Anti-gay pagent in Worcester

[paineinthearse]

I was in Worcester over the weekend and saw this coverage in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Channel 7 had a very brief video piece Saturday night interviewing the hate-mongering Rev. Tom Crouse and the demonstrators.

I can't get the 4 photos to reproduce, you can view at the link below.

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/NEWS/602190523/1008/NEWS02

Mr. Hetero draws small crowd
Peaceful protesters stay calm
By Milton J. Valencia TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

http://wtimg.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=WT&Date=20060219&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=602190523&Ref=AR&Profile=1008&title=1&MaxW=425&MaxH=500 Mencompete for the title of Mr. Hetero by taking a blind taste test of potato chips. (T&G Staff photos/MARK C. IDE)

http://wtimg.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=WT&Date=20060219&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=602190523&Ref=V1&Profile=1008&MaxW=170
A barricade and a line of police separate the protestors from the event inside Mechanics Hall.

http://wtimg.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=WT&Date=20060219&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=602190523&Ref=V2&Profile=1008&MaxW=170
Duct tape's many uses were part of the contest. An unidentified gentleman demonstrates how to shave with it, and the Rev. Tom Crouse watches.

http://wtimg.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=WT&Date=20060219&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=602190523&Ref=V3&Profile=1008&MaxW=170
Scores of people protested in the area of Main and Commercial streets.

WORCESTER— There were protestors and a police barricade, metal detectors and a young man speaking of a past life as a homosexual, but in the end the controversial Mr. Heterosexual contest was more like a church service than a pageant. Indeed, a police barricade set up outside Mechanics Hall last night stretched longer than a line of protestors, many of whom sang peaceful chants against the nature of the event. “I didn’t know gay protestors were so scary,” said Kevin Ksen, a community activist, while pointing out the number of police officers patrolling the crowd.

There were chants and even a “Queer Kiss-In” staging, but most just lit candles and gathered in last night’s cold, saying they just wanted their protest to be heard. There had been much build-up to the Mr. Heterosexual contest, the brainchild of the Rev. Tom Crouse, pastor of Holland Congregational Church. Rev. Crouse, who has criticized Muslim and Catholic beliefs in his writings, preaches against homosexuality, calling it a sin that the Bible teaches against. He planned the contest as a way to promote heterosexuality, and there were T-shirts on sale last night reading “100% Hetero” and “Designed by God.” An estimated 175 to 200 people attended the event.

The guest speaker was a 22-year-old who said he found his way to God after experimenting with homosexuality, which he said he now sees as a sin. The young man said he explored his sexuality after discovering Internet pornography at age 12. By the time he was 15, he realized he no longer liked women and had sexual relations with two men. He was 16 when he heard a Bible teaching that showed him a new way, which he said helped him realize he was living in sin. The statements that heterosexuality is God’s design and that gay people can find heterosexuality through God’s teachings caused an uproar among the gay community, which gathered anti-hate-speech signatures and planned the protest. There had been so much build-up to the event that a small army of police officers was assigned to keep the peace, but there were no reported disruptions. Instead, scores of protesters hung signs reading “Hate has no home here” and sang chants that “homophobia’s got to go.” “I’m here to celebrate all of God’s design, which is every human being,” said Joe Marzilli of Worcester, who said he was surprised that Worcester, which calls itself a “city on the move,” would tolerate such an event. Mr. Marzilli said he is open to free speech, but said the event was filled with hate.

<snip>

Inside the event, however, the show was more about spreading the Gospel and accepting Jesus Christ as one’s savior than about gay-bashing. Rev. Crouse’s daughter, Tina, sang in a solo performance, and seven men competed to be Mr. Hetero. As part of the contest, they had to talk about uses for duct tape, show how they proposed to their wives or how they would propose to someone, and they had a food-guessing game in which they had to identify what they were eating while wearing blindfolds. In between contests, Rev. Crouse spoke of dispelling sin and the need for accepting Jesus Christ. Several pastors were on hand to speak to anyone in the crowd. “If Jesus Christ is not your savior, then why not?” Rev. Crouse said at one point. Jim Kearney, who came from Springfield for the event, said it was a Christian event — not an anti-homosexual event. Christianity calls homosexuality a sin, he noted.

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