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I have received a couple of e-mails regarding my coverage of the heinous crime committed against the innocents in the Norwegian capital and on Utoya island yesterday from persons who view this forum.
I need to point out that I am most certainly NOT posting with any thought towards a sense of sensationalism in regards to these unspeakable acts of violence. Rather I am providing information that I have received as I have been covering the unfolding events requisite in my discharging the duties of my profession.
Of paramount concern to me is that this was an act of religious based bigotry and terrorism committed by an unstable individual with obvious mental health issues. He most likely was influenced by the hateful rhetoric spewed by so-called christian values groups who take an inappropriate and wrongful interpretation of that faith. Instead, it becomes a twisted form of propaganda that quite frankly, in my opinion, leads to these sort of scenarios.
As this is a LGBTQ forum, need I point out that those same influences deem those of us who are queer as an evil abomination that needs to be eradicated. As a journalist and as a gay man I have a responsibility to the greater community of humanity both queer and heteronormal to raise an alarm.
This horrid crime illustrates sadly and graphically that words do indeed kill and that we must take those persons or organisations whose sole purpose is to demonise others and in our particular case as a queer community, and force accountability upon them and force them to realise that this is not an abstract argument. Words do kill.
I feel no need to issue a Mea Culpa based on the rubbish e-mails of a few malcontents who apparently cannot see the forest through the trees.
For Tor, indeed all of his countrymen, I am truly sorry for your loss.
Brody Levesque
Washington D. C.
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Thanks, Brody for your kind words.
As far as I can see, your coverage of the horrendous crimes committed last Friday, has been both correct and precise. But the stream of news and comments in the media has almost reached a point of overload, making it difficult to digest it all.
I'd like to make a comment on your words about a possible connection between the killings and religious extremism and bigotry.
The killer doesn't describe himself as an overtly religious person. His 1500 pages long 'manifesto' discusses extensively his political and philosophical views and ideas, as well as his plan to overthrow the political establishment, and his use of religious words and symbols is obviously nothing but window dressing. To my knowledge, he has expressed no animosity towards gay people, neither in his manifesto, which I haven't read, nor elsewhere. In fact, one of his reasons to hate Muslims, seems to be their prosecution of homosexuals.
His defence lawyer has told the media that the man's ideas are highly incoherent, and that he obviously lives in an ideological and intellectual bubble. Large parts of his manifesto are cut-and-paste from other documents.
What he does represent is a highly militant nationalistic and racist extremism with a strong hatred against immigration, a multi-cultural society and Muslims in particular. He and his ideological brothers use the word 'Eurabia' to describe a future Europe where Christian traditions and values have been replaced by Muslim tyranny. Our present political establishment, the Labour Party in particular, is to blame for the large influx of Muslims and must be overthrown by force.
He is the knight i armour, fighting the good cause, and his task was now to obliterate the large group of politically active teenagers at the Labour Party youth camp on Utoeya island, in order to paralyse the Labour Party and prevent the recruitment of new leaders. In fact, the bombing of the government offices in Oslo seems to have been a deflection. As a precaution against physical and mental weakness he had been taking steroids and other drugs for some time ahead of last Friday.
Fortunately, religious extremists are fewer and less outspoken here than across the Atlantic, and I would hesitate calling any of them militant. Some of them occasionally cause head shaking or make themselves a laughing stock, but we have no Fred Phelps or his like.
We do have one political party with a significant number of votes behind them, frequently borrowing arguments and rhetoric from their Republican cousins in America, but they are now as shocked as the rest of the nation, and politicians from all corners of our political arena stand shoulder-to-shoulder against political extremism.
[Updated on: Wed, 27 July 2011 01:53] |
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Brody's Notes... Married Lesbian Couple Saves Dozens During Norway Shooting Rampage
By Brody Levesque | HELSINKI, FINLAND -- The Finnish capital city's largest daily newspaper and media outlet, Helsingin Sanomat, published the following article in last Saturday's edition, (24-7-11):
[ The following is a direct translation from Finnish ]
Hege Dalen and her spouse, Toril Hansen were near Utöyan having dinner on the opposite shore across from the ill-fated campsite, when they began to hear gunfire and screaming on the island.
"We were eating. Then shooting and then the awful screaming. We saw how the young people ran in panic into the lake," says Dale to HS in an interview.
The couple immediately took action and pushed the boat into Lake Tyrifjorden.
Dalen & Hansen, drove the boat to the island, picked up from the water vicitms in shock in, the young and wounded, and transported them to the opposite shore to the mainland. Between runs they saw that the bullets had hit the right side of the boat.
Since there were so many and not all fit at once aboard, they returned to the island four times.
They were able to rescue 40 young people from the clutches of the killer.
"We did not sleep last night at all. Today, we have been together and talked about the events," Dale says.
Norway's Television 2 verified the accuracy of the Finnish account by phone, adding that the couple's actions have been publicly noted by the Norwegian government.
Hege Dale Hansen & spouse Toril,
Photo by Maija Tammi via Helsingin Sanomat
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On a personal note re: Norway Tragedy 
Thanks Tor and here's this that is heartening-- 