that gives me satisfaction because it makes you people even nuttier. Now go hide before your Mom catches you using her computer.

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I have this image of a wild eyed nut job in front of a computer

That's just your reflection.

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Once again, jakester, you're sputtering and fuming at the level of a kindergartner who got his Fruit Rollups stolen.

The adults in the room are asking a simple question that sorta looks beyond your pay grade. To wit: how exactly does pointing out the obvious -- that CJ Doyle is a raving homophobic bigot -- equate to "bashing" Christianity?

Take your time, think about it. We'll wait.

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it usually works better.

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How often do you hear of Muslim clerics fucking little boys in the mosque? So I can't bash them for that. And it wasn't Muslim nuns that used to beat the shit out of me in school because I had what they perceived to be as " a smart mouth" And no Muslim nun ever had my entire class be quiet in the cafeteria so the Mother Superior can walk over to me and ask me to hand over my copy of "Thunderball" and then proceeded to beat me for bringing "pornography" into my sixth grade classroom.

So when Muslims start doing that shit to me, then I'll start bashing them a little more seriously. Until then, my Muslim bashing will have to just restrict itself to hiding the Muslim driver's prayer rugs at the limo pool in their cars and watching with hilarity when they go looking for them and we tell them we hid them in the ladies room, where they won't go. How's that for balls?

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I repeat, you have no balls. If you came face to face with a Muslim you'd either kiss his ass or piss your pants - maybe both. And you know it. The only courage you and those who think like you have comes when anonymously hiding behind your computer.

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I'm betting you're the one who's never come face to face with a Muslim. I have, my wife has, and you know what, they're people.

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In case this is news to you, I'm a chauffeur and have been for almost 30 years. In the wildest stretches of your small mind do you really think I don't know any Muslims? In the fucking LIMO business?

Besides the fact that I have serviced Saudi royalty many, many times over that time , let's not forget the hundreds of Muslim drivers on our fair streets every day, many whom I consider good friends , even the ones who consider me an infidel because of my contempt for all religions, not just Islam.

So pull your head out of your ass, stop listening to Howie Carr, and get out of Southie every now and then.

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Nuh-uh! He doesn't know any Muslims, so how could you possibly? == Jakester logic.

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Seriously!

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Are you getting confused? The mountain lion thread is in another spot.

Honest to God--if you have never "come face to face with a Muslim" and think this is some exotic, terrifying encounter then you lead a sadly limited life, especially for a city dweller.

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religion is not a liberal or a conservative idea. Nor is it "bashing". It's just an observation. I know plenty of Catholics who aren't homophobes. The Pope appears to be preaching a lot more tolerance these days. I'd suggest that if you don't like people calling you a bigot, stop behaving like one.

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As opposed to the folks here who are just amused and/or disgusted by the absurd hypocrisy shown in the story? Gays offend Catholic morality? How about we exclude the divorcees, the folks using birth control, the ones who eat meat on Fridays...shall I go on? You'd have a pretty f'ing small parade.

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I would never have believed you if you had told me two years ago that 2014 would be be the year that I got to bask in a whole new level of schadenfreude: watching bigots who previously hid under the guise of "religious morality" start to publicly combust when the Pope himself said "stop being bigots." Hope you enjoy watching the world leaving you behind, Mr. Doyle!

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... pray for this swift "retirement" (one way or another) of the new pope. After all, the _last_ pope who tried to shake things up (JP I) lasted only a couple of months....

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I just don't get why you'd want to go to a party where the host didn't want you. It's like going to a wedding where the bride prefers you not be there,

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A wedding is private. A parade which requires that public streets be closed off is public.

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Semantics. They weren't invited by the host of the party.

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The "hosts" would've been kicked out of the condo association a long time ago for the noise disturbances, piss puddles in the elevator, and beer-vomit in the foyer.

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You must be new to Southie. Not EVERYONE belongs to a condo association. Crazy, I know.

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My family left South Boston two generations ago and I have very few reasons to go there. The parade certainly isn't a draw.

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Jesus Christ, enough with this already. Every year, it's this same story. The gays are crying because they can't march and fuckwads like CJ Doyle and Wacko Hurley come off as likeable as Westboro Baptist Church. Honestly, who gives a shit about that parade anyway? It's infested with a bunch of douchebags from the South Shore going to visit their yuppie friends in Southie and drinking at 8am.

St Patrick's Day is such a sorry excuse for a "holiday". Let's eat shitty food, get cocked and talk about how cool our Irish Flag, Fighin' Irish or Green, White and Orange colored tattoos are (even though they've never been there, don't know the culture and can't tell you who the Prime Minister is).

Growing up there wasn't a single kid from the JP, Roslindale or West Roxbury area who wanted to go across town and attend that piece of shit. Who knows? Maybe it has changed now. The whole thing is stupid to me. The gay organizations have as much to do with the church as do the Stormtroopers, Wizard of Oz characters and Colin from Scituate passed out outside of Tom English.

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That is all.

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Maybe in 2015 we can finally have a giant, festive Evacuation Day parade? That's what bugs me (aside from the Alabama level of hatred and bigotry) about the whole Southie parade. It takes the spotlight from an amazing, unique local holiday that we should all celebrate as patriots and puts it on this narrow, sectarian celebration. Add to that the fact that the narrow, sectarian celebration has been taken over by green beer and homophobia, and it really makes you wish for a blowout Evacuation Day.

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One would think that would be a worthy Irish celebration in and of itself!

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wish for a blowout Evacuation Day

Eat lots of fiber.

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if gay groups do/want to/petition to march in the Caribbean Festival? I'm not being an asshole and asking in order to defend those shit heads in SB, I really don't know.

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there would have to be a group like the original early-90s GLIB, which identified equally as Irish-American and gay/lesbian/bisexual. Somehow, I don't think "Caribbean" scans quite the same way as an ethnic identity, as it is made up of many small nations with distinctive cultures. Further, it's merely a geographic entity, not a political one.

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I am sure a gay Caribbean group could be organized, but there would be the Fear Factor, plus you could not get the white-shoe law types to jump in. For that crowd, bashing Southies is a badge of honor, taking on a black Caribbean group sets off their PC alarms.

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What have the Caribbean crew ever done to offend the white shoe lawyer crowd? The Southie crew, on the other hand, elected Curley for decades and turned much of the city and state government, formerly dominated by said white shoe lawyer crowd, into a bastion of patronage for whom the beneficiaries were mostly, ".... people not like us, dear."

Naturally the white shoe lawyer crowd has it in for Southie in a way that they don't for the Caribbeans.

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"In the case before us, however, the Massachusetts law has been applied in a peculiar way. Its enforcement does not address any dispute about the participation of openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual individuals in various units admitted to the parade. The petitioners disclaim any intent to exclude homosexuals as such, and no individual member of GLIB claims to have been excluded from parading as a member of any group that the Council has approved to march. Instead, the disagreement goes to the admission of GLIB as its own parade unit carrying its own banner...it boils down to the choice of a speaker not to propound a particular point of view, and that choice is presumed to lie beyond the government's power to control. " -- Justice David Souter on behalf of a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States, 1995

Unlike in Roe, who deeply regrets her abortion and Goodridge, soon divorced from her same-sex partner, the Supreme Court was unanimous in Hurley v. GLIB. What the Roe and Goodridge cases have in common with Hurley, is that all are settled law. Get over it.

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I don't think anyone is arguing that Wacko and friends ought to be legally forced to include anyone in their parade. Seems to be a (legally, politically) reasonable situation as it is: the parade organizers publicly trumpet their bigotry, and mainstream folk stay away from the parade.

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Just for the sake of clarity here are a couple of instances of settled law that wound up quite unsettled:

Plessy v. Ferguson and Bowers v. Hardwick.

Did the Supreme Court make the right call in stating that the parade is a private event? The history of the parade suggests the answer is not clear cut. Were the Supreme Court Justices biased in their decision? Probably. Bowers proved that the Supreme Court justices were blind and ignorant of the reality of Gay people. The Court deciding Plessy was equally blind of their unexamined bias against Blacks. If the controversy had involved a different group then the Supreme Court might have followed the Commonwealth's Court.

I support the new mayor in boycotting the parade. Not just due to the specific anti-Gay bigotry however. But because the parade organizers are stuck in the same mental track that agrees with Plessy, Bowers and any other law (e.g. Arizona) that supports animus and hostility against particular unfavored groups.

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... of the parade organizers, why are there so many participants. Maybe some of the participating groups need a bit of (polite) push back. Maybe they ought to participate in the alternate parade instead.

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The number of people participating in or watching the parade from the sidelines does not change whether the exclusion is right or wrong. That is arguing on the basis of appealing to popularity. Popularity alone does not make make the exclusion of groups automatically right. Slavery was "popular" to Antebellum Southerners to the point of shedding their own blood. But slavery had never been anything less than immoral no matter what society would support at a given time. Whether something is right or wrong is not based on the level of popularity.

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... were vehemently opposed to abolition of slavery.

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That doesn't stop every moronic rightie without a brain in their heads from thinking it can be repealed overnight because Rush/Hannity/Levin say so.

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