DISQUS

AMERICAblog: One of Turkey's lead gay advocates murdered after returning from international gay gathering

  • Traumatic · 1 year ago
    a victim, his friends believe, of the country's deepening friction between an increasingly liberal society and its entrenched conservative traditions

    Does anyone notice the increase in liberal thought throughout the world? I mean, it seems that more and more people are becoming more liberal. Conservatism is going the way of the dinosaur, just way too slowly.
  • Õ¿Õ · 1 year ago
    The internet is helping getting information out there to people. That's why places like Burma don't want it or even foreigners in their land exposing people to different ideas even to save people.
  • Traumatic · 1 year ago
    I don't think that people need to be taught what liberalism is. I think they need to realize that it isn't "bad". A lot of the world was brought up in a paternalistic society where it wasn't good to be compassionate or caring. That and the teachings of most religions scorn the "weak". I think there is an evolution (bad word, huh?) toward liberalism and, yes, the internet is likely helping to make "closet liberals" accepting of those ideas.
  • rosebud · 1 year ago
    If Turkey is serious about giving people freedoms, like freedom to wear head scarves, they need to give all people all freedoms, free speech and acceptance of it's gay community.
  • Traumatic · 1 year ago
    We should try that in the US, too.
  • Webster · 1 year ago
    Not under the waning days of THIS administration. I just want to live long enough to not only pee on Helms' grave, I wanna pee on Bush's too. Oh, and James Dobson's and Tony Perkins and Phyllis Schafly, and...

    Boy, have I got a lotta peeing to do.
  • Õ¿Õ · 1 year ago
    Uh, I doubt it was their "first gay honor killing."
  • ShirleyGoodnessanMercy · 1 year ago
    There have been countless "honor killings" of lesbian and gay kids in Moslem countries, and even some among Moslem residents in America.
  • kevinbgoode · 1 year ago
    This week's Newsweek cover story: "Young, Gay, and Murdered"

    http://www.newsweek.com/id/147790>1=43002
  • ClayPotts · 1 year ago
    These religiously bigoted family murderers are cursed by God. The fight for honesty and truth continues. No religion can hide the truth forever.
  • MotorCityBadBoy · 1 year ago
    And they wonder why they won't be admitted into the EU. This is simply horrible! Let's see if they find and prosecute the people responsible.
  • Õ¿Õ · 1 year ago
    They wont.
  • Õ¿Õ · 1 year ago
    I think gays already basically boycott Turkey. They turned back a gay cruise ship not that long ago.
  • hawkseye · 1 year ago
    I visited Turkey on a study tour in June of 2001 for three weeks. It's a beautiful country: lovely people, interesting archeological sites, great food, fantastic natural beauty. Its main problem is that even though it now requires an 8th grade education for boys, and 6th, I think, for girls, not many get to go to school for that long because they need to work to help support their families. The economy is very weak, although improving by now.
    So, in that climate, prejudice has flourished and religious fundamentalism is rising.
  • ShirleyGoodnessanMercy · 1 year ago
    I just drove by the Turkish embassy here in DC and there is a huge protest going on there this afternoon with signs telling Turkey to get out of Cyprus... at least that's all I could make out.
  • Õ¿Õ · 1 year ago
    They hate Busboy and me because we're gay. It's wrong and needs to stop.
  • Õ¿Õ · 1 year ago
    I looked closer this morning at the "bad sign" I got a couple nights ago and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was because of what I did immediately when it happened. Good.
  • Õ¿Õ · 1 year ago
    They have a great cooking program on PBS about different sandwiches. Most of the ones are from the northeast and here in Louisiana. They're wonderfully local that you grew up eating. There's a place in I grew up eating barbeque chopped beef sandwich from here I love. And all the different po-boys.
  • OlderAndWiser · 1 year ago
    Outrageous, of course. And they won't even begin looking for the killers. If gay hate killings weren't happening in the US, I'd have further commentary.
  • AdmNaismith · 1 year ago
    Turkey would have been fine if they continued down the path that Attaturk set for them. Unfortunately, Muslim fundamentalism is taking hold of the govt and the general public and dragging the country away from all the good he did.
    I wonder if that could be a parallel for any other countries we know...???
  • ndtovent · 1 year ago
    True, but they're still the only example of a combination secular democracy coinciding with a strong theocratic subculture, which seems to work

    I'm angry and sad for Yildiz and his family, but Turkey isn't the only country this happens in. We americans should take a look in our own backyards.
  • Gary SF · 1 year ago
    This is tragic. If Turkey had been admitted into th EU, this would be an EU issue. As it is, it will probably be forgotten. I will be in Istanbul in September, and I will ask questions.
  • Butch1 · 1 year ago
    These G.D. religions and religionists are to blame for this senseless violence. There is not other answer for this. They should ultimately be held responsible for teaching their flock to hate and kill like this.
  • jr · 1 year ago
    "Turkey needs a free trade deal"-43
  • MorgaineSwann · 1 year ago
    If there were ever two words that do not go together, it would be "honour" and "killing." At the most basic level, humans have to get down under the idea that they have a right to kill another person for any reason and root it out. There's a reason they call it "The OLD Testament" and that's where all this violence begins. It has to stop.
  • ibsulon · 1 year ago
    Today's Zaman (the major english speaking newspaper in Turkey) doesn't even have anything about it. I'll have to ask one of my Turkish friends about what's being said on the ground.

    But there are two huge stories going on right now in Turkey. Cyprus talks have come up again, and documents were released last week uncovering a major military coup that included in its conspiracy journalists and other major figures.