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WebMD
20-05-2025
- General
- WebMD
Smear the Queer: A Teenage Memory, a National Warning
There's an event in my life I've rarely shared. Not to friends, not to therapists, and definitely not to family. It's a deeply mortifying memory, and it happened when I was only 17. Even writing this 40 years later, there's a little voice inside me telling me to keep my trap shut, since the whole thing was my fault anyway. The memory of that episode has been coming up, bringing with it the echoes of homophobia that were part of American culture in the 1970s and '80s. Those echoes match perfectly with the rhetoric coming from the current administration, once again demonizing me and my community in ways that I thought were past. But it turns out, otherizing queers (and other strategically underserved and under protected communities) is as American as guns. When I was growing up, negative stuff about gays was everywhere – on television with B-list pop singer and anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant spouting bigoted, religious nonsense; in movies like the comedy Car Wash that were perfectly enjoyable until someone was called 'faggot.' Even on the school playground, there was a game called 'Smear the Queer,' and no one thought it was bad. No one thought it was inappropriate or mean. No one thought a game like that might be training for someone to actually go out and hurt a gay person. It was all fine. When puberty hit, and I started having powerful sexual urges, I didn't know what to do. I'd had no sex education, not from my parents or school. I knew a little about sex from jokes by guys at school. But when it came to the fact that I was interested in guys and not girls, I had no resources. It didn't help that I was an awkward kid: chubby, short, unathletic, and (I thought) very unattractive. Low self-esteem can magnify vulnerability. And I'd been taught by well-meaning churchgoers that homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord and those perverts were doomed to eternity in a fiery hell. I first went to an adult bookstore when I was 16 with my friend Cory. No one stopped us when we walked in. We thought it was hilarious, this grimy little place in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Phoenix with dildos and vibrators, metal office shelves of VHS and Beta versions of adult videos, trashy adult novels, graphic sex magazines, and the curtain in the back which lead to the mysterious video booths where shadowy men shuffled. Unknown to Cory, I felt a ping of recognition, of being in a place where I belonged. If I was a pervert, and this was where perverts go, it must be for me, I reasoned. I started sneaking out of my family home at night to drive in my white Ford Thunderbird to visit these stores. At first I'd just sit in my car in the parking lot. Then I got brave and I'd go inside and loiter, every once in a while catching a glance at a fellow pervert. Soon, the glances led to sitting in a car with a fellow perv and kissing, leading to what I now see was pretty innocent petting. This was always followed by terrifying guilt and resolve that I'd never go back to one of those places again. Until I did. One night, I snuck out like I'd done a dozen times before. I remember that I was wearing a new white shirt with paisley designs on it. I bought it at Chess King at the mall. I met this really cute guy, cuter than I thought I deserved. He had caramel skin and dark, wavy hair, dreamy eyes. We went to my car and kissed for a while, then he recommended I drive to a more private alley in the neighborhood. I parked the car in the muddy backstreet, and we went back to making out, starting to explore each other's bodies, feeling the rush of teenage sexual excitement, when all of a sudden … BAM! The guy punched me in the gut. HARD. Then he started clubbing me in the head. I was shocked and panicked and in a lot of pain. He was striking me and we were wrestling as he tried to grab my car keys. He somehow managed to open my door and tried to push me out of the car as he turned over the engine. He pushed me and I screamed, scared to my core. I thought, 'If this guy doesn't kill me, Mom and Dad will.' He started the car and we fought for control. He hit the gas pedal and the car swerved into the back gate of someone's home. I managed to stop the car and grab the keys before jumping out of the car and slogging through the mud of the alley. I slipped and fell, and he yelled at me, 'Come back here, you little faggot! I'm going to kill you!' I managed to stand and run away from him, hoping he wasn't following me. Then I started hearing police sirens and I saw flashing lights. The guy took off in the other direction. The homeowner whose fence my car ran into had called the cops. The cop car pulled into the alleyway. A male officer and a female officer got out of the car. I was muddy, shaking, and crying. The female was especially kind, but all I could think was this was all my fault. I shouldn't have snuck out. I'm an abomination. The cops convinced me to get in their car to drive around the neighborhood to see if we could find the guy. I was relieved when we didn't. Maybe I could just pretend it was a bad dream. What happened afterwards is a hazy memory. I must've driven home, and I probably went straight to bed. Did I have school the next day? Was I obviously beaten up? Was the homeowner's fence damaged? Did I pay for it with money earned as a bus boy? I do remember I was terrified my folks would find out, and I thought my new shirt would never be clean. I was so ashamed. I wonder how that night, the shocking violence, and the painful punishments for my sins affected my relationships, my relationship to sex, and my already delicate ego. Although I now see clearly it wasn't my fault, part of me will always be to blame. I decided to write this story out, not for pity, but to show the kinds of things that happened when queerness was forced into the shadows and darkness, and criminalized – all of that amplified by the panic of the AIDS crisis. The current administration is leading the country back to those days. I don't want any other kid (or adult, for that matter) to be a victim like I was. My attacker went to a place where he knew gay people would be. He chose it on purpose, to find someone like me to victimize, because he'd been taught queers don't matter. He figured me an easy target. We can't go backward. We can't go back to a time when members of the LGBTQ+ community have to hide for safety. We can't let our country become a place where people think it's OK to smear the queer.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Brazil Supreme Court ratifies ex-president Collor de Mello's sentence
Representative Image (AI-generated) BRASILIA: Brazil's Supreme Court has ratified a near nine-year prison sentence for ex-president Fernando Collor de Mello , convicted of corruption and money laundering . Brazil's first democratically-elected president after a decades-long dictatorship, Collor de Mello was arrested and taken to prison last week to begin serving his sentence. In 2023, he was found guilty of having received 20 million reais ($3.5 million) in bribes while a senator between 2010 and 2014 to "irregularly facilitate contracts" between a construction company and a former subsidiary of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras. He lost an appeal to the Supreme Court last week, a ruling that was upheld in a late-night session Monday by a full bench of that court. His case is one of several to emerge from the sprawling "Car Wash" corruption scandal that implicated dozens of top businessmen and politicians in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Egypt: New Small Electric Car For Seniors. Prices Might Surprise You. Electric Cars | Search Ads Undo The investigation uncovered a vast network of bribes paid by large construction companies to politicians to obtain major public works contracts. Collor de Mello, who served from 1990 to 1992, is not Brazil's first president to fall afoul of the law. Four of the seven people who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship have either been convicted, jailed or impeached. In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing elections in 2022. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva , who served two terms between 2003 and 2010, spent a year-and-a-half behind bars in a Car Wash-related case before having his conviction annulled and winning a third term in October 2022.
Time of India
27-04-2025
- Time of India
Mangione, accused of killing a CEO, pleads not guilty
Luigi Mangione , the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in 2024, on Friday, pleaded not guilty to all federal charges against him in the case, CNN reported. During arraignment in Manhattan federal court on Friday, Mangione's legal team hinted it wants his federal case to go to trial before his state cases related to Thompson's death after the Justice Department announced it would seek the death penalty in the federal case. Mangione (26) entered not-guilty pleas to a charge of murder, two counts of stalking and a firearms offence. In addition to federal charges, he also faces state charges in New York, where Thompson died, and Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested. Previously, officials had said his New York state case would proceed first. In the arraignment on Friday, Mangione's attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said she will request that his federal trial start first. Brazil ex-prez jailed: Brazil's former president Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested and taken to prison Friday to begin serving a nearly nine-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, the latest former leader to face jail time. Collor de Mello, Brazil's first democratically elected president after a decades-long dictatorship, resigned in 1992 after Congress launched impeachment proceedings against him for allegedly taking bribes. His arrest stems from a conviction over bribes taken two decades later while a senator, part of the sprawling "Car Wash" corruption 75-year-old was detained in Maceio city in northeastern Alagoas state, where he served as a senator and governor.
France 24
25-04-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Brazil ex-president Collor de Mello jailed for corruption
Collor de Mello, Brazil's first democratically elected president after a decades-long dictatorship, resigned in 1992 after congress launched impeachment proceedings against him for allegedly taking bribes. His arrest stems from a conviction over bribes taken two decades later while a senator, part of the sprawling "Car Wash" corruption scandal. The 75-year-old was detained in Maceio city in northeastern Alagoas state, where he served as a senator and governor, a federal police source told AFP. In 2023, Collor de Mello was found guilty of having received 20 million reais ($3.5 million dollars) in bribes while a senator between 2010 and 2014 to "irregularly facilitate contracts" between a construction company and a former subsidiary of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras. On Thursday, a top court rejected his efforts to have the arrest order annulled. His lawyers told local media that he was arrested before dawn as he was about to travel to the capital Brasilia to hand himself in. He was incarcerated in an individual cell in a special wing of Baldomero Baldomero Cavalcanti de Oliveira prison in Maceio. Collor de Mello is not Brazil's first president to fall foul of the law. Four of the seven presidents who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship have either been convicted, jailed or impeached. In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing the 2022 election. 'Car Wash' fallout Current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who served two terms between 2003 and 2010, was among dozens of top businessmen and politicians in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America who were caught up in the tentacular Car Wash mega-probe. The investigation uncovered a vast network of bribes paid by large construction companies to politicians in several countries to obtain major public works contracts. Lula spent a year and a half behind bars before having his conviction overturned by the Supreme Court and winning a third term in October 2022. Collor de Mello was heralded as a youthful, non-conformist figure, who promised far-reaching political and social reforms when he beat the leftist Lula to the presidency in 1989. But his day in the sun did not last long. Less than three years later he stood down as president as the impeachment process was nearly complete. He returned to politics, after a period of ineligibility had expired, and in 2006 was elected senator for Alagoas, a seat he held until 2022. In 2022, he campaigned for Bolsonaro who was seeking re-election but it was Collor de Mello's old adversary Lula who triumphed. © 2025 AFP
Int'l Business Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Brazil Ex-president Collor De Mello Jailed For Corruption
Brazil's former president Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested and taken to prison Friday to begin serving a nearly nine-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, the latest former leader to face jail time. Collor de Mello, Brazil's first democratically elected president after a decades-long dictatorship, resigned in 1992 after congress launched impeachment proceedings against him for allegedly taking bribes. His arrest stems from a conviction over bribes taken two decades later while a senator, part of the sprawling "Car Wash" corruption scandal. The 75-year-old was detained in Maceio city in northeastern Alagoas state, where he served as a senator and governor, a federal police source told AFP. In 2023, Collor de Mello was found guilty of having received 20 million reais ($3.5 million dollars) in bribes while a senator between 2010 and 2014 to "irregularly facilitate contracts" between a construction company and a former subsidiary of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras. On Thursday, a top court rejected his efforts to have the arrest order annulled. His lawyers told local media that he was arrested before dawn as he was about to travel to the capital Brasilia to hand himself in. He was incarcerated in an individual cell in a special wing of Baldomero Baldomero Cavalcanti de Oliveira prison in Maceio. Collor de Mello is not Brazil's first president to fall foul of the law. Four of the seven presidents who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship have either been convicted, jailed or impeached. In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing the 2022 election. Current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who served two terms between 2003 and 2010, was among dozens of top businessmen and politicians in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America who were caught up in the tentacular Car Wash mega-probe. The investigation uncovered a vast network of bribes paid by large construction companies to politicians in several countries to obtain major public works contracts. Lula spent a year and a half behind bars before having his conviction overturned by the Supreme Court and winning a third term in October 2022. Collor de Mello was heralded as a youthful, non-conformist figure, who promised far-reaching political and social reforms when he beat the leftist Lula to the presidency in 1989. But his day in the sun did not last long. Less than three years later he stood down as president as the impeachment process was nearly complete. He returned to politics, after a period of ineligibility had expired, and in 2006 was elected senator for Alagoas, a seat he held until 2022. In 2022, he campaigned for Bolsonaro who was seeking re-election but it was Collor de Mello's old adversary Lula who triumphed. Former far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro (L) and ex-president (1990-1992) Fernando Collor de Mello (R) are allies against current leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva AFP
