Gay and Lesbian Italians Confront Bigotry Forcefully

Proving once again that there are very real consequences resulting from the public espousal of bigotry and hatred, an undemocratically chosen official of the superstition-based Roman Catholic hierarchy, "Bishop Bagnasco," has been provided lethally armed bodyguards by Italian taxpayers, hundreds of thousands of whom are gay and lesbian themselves and therefore the targets of Bagnasco's hatred and bigotry. The object of previous direct actions following speeches in which he called for the initiation of antigay pogroms, Bagnasco claims to have received during the weekend a bullet in an envelope emblazoned with his graven image and a Nazi swastika. Exactly what such symbolism was intended to signify is debatable, if we can believe Bagnasco's account at all since it is entirely possible, likely even, that he is fabricating the whole scenario in order to generate bad publicity for people who want no more than legal equality. I happen to think the bullet was intended to be more of a reminder to Bagnasco about all the innocent people who have died violently because of the church-sponsored bigotry he is actively perpetuating than it is a threat to his own personal safety. We can at least feel comforted by the fact that he's much less likely to molest any children with a lot of armed cops watching his every move.