[the mongoose]

More info on what happened at FISTGATE:


By Ed Oliver
March 26, 2001

Fistgate II was held on Saturday in the same building at Tufts University as last year with the same message about how to practice homosexual sex.

More students attended this year. Out of approximately 650 attendees, about 400 of those were students.

Kits of plastic gloves intended for “fisting” or oral sex were distributed at Planned Parenthood’s table in the lobby.

Public funds were used for the event with at least two school buses being used to transport students, from Methuen High School and Marblehead Public Schools. Adam Glick, Conference Coordinator, said he did not know how the buses were paid for. Other children were transported by public school teachers in private cars.

The private homosexual sponsor, GLSEN, is given state funds for many purposes and does not publicly report on how the money is spent.

There was a heightened sense of security with many Tufts campus police being highly visible in order to stop parents from seeing what occurred at the conference.

Although Tufts University was able to claim ignorance about the event last year, they obviously became complicit this year when they welcomed the conference back and provided the security muscle to keep the strategy sessions and indoctrination of the children running smoothly.

The Boston Globe gave the official spin to the conference in its Sunday edition under the headline, “Alert against threats to gay teens.” The first paragraph repeated the canard about suicide and safety in schools. The conference, said the Globe, was merely an attempt to overcome homophobia.

Some Attempts at Change
Obviously, the conference was stung by last year’s bad publicity and tried to avoid that this year. But it was only an attempt at window dressing said one participant. Some of the differences were:

A ban on tape recorders and cameras with frequent reminders.

The press was not allowed to sit in on any of the workshops or interview students. Assistant Coordinator Susan McCray and the Tufts campus police removed this reporter from a workshop.

There were half as many information display tables there this year with few children manning them.

The pages of the “Teach Out” program booklet this year lacked the endorsement it had last year from Mass. Department of Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll. Still, GLSEN tried to give the conference the appearance of official sanction by including welcoming messages from two homosexual legislators -- Congressman Barney Frank and State Senator Cheryl Jacques.

The fallout from last year’s conference inspired one workshop this year titled: “A Look At Last Year’s Setbacks In MA, What We have Learned and How We Can Move Forward.”

This year’s final performance was substantially cleaned up. Gone were the crude jokes and sexual innuendo. The play, which was about “homophobia,” consisted entirely of professional adult actors rather than children.

Security Was High
Conference Coordinators Adam Glick and McCray stated that the press wasn’t allowed into the workshops when they and the campus police forced this reporter to leave. When asked why, they said it makes the participants uncomfortable. When asked what is was that would make the participants uncomfortable, they did not answer.

At the start of the day when I reported to the press registration desk, I was given a press kit and a sticker by a teenager and told no cameras or recording equipment allowed. I was not even asked to register. I wasn’t told the workshops were restricted. When I explained this to Glick, I was told that even if I registered as the press, I could only have access to the display tables, lunch, and the performance and awards ceremony.

The description of the workshop about “Last Year’s Setback” said in part, “Over the past year, one of the nation’s most successful safe schools programs for GLBT youth has been beset by attacks from reactionary forces both inside and outside the public education bureaucracy.” It continued that “backsliding” is now evident in areas such as parent notification policy, teacher certification standards, students rights regulations, and HIV/AIDS parameters. The workshop aimed to explore strategic responses to such “challenges.”

It is interesting to note that the presenters of this particular workshop planned to mention Massachusetts News’ role in setting back the gay agenda in the schools and they had issues of the paper on hand in the classroom. It was this particular workshop that Mass News was refused entrance.

Taxpayer Funded
When asked if any of this was taxpayer funded. Glick said no public funds were used for the event. He said it was paid for entirely by donations and registration fees. There are many obvious questions about the funding including Glick’s salary, but Glick would not answer them. The student participants were obviously recruited through the public schools and their teachers. The shroud of secrecy aroused suspicion.

Glick said no professional development points would be awarded to teachers for attending because there weren’t enough hours. However, GLSEN provided a yellow certificate of completion which says the teacher participated in professional development activities for 6.0 hours.

Keynote Speaker and Clips Promote Sexual Activity
The keynote speaker in the morning was the executive producer and head writer of the TV show “Dawson’s Creek,” Greg Berlanti.

Berlanti was obviously there to inspire the kids as a young, successful gay role model. It soon became apparent during his speech that his success hinged not on his talent, but because he pushed to include homosexuality in his work, which was rewarded by those who control the levers of popular culture.

The approximately 400 kids were treated to short film clips of Berlanti’s “work.”

One clip showed two male baseball players flirting on the ball field. Another showed two young men meeting at a dance. One of the men said to the other, “You’re so out, so fun.” They then kissed passionately. After that, they went off to dance together. Another clip showed an emotional scene where a boy told his father he is homosexual. The father would not accept it, and the scene ended with the father getting thrown out of the house by the son as though the father had a problem.