Hate video calls for parade ‘warriors’
Premier Kristina Keneally and Opposition leader Barry O’Farrell have both failed to condemn a hate-filled video made by a Christian Democratic Party (CDP) candidate and endorsed by CDP MLC Fred Nile.
Only the Greens spoke out against the Battlecry video made by Peter Madden, the CDP candidate for Sydney in the upcoming state election, in which he calls for “10,000 warriors” to stop the 2011 Mardi Gras parade.
In the video Madden claims the 2011 parade will draw “hundreds of thousands of drunken youths into Sydney’s streets to incite in them all manner of lust and filth”.
“Hyde Park will be strewn with the bodies of drunken teenagers — 13, 14, 15-year-old children — celebrating, watching, and in some cases participating in forms of sex that they cannot really begin to understand … There will be drugs, there will be alcohol, there will be violence, there will be beatings, there will be debauchery.”
Madden uses militaristic language, stating that Australian Christians are “at war” and must “mobilise” and “rise up” to do “spiritual battle” .
Madden evokes the memory of Australian soldiers who have died in “wars against evil”.
The campaign uses bullet-ridden lettering and a sword-wielding crusader in its logo. It ends with photos of Mardi Gras attendees interspersed with gory images of a blood-spattered Christ.
Madden only mentions that his rally to stop the Mardi Gras parade is intended to be non-violent at the end of the video. Nile then appears to endorse Madden’s message.
Madden intended to hold his rally in Hyde Park during the parade but has since been told by police he must hold it in Martin Place.
Both Opposition leader O’Farrell and Premier Keneally sent messages of support to this year’s Mardi Gras. But the Star Observer received no reply from O’Farrell about what he thought of Madden’s characterisation of Mardi Gras, and three enquiries about the video to the Premier’s office went unreturned.
NSW Greens’ Cate Faehrmann described it as the work of a “lunatic fringe”.
“There is nothing sinister about Mardi Gras. It’s a celebration of diversity, love, equality and of course, fun. Luckily, the Christian Democrats do not represent the majority Australian view.”
New Mardi Gras co-chair Peter Urmson said they were monitoring the situation but did not expect a confrontation with the parade, which has been the subject of protests by the CDP throughout its history.
You May Also Like
I suspect if Madden was an Islamic fundamentalist, his right to free speech would be trampled on in a stampede of outrage by (amongst others) Fred Nile’s sect. Talkback radio would be in melt down with calls to deport him from the country.
However, as Madden is not a Muslim or from any other unpopular minority group he is relatively free to indulge in public anti-gay bigotry – despite the rhetoric being the same as any Jihadist.
No Dave
I SUPPORT FREE SPEECH!!!!
I also think the AFP should spend their time and effort searching for the real terrosists not just the imaginary ones.
A bit to close to home Boris? Taliban style hate calling on an army to defeat gay people at a march that celebrates their rights? Or what about the orgy of children that does not exist. Make up more stories to inspire hate.
If anything happens to my partner I would like to know where you live Boris.
This is “Home Grown Terrorism”. You support it Boris.
If the G&L Mardi Gras represents the right to free speech we all have in Australia then so does this video. If the Gays don’t like what you have to say then you should be punished for saying it, according to some in that community (I mean you Dave)!!! This Madden guy says that gays are a threat to the nation. I disagree with that but people like Dave are as they would suppress free speech if they could. Madden did stress his non-violence position, but suppression of free speech is a form of violence!!!
J have just watched the video…I am shocked that this so called person has been allowed to get away with it..Why has the NSW Gov allowed this to go on? This is promoting hatered and volence. I am sick of peopel using religion to get away with things. Why has teh gay community allowed it to go on? Why is it still on You Tube? Does it mean if someone is bashed on Mardi Gras nite they can sue him?
The question I have for Peter is where are the parents of the 13-14-15-16 year old kids. Why blame Mardi Gras for the fact that the parents aren’t doing their job by letting their kids get drunk in the first place. Another person blaming gay people for their own inadequacies!
Mark, I’m not offended. I am, however, having great difficulty working out what you are trying to say.
David & David Skidmore,Sorry if I offended you,But in 2011 when we are still fighting for Same-Sex Marriage,Parents of “Sons & Daughters Who Just told their Parents that their Gay” think of Mardi Gras as not a place where they want their ” Adult Baby” to be.
After recently just coming out to my parents,I was met with a Barrage of Verbal Abuse,and just about cut off,Why? Becasue they straight away thought that I would be on a Float as to Hetrosexuals,Gays means Mardi Gras.
I have been to a party at Moore park,I never so many people high as a kite (On E,would be Ice now in 2011) and the car park (on the grass) was filled with used condoms everywhere,Never again,thanxs
In the over 30 years since there’s been the first Mardi Gras parade (and drug fuelled orgies in Moore Park), God hasn’t done anything to stop them. I can only assume He has better things to given His diverse portfolio.
I do agree with Peter Madden on one thing: I’m not too keen on hundreds of drunken youths at Mardi Gras and I try to stay well away from them.
Mark of sydney, you are also tarring people who attend the mardi gras party with the same brush by suggesting that everyone who attends gets involved in drug fuelled sex. You sound like one of these gays riddled with internal homophobia, desperate to please heterosexuals who frankly, are way more screwed up than us. Just read the news every day!
As usual these right-wing fanatics who call themselves christian get their facts all muddled up, or just plain totally wrong, and use highly emotive language in order to get ignorant rednecks and other misguided people all fired up for their “righteous cause”. But we’ve come to expect that from the Seedy-Pee.
Thankfully MOST Aussies, christian or not, have half a brain and can see through the false claims and illogical arguments.
While I personally do not like the MG,Reason being, the larger Hetrosexual Community of Mum & Dads and 2.2 kids only think of MG as being bums in camera’s and fully grown men parading around in costumes saying “Sodomite” (As seen) all leading to the huge drug fuelled Orgy at Moore Park where used condoms fill the carpark afterwards,sickening.
To Madden to think that “All” Gay/Lesbian are Evil and a Battle-Cry for Christians to build an Army at Martin place,he seriously has problems and is mentally confused.
Madden,You have no right to tare everyone with the same brush,We might be Gay/Lesbian but there are alot who are Conservative,thankyou.
Atrocious fundamentalist bible bashing hate mongers!!!!
Here is a link to the original post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KedTNaSnDA8
If you change the word homosexual to American, it all sounds like a religious cleric in a far away land inciting a follower to inflict violence.
Declaring war against us, simply because of our existence, and calling on an army to of “10,000 God Soldiers”, is in my view, no different to a Taliban Leader giving a hate speech about Americans. It only takes one idiot to kill.
Hate crimes are on the rise, people killing us is on the rise, and so are the religious leaders inspiriting acts of hate.
There are too many Christian Fundamentalist leaders saying words to describe us such as an “Abomination”, and we are “Against the Natural Order”, and “It is War”.
Millions of Christians advocate for our rights and would no doubt be equally disgusted by the lack of action by the Federal Police. Our lives are as good as any other Australians. We should be equally deserving of the protection from acts of terrorism as any other member of the community.
I ask what happened to a bloody Fair Go Julia Gillard? Labor has failed all Australians.