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Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
On September 15, 2004 I received a bizarre screed from a Philadelphia Gay News editorial assistant named Marco C. Baker complaining about a column I wrote on the Kerry campaign. It was not only incoherent and abusive, but downright screwy. Here is an excerpt from his crazy e-mail where he defends machine guns:
And if Besen would pick up a local, big city daily newspaper he would learn that the regular murders of young black men are committed with hand guns, not AK-47 "terror weapons."(Wonder if Besen knows the Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov invented the AK-47 to fight German Nazi's after he was wounded in 1941 and after firearm complaints from his fellow soldiers? Thus AK-47's HELPED KILL NAZI'S WHO WOULD'VE EXTERMINATED ALL HOMOSEXUAL JEWS LIKE BESEN. Ofcourse they have fallen into the hands of terrorists and drug lords, but to suggest the world would've been better off without them is depravely disingenuous.)
Considering my column never mentioned my religion, it was quite odd that Mr. Baker brought the topic into his e-mail,(The CAPS are his, by the way) which he sent out on the Internet. I also never mentioned the race of people who might be shot by AK-47's, so it is also unclear why Mr. Baker introduced race. To the best of my knowledge people of all races get shot.
All this would be irrelevant if it were not for the fact that Mr. Baker will take over as editor for the Philadelphia Gay News on March 18. Not only does he appear to be unbalanced, but he is remarkably unaccomplished. If one Googles his name, the first story to pop up is an obituary. It is disappointing that PGN is moving forward with a nonsensical nobody who thinks AK-47s are responsible for homosexual Jews, like me, being alive.
On behalf of my thousands of daily readers, I strongly urge PGN to reconsider its ill-advised hiring decision. At the very least, Mr. Baker should meet with community leaders in Pennsylvania and assure them he isn't a right wing lunatic with disturbing views.
PGN's reputation is on the line. They can do better than promoting a spectacularly unprofessional and undistinguished writer/editor like Marco C. Baker.
6 Comments:
This Baker seems kind of dangerous. I think our community needs to find out more about his views.
wow, I didn't know you were a Homosexual Jew. Is that different than being a Jewish Homosexual? Or is that Are you still one, or did you convert? (I would make a joke about those exodus guys here but it's actually very serious and they are very sad and ruining too many people's lives).
What I find creepy about his post is that he is writing to you but using your name in the 3rd person. Was he sending it directly to you or thinking it was being read by other people. Using that choice seems borderline delusional. I really admire your work and how you put yourself out there up against some serious wack jobs.
You know, for some reason I was thinking all this time you were a Dark Irish Catholic. Well, there goes my stalker fantasies. I am only into uncut, so you can relax now.
posted by Steve Talbert, at
3/01/2006 7:30 AM
Maybe somebody should inform Mr. Baker that the "47" in AK-47 refers to the year it was introduced- 1947. As in 2 years after the end of WWII.
posted by Boo, at
3/01/2006 9:50 AM
LOL at Steve Talbert. The PGN is a free tabloid that one sees in gay bars in the philadelphia area---maybe there's a reason it's free. Besen means broom in german, i think you should just sweep the 'baker' guy aside. Gary (NJ)
posted by Anonymous, at
3/01/2006 9:53 AM
Wayne, it's getting tough to know who to trust in the GLBT community, isn't it?
Last week or so, someone close to our heart was telling us that the "polygamy" arguments were all being fueled by the right wing, not the GLBT community.
"Because the show subtly champions an expanded definition of marriage and family, one Internet critic called it a "stalking horse" for gay marriage rights. In one episode, Stanton's character explains to fictional Los Angeles Times reporters that if courts recognize privacy rights for homosexuals, it's time they do the same for polygamists. Later, his wives are taken aback when the headline quotes him as saying "We're just like homosexuals."
"We thought that made such interesting, strange and perverse bedfellows that it was just too delicious not to use," Olsen told a gathering of television critics last month. More recently, he said they never aimed to use the show to promote gay marriage rights. "It's a complex stew with a complex rendering," he said. "If people in the gay community want to embrace the show, identify with their struggle, so be it."
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