Gay Marriage In Hong Kong

1.  2017.....Was The Tide Shifting in Asia..?
2.  2017.....Gay Marriage In Taiwan
3.  2018.....Hong Kong Government vs Same-Sex Benefits
4.  What FuelMix Thinks


1.  2017...Was The Tide Shifting In Asia..?

1.  In 2017, we wondered whether the conservative tide in Asia was shifting.  At the time, there was a landmark decision in the High Court allowing same-sex benefits to the partner of a gay Hong Kong civil servant who had legally married his white partner in New Zealand.

2.  Considering that the Hong Kong Government was the city's largest employer, the decision had implications for the private sector as well - although the reality is that several large companies like Cathay Pacific Airways, HSBC and international investment banks, were already providing same-sex benefits to those who were legally married or in a civil union.


2.  2017.....Gay Marriage In Taiwan

1.  Shortly afterwards (in fact, just days afterwards) the Constitutional Court in Taiwan declared that same-sex marriages should be legal.  See the post in May 2017 entitled, Same-Sex Marriage In Taiwan..? 1  (Part 2 of the post that we uploaded the next day confirming the court's decision, with our additional comments, disappeared on 8 August 2018 as we were attempting to republish it. We pressed the wrong button).

2.  There was widespread gay jubilation in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Many Hong Kong pundits declared that gay marriage was also about to come to Hong Kong.


3.  2018.....Hong Kong Government vs Same Sex Benefits

1.  Then, the Hong Kong Government decided to take the case allowing same-sex benefits in the civil service, to the Court Of Appeal.  It was heard at the end of May 2018 and the decision was massively conservative.  The Court reversed the decision of the High Court on 2 main grounds:

(1).  By declaring that the Hong Kong Government, as not just a private employer but as a "custodian of Hong Kong's socio-moral values" had a legitimate aim to protect the institution of traditional marriage.  By granting same-sex benefits, which were unique to "marriage" (i.e. between a man and a woman), the status of "marriage" would significantly diminish in the eyes of the public.  Moreover, the extension of granting same-sex benefits would inevitably spread to public housing, social welfare, public medical benefits, employment benefits and protection, pensions and life insurance;

(2).  The Court also looked at Article 37 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitution, which states:

“the freedom of marriage of Hong Kong residents and their right to raise a family freely shall be protected by law”.

The Court decided that the word "marriage" meant the union between a man and a woman.  Therefore, there was fundamental constitutional backing for the government's legitimate aim.  To give same-sex benefits:

" is to offend, challenge, question, confuse or subtly change [Hong Kong] society's established understanding of the concept of marriage, which....is rooted in its traditional historical, social, moral or religious background and values, as embedded in Articled 37 of the Basic Law".

4.  What FuelMix Thinks

1.  Several times in this blog, we said that while we support same-sex relationships, we do not support it by way of "marriage".  This is because "Marriage" is infused with religious and social baggage and there is no shortage of those screeching in favour of traditional "family values".

2.  We stated that Civil Union was the way to go.  In other words, separate but equal, with full rights of inheritance, next-of-kin status, employment and pensions benefits, employment protection against discrimination, raising a family, divorce proceedings etc.  The effect would be to remove same-sex relationships from the baggage-laden concept of  "marriage", thereby depriving conservatives of any ammunition.

3.  The decision of the Hong Kong Court Of Appeal is a prime example of such social and judicial conservatism.

4.  At some level, however, they're right.  The Government does take the lead in socio-moral values.  This is because Law is a reflection of prevailing morality at a given point in time.  But, society's views change over time.  That's why Laws are amended or repealed and new ones brought in.  It's an evolving organic process as societies become more discerning.

5.  The Court's reliance on Article 37 of the Basic Law is more problematic. They have equated marriage with having children.  In the context of same-sex relationship, that doesn't necessarily follow.

6.  We think that the phrase, “the freedom of marriage of Hong Kong residents and their right to raise a family freely shall be protected by law” is disjunctive.  In other words, the freedom of marriage of Hong Kong residents should apply to their right to marry legally overseas.

7.  The Court alluded to the possibility of same-sex marriage being allowed IF the Basic Law was amended.  Here lies a wider problem.  China has repeatedly stated that it will NOT amend the Basic Law........not because they're against same-sex marriage, but because local pro-democracy activists (who may, or may not, be foreign instigated) have been repeatedly calling for an amendment to the Basic Law regarding the voting for the city's Chief Executive.  From China's point of view, that's understandable. They do NOT want to create a precedent for future amendments.

8.  This matter will now go to the Court Of Final Appeal.  It remains to be seen whether they will be just as conservative as the Court Of Appeal, or more liberal.

9.  Note that in July 2018, the Court Of Final Appeal ordered the Immigration Department to grant a lifelong same-sex couples visa to a lesbian's partner.  Therefore, for the purposes of a Dependent Visa, Gay Marriage and Civil Union that took place overseas, are recognized in Hong Kong.


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For Whom The Toilet Flushes

A few years back, some gay bars in a western politically correct country, notoriously drug fucked from coast to coast, were the subject of police raids.   It was alleged that the bars were involved in drug dealing.  The bar tenders were arrested.

One of the "outraged" (would there be any other gay reaction..?) bar owners denied any knowledge of drug dealing on his premises and complained that the cops only told him after they’d arrested the bar tender.

Well……um…..yeah, isn’t that the whole purpose of a raid..?

Let’s consider the broader context.  Bar owners , whether in Fagland or Breederville, routinely turn a blind eye to the deals that go down on their premises.  It’s not for nothing that bars have dark corners and cater to a certain crowd.

In white Faglands, not only do drug-fucked fags mill around outside the bar, but so do other types of druggies, salivating, twitching and scratching their open sores.  (That’s how to identify the ones fucked up on meth).  It’s like feeding time at the dog pound, waiting for the keeper to appear.  If it’s Welfare Wednesday and they’ve got a wad of taxpayers dollars they’re looking for a drink and a fix fast.  

Any other day of the week, they’ll haunt customers at nearby  bank ATM machines (banks deliberately place ATM machines near bars and franchised coffee shops)  or offer handjobs or blowjobs to customers  (in the back alley, near the dumpsters) or try and mooch a free drink off a customer – anything to be in a position to hand over the cash to the dealer, once he takes up position inside the bar.

In Fagland bars, the drug deals can happen anywhere in the bar.  They’re quick, fast and synchronized.  The dealer and the fag addict are pros.  For example, if the deal goes down in the toilets, the dealer and the fag addict will occupy 2 separate toilet stalls.  The cash and the stash changes hands under the partition walls.  It’s kinda fun to watch.  It’s also the reason that in certain fag bars, nobody uses the toilet stalls since the “conference rooms” are usually occupied for a “meeting”.

It’s bizarre to think bar tenders don’t know about it.  They know everything because they make it their business to know everything and everyone.  It’s also unrealistic to think they wouldn’t tip off the bar owners.  Whether the owners do anything about it is another matter.  Bar tenders only make a base salary and most of their pay cheque comes in tips. The temptation to let the drug deals go down in return for a cash “referral fee” is very strong especially if it keeps the customers coming in and buying drinks.  From the bar tenders point of view, it’s a Win-Win situation.

As for the bar owners in the West presumably they’re too naïve to realize what a collection of homeless druggies or twitching broke-ass fags with open sores and agitated behavior outside their bar, or in the back alley, actually means..... ?

Oh yeah and the bar owners have yet to figure out why the immigrant janitor keeps complaining he can’t clean the toilets properly.

In Asia, the drug deals in the bars are already going down. GAMs have taken to crystal meth in a big way.   It’s only a matter of time until Meth Mouth syndrome and open sores on the face appear.  Those fags will have to reconsider their profiles on Grindr.  They’ll have to drop “cute”, “masculine” and “manly” and switch to “white-looking yellow trash”.

Originally published [FuelMix deleted the date by mistake]
Amended and Republished 8 August 2018

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Gay Men And Forgiveness 2

It’s not difficult to find a gay man who has been hurt by another gay man. 

Sure, there might be different degrees of hurt. Some offenses were probably more subtle, while others were more blatant and outward. Regardless, they all can leave a mark. 

The reality is that many gay men are carrying past hurt with them day in and day out. The experience and wound gets re-opened each time they think about the look, insult or slur that was thrown their way. Instead of healing, the wound gets sliced open over and over again. 

On the other side, there are gay men out there who continue to hurt other gay men. Their view of the world is narrow and self-absorption is a way of life. Their self is the center of the world and they swing violently throughout the bars, beaches and community, much like a wrecking ball (cue Miley Cyrus). 

All of this creates a recipe for long-lasting grudges, cycles of hurt and monumental barriers to forming a sense of community among gay men. 

Is this presence of skepticism, paranoia and suspicion of gay men toward other gay men an old phenomenon? Or is this new? Is it something that wasn’t ever talked about or acknowledged before or are we facing a brand new beast? 

What I don’t hear a lot within the gay community is the concept of forgiveness. 

Merriam-Webster says to forgive is to “stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong)” and “to stop blaming (someone).” To “stop feeling anger about (something) and “to forgive someone for (something wrong)”. 

While there are certainly pockets and moments of love shown between gay men, there is also burning rage in the hearts of many — especially those who have been hurt time and again. 

Both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi spoke strongly about forgiving others. King said, “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.” And Gandhi boldly proclaimed, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”. 

It’s safe to say that most gay men have been hurt by other gay men at some point in their lives. What would it look like for you to forgive the gay men that have hurt you in your life? Is it possible for you to let go of that hurt you’ve been carrying around for days weeks, months or even decades? Do you believe reconciliation is even possible? 

Maybe forgiveness is a muscle we’ve allowed to get flabby and weak. Maybe we’ve been holding out for an apology from our perpetrator that may never arrive. The truth is that when we refuse to forgive others, we only imprison ourselves. 

Every gay man reading this gets to decide: Will I carry anger or love in my heart? You can’t carry both. 

Yes, we need to educate our fellow gay men and be bold in confronting racism, classism, ageism and other -isms that too often go unaddressed in our community. 

I fear, however, that without an element of forgiveness, our posture toward one another will continue to harden. The distance and divide will increase and the toxic words we throw toward one another will become increasingly sharp and pointed. 

There’s very little hope of cultivating community and friendships when we can’t stand one another and when we won’t forgive. 

Forgiveness is messy. It’s complicated. Maybe we’re afraid to air our “dirty laundry” to the larger world. If we’re real honest with ourselves, gay men are not at all immune to hating one another. Perhaps a part of you hates other gay men in this very moment. 

While writing this, I came across these powerful words from Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking, but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end, only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.

Will gay men step forward to choose forgiveness? Will I? Will you? What will be your first step toward forgiving your fellow gay men?..................


-----"What If Gay Men Forgave One Another?",  by Josh Hersh, July 17, 2014, The Blog, Huffington Post 

See also: Gay Men And Forgiveness 1

Babies

Underlining, highlighting and bold print by FuelMix:


When the baby is old enough, they send it to school, where it spends twelve years being taught lies about how the world works so that one day it will be able to watch CNN and say “Yes, this makes perfect sense” instead of “This is ridiculous” or “Why does this whole entire thing seem completely fake?” or “I want to punch Chris Cuomo in the throat.” 

The baby is taught history, which is the study of the ancient, leftover propaganda from whichever civilization happened to win the wars in a given place at a given time. 

The baby is taught geography, so that later on when its country begins bombing another country, the baby’s country won’t be embarrassed if its citizens cannot find that country on a globe. 

The baby is taught obedience, and the importance of performing meaningless tasks in a timely manner. This prepares the baby for the half century of pointless gear-turning it will be expected to undertake after graduation. 

The baby is taught that it lives in a free country, with a legitimate electoral system which facilitates meaningful elections of actual representatives in a real government. It is never taught that those elections, representatives and government are all owned and operated by the very rich, who use them to ensure policies which make them even richer while keeping everyone else as poor as possible so that they won’t have to share political power. It is never taught that highly secretive intelligence and defense agencies form alliances with those rich people to advance murderous and exploitative agendas for profit and power. It is never taught that the things it sees on television are mostly lies. 

The baby is smoothly, seamlessly funneled from uterus to full-time employment through this system, often with a little religion mixed in to really drive home the importance of obedience and meekness and the nobility of poverty. From there the various screens in the baby’s life take over its continuing education, tightening the bolts of the propaganda cage and making sure that baby keeps turning those gears without asking too many questions. This continuing education continues until the baby dies in a mass shooting or nuclear holocaust, or of cancer from trying to numb the pain of living with cigarettes, or of liver failure from trying to numb the pain of living with alcohol, or of suicide because it just couldn’t take it anymore, or from its body and brain simply falling apart after a long, pointless, immensely unsatisfying life. 

So now you’ve got all these babies wandering around, just as confused and clueless as the day they were born, thinking thoughts they were told to think and believing beliefs they were told to believe. Some are better at feigning confidence than others, but one baby’s guess about what’s going on is really as good as the next baby’s. The only thing any of them have ever known is the stories that they have been told. 

So those stories get treated as something very important. All they’ve been taught to believe from womb to present moment tells them that it’s very important to keep turning those gears and walking in the same direction as all the other babies, so if all of a sudden one baby steps out of line and starts saying things like “Uhh, guys? We’re marching off a cliff of ecocide and omnicide. Maybe we should turn around?” or “It’s all a lie! We’re being exploited and deceived by an Orwellian oligarchy!”, that baby will usually sound crazy to all the other babies. 

“Shut up you crazy conspiracy theorist baby,” they might say.“We all agree on our story about what’s going on. Our parents told us the same story, our teachers told us the same story, the news man on TV told us the same story, and the politicians told us the same story. We can’t all be wrong!”

But of course they can, and they are.  All it takes is a dominant power structure wielding sufficient control of the stories that all the babies are told. 

Imagine, though, if one of the other babies stepped forward and said, 

“You know what? Maybe that baby is right. None of the stories we’re told have ever added up.  

How come voting never seems to make much difference no matter who we elect and our lives stay shitty even though we always vote for the politician who promises to make them better? 

How come the news man on TV is always telling us about a New Official Bad Guy we need to go bomb, and how come it always happens the same way each time?   

And how come they can always afford all those big fancy bombs while we’re getting poorer and poorer?” 

Then the story of total agreement would be disrupted. If another baby steps forward and does the same thing the story loses even more weight. If those babies get better at communicating with other babies, say with the invention of the internet, more and more babies start questioning the official stories they’ve been told since birth, and before long there’s no more herd mentality keeping all the babies moving in the same direction. 

But those gears still need turning if the rich are going to remain rich and powerful. So they come up with even more stories to restore authority to their old stories about what’s going on. Stories about Russian propaganda, stories about fake news, stories about “useful idiots”, a term applied to babies who believe different stories from the ones they were taught by their parents and teachers and the news man. They do this because they know if they no longer have widespread consensus giving the illusion of credibility to their stories, they’re going to have to start relying on facts and evidence.

And that won’t go well for them at all. 

And now the babies are growing restless. The babies are growing cranky. The old lullabies aren’t keeping them asleep anymore.

The babies are waking up. The babies are growing up. Soon the babies won’t be babies anymore. Soon the babies will be able to tell their own stories. True stories. What will happen to those gears then? What will happen to the machines they power? The answer to that question is why the rich have been fighting so hard for so long to sing the old lullabies, and keep the babies asleep.

-----"Babies", by Caitlin Johnstone, Medium.com July 4, 2018


FuelMix says:  She's right.


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Shitty By The Bay 3

COMPLETED 20 JUNE 2018

1.  FuelMix And San Francisco 15 Years Ago
2.  How The Whites Reacted
3.  FuelMix Refused To Go Back To San Francisco
4.  What Pilots Say About San Francisco 
5.  Zero Hedge And Reddit On San Francisco 2018
6.  FuelMix Says


Readers may be asking, "Why is FuelMix bashing San Francisco...?"


1.  FuelMix And San Francisco 15 Years Ago

1.  Over 15 years ago, we saw it coming......the Perfect Storm of massive wealth inequality, unaffordable housing, homelessness, rigid Political Correctness that stifled free and accurate speech or decisive action - and more importantly stifled law enforcement - chronic budget deficits, high taxes, an entrenched Left Wing (actually what we termed, "Liberal-Fascist") city government, a detoriorating downtown core where the rot would ripple outwards, vandalism, drug use, crime, startling unsanitation and climbing disease rates.


2.  How The Whites Reacted

1.  Over 15 years ago, we raised our observations with (allegedly educated and professional) West Coast whites that something was brewing in San Francisco which would badly tarnish the city's reputation within the US and internationally and what did we get...?  

"OMG FuelMix..!! you're so fuckin' homophobic, racist and anti-white...!!...There's nothing wrong with being a Liberal and pursuing policies of tolerance, harm reduction and a compassionate society.  Diversity and tolerance are part of our heritage and lifestyle......Get with it man...!! Stop being so fuckin' dictatorial and demanding social and financial discipline. If you don't like the place, you should leave...!"

 3.  FuelMix Refused To Go Back To San Francisco

1.  We refused to visit San Francisco after that.  Other than a major construction boom (courtesy of the massive wealth inequality to which we alluded above), we haven't missed much - aside from the now painfully obvious shit and drug infested 4th World Ghetto that large chunks of the city have turned into.

2.  The briefly-famous San Francisco Shit Map (which won a hackathon and, according to its creator, was intended to draw attention to homelessness) has allegedly not been updated since 2015.  It was used as political ammunition by Right Wing conservatives to highlight the falling urban standards.

3.  However, it appears that a new SF Shit Map is required in the light of more recent comments below.


4.  What Pilots Say About San Francisco  

1.  Here's what Cathay Pacific pilots who fly HKG - SFO plus Hong Kong Airlines pilots who started the HKG - SFO route in March 2018, told us over the last few weeks:

• "Looks like a preview of a Mad Max film..."
• "I'm 6 foot 2 and built - and I don't feel safe..."
• "The good news is that the shit won't be hitting the fan....most of it is on the sidewalks.."
• "The drug needles and syringes on the streets are overwhelming..."
• "Gotta keep looking behind me when I walk around downtown..."
• "My girlfriend refused to go out alone..." 
• "We stay in the hotel in the evenings....less hassle.."
• "Fuck....that stink of shit and piss.....it's everywhere.....these guys are pissing on the outside walls and plate glass windows of street-level restaurants and nobody says or does a thing..." 
• "Just fuckin' creepy...it's absolutely surreal..."

5.  Zero Hedge And Reddit On San Francisco 2018

1.  Here's the latest article by Zero Hedge:

San Francisco - a Democratic stronghold known for cable cars, quaint architecture and its diverse culture, has become a bastion of squalor and crime as city dwellers and visitors alike dodge aggressive, drug-addled vagrants. And it's beginning to scare the tourists...

-----"Terrified" San Francisco Tourists Shocked by Aggressive Vagrants, Discarded Needles, Dead Bodies, ZeroHedge 17 June 2018

2.  Here's another quote from the above article:

"You see things on the streets that are just not humane," Kevin Carroll, executive director of the Hotel Council of San Francisco told The Chronicle'....... in April. "People come into hotels saying, 'What is going on out there?' They're just shocked. ... People say, 'I love your city, I love your restaurants, but I'll never come back.'"

 3.  The article then went on to quote some users on Reddit:

It's pretty normal. I'm honestly hoping tourists will realize how shitty this city has become and stop coming. Maybe the loss of income will finally push the city to stop allowing the rampant drug dealing and homeless people treating the entire city like their toilet. You would think a city that depends so heavily on tourism and conventions for the bulk of their income would put more effort into maintaining a certain standard, but there is rampant drug dealing out in the open in some of the most heavily tourist areas. The city know about it, they just don't care. 

4.  Then it quoted a separate Reddit thread:

"Why is this city so terrifying (Canadian here)
I've wanted to visit SF my entire life and I finally make it here and my goddddd it's terrifying.  Anyone have any advice for a tourist aside from 'don't be such a pussy'

5.  Here's some more from the same article:

"The streets are filthy. There's trash everywhere. It's disgusting," [said]Joe D'Alessandro, president of S.F. Travel in April. "I've never seen any other city like this — the homelessness, dirty streets, drug use on the streets, smash-and-grabs."

The city, which hands out up to 4.8 million syringes each year, has struggled to figure out how to keep streets clean and safe for residents, while accommodating a growing homeless population and longstanding HIV and Hepatitis C epidemics. There are roughly 16,000 residents in San Francisco with HIV, and 13,000 with Hep C.

6.  It was estimated by the City Health Director that in 2016, San Francisco had 22,000 intravenous drug users and that the city hands out 400,000 needles every month. Multiply that by 12 and that's where the figure of 4.8 million syringes quoted above, comes from.

7.  In other words, as the San Francisco Gate reported on 13 June 2018, most of the needles littering the streets..........came from the Department of Public Health's Needle Exchange Program. Whilst it's called an Exchange program, there are no real rules for their return (apparently there are 13 syringe access and disposal sites).

8.  Just let all those stats sink in for a minute.....Then watch this video (approx 6 minutes):



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6.  FuelMix Says

1.  Yes fags, this post really is about FuelMix saying, "I told you so".  We're not gloating at the abject human misery, the rising anger of the people who live there or the shock sustained by tourists.

2.  We're gloating because all those years ago, we walked around with our eyes wide open and had the courage to call it like we saw it -  past the shrieks of denial and accusations of homophobia and racism.  We lost acquaintances because of what we saw and predicted.

3.  Did we see San Francisco's future then...?  Probably.  But anyone else could have seen it, had they opened their eyes and their minds and shut down the babble of Political Correctness.

See also:
Shitty By The Bay 1
Shitty By The Bay 2

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Shitty By The Bay 2

When one has a rabidly left-wing, ultra-liberal, politically correct agenda as the method for running a city, the results are bound to be disastrous, retarded and flat-out hilarious.

In Shitty By The Bay 1, we wrote about how fast San Francisco, allegedly one of the wealthiest cities anywhere (and currently with skyrocketing property prices), was going downhill (pun intended) fast with unprecedented amounts of homelessness, crime, vandalism, urban blight and risk of disease.

And now, at San Francisco Airport, ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft, are NOT allowed to pick up passengers at Arrivals. (Presumably, that is to protect the local Taxi companies).

Read that again.

The result...?

-----"San Francisco Airport Lunacy Causing Huge Traffic Congestion", MishTalk, Global Economic Analysis 5 June 2018

So now, Uber and Lyft:

Pick up arriving passengers from Departures.

And departing passengers are dropped off at Arrivals.

The result...? Chaos at the Departures level (apparently blamed on Uber and Lyft) and an underused Arrivals level because few people wish to pay the city's bureaucratic solution of Two-Tiered Taxi rates.

In other words, pay premium prices for curbside access (an additional US3.80) and a lower fare if you schlepp your luggage and walk to the central garage.

Or pay nothing, if you just go upstairs to Departures and hail Uber and Lyft. Of course, Uber and Lyft would be there, since why would they do a return journey to town empty..?

Gotta love Liberals....

We have no political or religious affiliations.

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Gay Men And Forgiveness 1

Underlining, highlighting and bold print by FuelMix:

Sex is easy. Intimacy is hard. Having spent so much of my life sexually frustrated, I didn’t realize how true this is until after a painful breakup with my ex, Kay.

I partially came out at 20. I came out more fully at twenty-five. But I didn’t really properly date until I was 29. Which means I had about a 10-year lag on most heterosexuals. The romantic and sexual experiences that most other people go through earlier, I went through later, but with the same emotionally undeveloped tools as an adolescent. 

So when I met Kay, I rushed in. I felt too much, too fast, and then we fell apart. 

This happens to straight people too of course. But I think our straight peers have the advantage of a larger culture that better equips them to deal with romantic failure. They receive mentorship either directly from friends or family, or indirectly from media, on how to recover from a failed relationship. 

At least for me, I spent much of my adolescence and early adulthood having my own sexual interests dismissed. And so when I finally found a guy who provided the fulfillment of a meaningful relationship, and then had my heart broken, I felt like there was never a point to it. I was rejected by straight culture, and now I’d been rejected by my own. I gave up on any kind of “happily ever after.” 

For a full week after Kay and I ended, I barely left my apartment and just sat streaming videos. I burned through all of True Detective and much of The Wire. Cocktail hour started at sunrise. I deleted him from my phone. I felt lonely all the time. I still do sometimes, though I’m better now at managing it.

Everyone at some point finds themselves feeling abandoned, as though alone in a boat. But as a gay man, I felt adrift, with neither rudder, oar, nor sail, as I watched my straight peers move on ahead. They too went through many of the same struggles, but always seemed to recover better and faster, while I bobbed around at the whim of the waves, traveling each way and none. 

I pursued myriad shallow relationships, rather than investing and losing too much by giving too much to one person. There are ten guys in my list of contacts with the last name “OKCupid.” There are 23 with the last name “Grindr”. For one of them, as a first name I just wrote “Some Dude.” Those are just the ones who made it into my contacts. 

I found lots of opportunities for easy sex, but didn’t push for anything more from the guys I met. 

I even hooked up with the same guy twice and didn’t even realize I’d had sex with him before until, as we were undressing, I recognized a familiar birthmark otherwise hidden by underwear. I still don’t know his name. 

Kay and I lived in the same city, which meant that we would run into each other occasionally. Each time it had been painful to pretend that we were strangers. As two gay men between the age of twenty and forty living in a small city, we were going to share space. We’ve probably shared lovers. But the isolation we’d brought on ourselves had been its own kind of burden. Even worse than the break up itself. The breakup happened and ended. The loneliness that came from going unacknowledged dragged on and on. 

Recently, I was wrapping up breakfast with a man I’d been seeing for eight months. (Both of us had been cautious—we hadn’t had the “boyfriend” talk. Love comes more slowly the second time around.) I received a text with the name heading: New Contact Found: Maybe Kay.

When I got the text, beginning, “Hi, this is Kay,” I felt fearful, anxious and angry. I looked at the calendar: It had been three years and two days since our first date. 

Kay was texting to say that he was sorry for how he had treated our relationship. For years, this was what I had most wanted from Kay. I didn’t want him to beg for forgiveness, or tell me that he loved me, I just wanted him to see that how we ended had left me hurt. But, even more than that, I wanted him to recognize that we had, once, been important to each other. 

The funny thing was, once Kay apologized to me, I realized I could do the same for him. There were things about our relationship that I was sorry for. I had done things I regretted, and had wanted to apologize for, but hadn’t because I thought it would make me look like a chump. I was the one who got dumped. So why should I be the one to say I was sorry? 

But after this exchange, I could feel my anger and resentment toward Kay evaporating. He had been trying to identify what was important to him, and had realized that he needed to take better care of his relationships. It was not something that came easily to him, but he was trying to do better. 

I felt that he meant what he wrote, and I made the choice to believe him. Mostly because I’ve been feeling the same way. And acknowledging that it, and each other, has let me release a lot of weight I’d been dragging around ever since we split. Yes, I had been avoiding Kay. But I had also been avoiding my own fears of intimacy. 

I’d tried to dodge every single guy I’d ever been on so much as a date with, which meant strategizing how to best navigate an ever growing minefield of discarded lovers. Sure, when Kay and I crossed paths we pretended we didn’t know each other, but I’d been doing that with everyone who’d shared my bed. 

Recently, I reached out to another ex after a chance encounter in a thrift store. When I saw Luis in the store, I spun around and walked out. Almost immediately I felt embarrassed and went back inside to apologize, but he had already left, or else was hiding in the dressing room. So I texted him to say how sorry I was that I had avoided him. That the next time I saw him I would say hello. 

Kay and I will probably never be friends. We don’t need to be. But at least we aren’t strangers any more. We can say hello when we see each other in the street. I even opened up my contacts and put his name back in.

-----"Dealing with Rejection: Living openly and learning to forgive", by Cirrus Wood, Beta, October 11, 2017


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Corporate Gay Activism 5

1.  Western Corporates And  Hong Kong Gay Rights

2.  A Warning From FuelMix

Underlining, highlighting and bold print by FuelMix:

1.  Western Corporates And Hong Kong Gay Rights

The LGBTIQ social movement in the U.S. originated from the fearless voices of grassroots activists and came to a fever pitch during the Stonewall riots in 1969, when gay men and women, drag queens and transgender people, together, fended off police officers raiding their safe space. Much has changed since, especially in big metropolitan cities like Hong Kong where the power to influence social change has begun shifting from grassroots activists to corporate initiatives mostly backed by international financial institutions. 

“Finance and banking, after all, is a major industry in Hong Kong,” says James Tong, the openly gay Citi’s Managing Director and Regional Head of Global Shipping & Logistics. “It’s a capitalist society and the people who bring in the dough have a say in things.” 

I know what you’re thinking. The finance industry is not typically known for diversity and inclusion, and top finance executives still tend to be white, straight and male – even in Hong Kong – considering the ratio of expats to those in top positions. Tong, however, believes things are changing.

I met with him at Clifford Chance law firm’s 10th annual Pride Art Exhibition, which is packed with top-level LGBTIQ corporate executives (aka power gays) and their allies celebrating queer art and emerging queer artists. “You see, Hong Kong is catching up quickly to cities like New York,” he says. “We are willing to talk about the issues and how sexual orientation should be a non-issue. At the end of the day, the most important thing for a company is to find talent, the crème de la crème, regardless of age, gender, religion, race and sexual orientation. Finance should only be conservative in the sense that people are concerned about the bottom line and driving profit. 

Tong would be the guy who knows how the perception of homosexuality in the finance sector has evolved, having been in it for the past 21 years. “I remember after returning from my studies in Australia I got my first job and my boss told me that coming out might affect my career." He continues: “But since then, that was the only incident. I perform well at my job, I’m visible and out, and when I had a partner, I would not hesitate to bring him to corporate events."

For the past few years, major banks and corporations [in Hong Kong] have taken a stand for LGBTIQ rights. HSBC launched the “Celebrate Pride, Celebrate Unity” campaign, which saw their iconic lions, Stephen and Stitt, painted in rainbow colors. And more recently, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse along with 10 other financial companies are supporting an expat lesbian couple in a legal battle against the Hong Kong government for the recognition of their relationship. Tong too, along with his colleagues have taken initiatives for the betterment of the LBGTIQ community in the workplace by founding the Citi Pride Network chapter in Hong Kong back in 2014 .

The 44-year-old says: “I thought, as an openly gay man in a senior position, it is my responsibility to make sure there is a safe place at Citi for LGBTIQ people and make sure it’s reflected when it comes to hiring. I believe LGBTIQ people often work twice as hard to prove themselves.” Besides the Hong Kong office, Tong is also responsible for being the bridge to management for LGBTIQ colleagues in other Asian countries, some of which where homosexuality is still illegal. “Individuals in these countries might not always want to speak up, so I will help them get what they deserve. Coming out is a very personal matter, and I never encourage people to come out just for the sake of coming out. But when someone is ready, needs advice, someone to rely on, I’m here.” 

Workplace culture in Hong Kong and the rest of the world’s major cities are still far from perfect, and Tong acknowledges this and remains cautious. “Just because companies have diversity and inclusion programmes doesn’t mean there won’t be individuals that choose to be ignorant.” 


-----"How Asia's Finance Industry Is Leading The Fight For LGBTIQ Rights", Forbes, June 27, 2017


COMING UP IN PART 6:
2.  A Warning From FuelMix

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ButtCoin And CryptoPussy

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Wearing My Propaganda

1.  Mainland Chinese Over Here
2.  American Brands And Propaganda in Asia
3.  Then There Are The Fags..... 

1.  Mainland Chinese Over Here

1.  Here in Very Rich Megacity, as rich as we think we are, Mainland Chinese - whether visiting or living here -  with Louis Vuitton suitcases and offshore accounts of unexplained and inexplicable oodles of cash, shame us.  Nobody knows exactly how, when and where they made such fantastic sums, but the local Cantonese speaking in a tone that is simultaneously derisive, awe-struck and envious, describe Mainland Chinese cash as "grey money" or the more sinister, "black money".

2.  Mainland Chinese can be found lined up around the block outside the priciest and glitziest fashion, jewellery and high-end watch retailers downtown. They don't just swarm onto the premises like locusts.  They infest the entire mall like cockroaches.  Those are the descriptions of the local Cantonese - descriptions which the government in Very Rich Megacity threatened to criminalize as it didn't show respect and tolerance to "our Mainland brothers and sisters" [sic].

3.  These Mainland Chinese show up with empty high-end Rimova or Tumi suitcases which are wheeled around down, filled with the day's shopping.  It’s all about the brand names – anything that sounds French, Italian or Swiss,  money no object.   It’s not about the style, or the chic or the appreciation of the tailoring or the craftsmanship.   They don’t have a clue.  And frankly, they don't care.

4.  It’s about the swagger and the shrill, slant-eyed shriek of conspicuous consumption.  It’s propaganda by Designer Label and Designer Bling.  They're modeling the power of their cash.


2.  American Brands And Propaganda in Asia

1.  Then there are those American brands retailing in Asia who use generic, white models in nautical, country, urban and semi-sexual settings with pecs, muscled torso or tits on display. The colours on the brand’s logo, a combination of red, white and blue ,evoke the US national flag or national symbol like an eagle.  Or, the brand may hype the Southern Californian lifestyle with glossy videos and promos of sun-kissed, (white) blondish, surfer or jock types  The clothes may be manufactured in China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia or Turkey but the T-shirts and the jackets will overwhelmingly have the city, university, military, police or sports teams names of the United States.

2.  The preferred clientele in Asia is 18 to 35, preferably Western educated, weaned on Western values during their formative years and ideally, weaned on mobile devices.  They are avid consumers of Western trash TV -  specifically American - catering to that age group where the artfully arranged actors are wearing exactly those clothes on the rack.

3.  It’s about the attitude, the assumed freedom of choice, the democracy of it all, the camaraderie of style.  In fact it’s a social hypnosis.  The American-intoxicated consumer is unable to realize that they are an unpaid walking billboard for an insidious form of propaganda  –  that “MY values should be YOUR values”;  that “MY way of living (flakey though it may be) is better than YOURS”;  that “MY clothes are an expression of freedom”, "that MY cities are more important than YOUR cities".

4.  If that's hard to swallow, remember that in the days after September 11, 2001 official statements from US politicians proclaimed that American values were not negotiable and were to be exported.  Further, that the US had no problem shaping other people's reality.

5.  Wake up idiot.  We're not suggesting you stop wearing US brands.  But you'd better admit that not only are you wearing the equivalent of a cheaply made, high priced Mao suit charged to your VISA card, but you are a walking billboard of Reality Conditioning manipulated from halfway across the world for their benefit - not yours.  Propaganda takes many forms you know.  It can be fashionable, ubiquitous, high-priced, sexy and subtle.

6.  But when that propaganda is turned on them, that's when it gets hilarious, yet utterly accurate.  For example, Americans love to deride those from South West Asia (formerly known as the Middle East) as "sand niggers", "rag-heads" or "towel-heads".  Yet nearly every American male and his Syphilis bacteria, wears a backward-facing baseball cap, often with a logo.  Those caps are ubiquitous and are worn everywhere, indoors and out, regardless of the main items of clothing.  When we pointed out that they were the turbans of the white trash, the howls of outrage caused us to laugh for days.

3.  Then There Are The Fags.....

1.  Whether or not subsidized by a Sugar Daddy,  some fags will head straight into Designer Label and Designer Bling.  The look and attitude accessorizes nicely with amphetamines.  After all, he worked hard in the gym that week.  He deserves a chemical and stylized treat.

2.  Many fags gravitate towards a combination of those Western brands mentioned above and specifically gay-wear. That body conscious fit is all-important. It’s the mobile Resume of the state of his pecs, biceps, thighs and ass.  A padded jockstrap  or a cock ring is de rigeur.

3.  Fags will rationalize and say that they’re supporting gay (or gay-friendly) designers and that the clothes are just fabulous.  That may be true but the propaganda of gay-wear is Defiance and Daring.  That’s not a bad thing if you have the looks and the bod.  It serves as inspiring eye candy and cross-marketing.  Remember, it's a fine line between marketing and propaganda.

4.  We suspect that however much manufacturers may deny it, it's no accident that compression shorts, the ultra-fitted tights and shirts seen in gyms and on professional athletes, also evolved from gay street and club wear - but now marketed generally as “enhancing your performance” or “increasing your aerodynamics…” or "helping muscle recovery.." or ".....whilst wicking sweat away from your body....."

5.  How else could a str8 guy go home and look his GF in the face.....?

Originally published 4 May 2011
Amended and Republished 6 February 2018

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To The Left..! To The Left..! 3

Why Politically Left-Leaning Fags With The Entitlement Mentality Are Screwed In A Changing World

4.  The Lightbulb Moment
5.  Facing A Dangerous And Uncertain Future
6.  A Lack of Vision in Fagland 


4.   The Lightbulb Moment

1.   If FuelMix is correct in his observations in Parts 1 and 2, then Fagland particularly in the West, is a microcosm of a banana republic or a failed state.

2.   And how does a banana republic get by? By begging for handouts from international donors.

3.   And what do “democrats”, “socialists”, “liberals” and other left leaning pinkos promise to do? Grab the money from somebody else and give it over.

4.   And that’s music to the ears of the economically unstable, transient, sexually irresponsible, part-time hustling, drug fucked, health challenged fag (all of which are characteristics of a failed state or a crumbling ghetto - fag or nigga). Essentially, they want the freedom to live a suicidal life at somebody else’s expense.

5.   FuelMix feels the most sympathy for the intelligent, healthy,  ageing gay man who can’t afford to live anywhere else. It’s a crying shame that neither the governments nor “the community” have fully considered the implications of the single baby boomer. With Gay Ageism, the glitter of Fagland wears thin, the late nites and the feathered boas have got to go, the porn becomes predictable and he’s tired of hugging fags who smell of poppers, Calvin Klein's "Obsession" and weed.


5.  Facing A Dangerous and Uncertain Future

1.   Before any fag accuses FuelMix of  Western ghetto bashing or Asia-crowing, just remember this. It’s not how much money you can suck from the nipple of the politicians that will save Fagland. It’s how you re-arrange your thinking, your habits and your conscious actions in the face of monumental and historically unprecedented global social and financial change.  Partisan politics, biased lamestream gay media, the "village mentality" and enforced political correctness is out - and will kill you through ignorance and complacency.

2.   The geopolitical and economic split between the West and East has never been more pronounced or more dangerous. Resentment and anger are building.  The massive amounts of global fraud (and propaganda)  imposed by the Western banking elite (who are desperate to create a major war) are now apparent.

3.   Asia and the rest of the world are well aware that the West is broke and debt-ridden on a scale never before seen in history.  And that this debt simply cannot be repaid - despite the trillions dished out so far and the "creative" accounting.    The only way out of it appears to be a Debt Jubilee, whereby all the debt (whether personal, corporate or sovereign) is written off and forgiven.  The global currency and financial wars are  raging in cyberspace.  World War 3 has  begun as more countries engage in competitive devaluation while simultaneously protecting themselves from the effects of a a toxic US Dollar that - as global reserve currency - is exporting inflation to every other country.

4.   At the same time, those with half a brain are attempting to divine how this shit will play out. 

• Will there be inflation now then hyper-inflation later.....?
• Will there be deflation first then rapid and uncontrolled hyper-inflation.....?
• Will there be deflation first, followed by stagflation (i.e. the economy sinks, but prices rise).....?
• What happens when global reserve currency status fails....?  Check your history.  It's happened every time.
• When global reserve currency status fails this time, will it happen overnight, or through a slow painful process...?

5.   So.....fags,  just which shade of government - whether Left or Right - is gonna protect you from these monumental changes that are now visible on the horizon....?  And just how much time do you have....?

6.  To assume that fags are immune to these global financial changes, is the normalcy bias that should alarm every independently thinking gay man.  Wake up faggot......the fashionable Left-leaning ideology that you wear like a charm bracelet, is a fuckin' side show.  Forget about sucking off the nipple of the state.  That is sooooo last Millennium and the Western governments are broke anyway.  All they can do is tax you.  And they will.


6.  A Lack of Vision in Fagland

1.  You want money in Fagland...? Fuck your Left-Leaning political parties where the hacks just show up for the photo-op, the fundraiser or march with big grins in the Pride Parade.  How about developing:

• individual resiliency;
• "community" accountability (instead of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest, disappearing into the night); 
• sustainable corporate entrepreneurship;
• job creation;
• emotional and behavioural intelligence, 
• growth businesses based on gay demographic changes (gay housing for seniors, gay seniors education, job upgrade skills), 
• joint ventures with property developers;
• private equity.....;

2.  Generate money and share it. (Rather than sucking it and skimming it). Seriously.....where are the gay visionaries who can articulate a cohesive social and business template that will generate and circulate wealth....?  Hardly anyone talks about the massive wealth disparity amongst gay men. But EVERYBODY lines up for that fundraiser or to dip their cock in the government guacomole.

3.  Fags are not only politically correct but overtly political, little realizing that their adherence to the left-leaning "ideology" (or any political gospel) is keeping them weak and co-dependent.  The bottom line is that the only marketable skills the average fag has are Outrage and Lobbying.

4.  Some good that's gonna do ya buddy. Looked at the horizon lately....??

Originally published 23 October 2008
Amended and Republished 7 September 2013 | 31 October 2014 | 22 May 2017

Copyright © 2006 - 2017 FuelMix All Rights Reserved

To The Left..! To The Left..! 2

Why Politically Left-Leaning Fags With The Entitlement Mentality Are Screwed In A Changing World

3.  Fagland's Dilemma
4.  The Lightbulb Moment
5.  Facing A Dangerous And Uncertain Future
6.  A Lack of Vision in Fagland 
 
3.   Fagland’s Dilemma

1.  Jobs

1. Low to mid level service industry jobs - particularly in the West;
2. Temporary or seasonal jobs forcing fags to combine jobs - particularly in the West;
3. Internally transient population caused by unstable earning power - particularly in the West;
4. Huge levels of unemployed or underemployed - particularly in the West;

2.  Demographics and Health

1. Large chunks of population in dubious health requiring medical supervision and medication;
2. Growing numbers of fag baby boomers approaching retirement who can’t afford to live anywhere else and who may, or may not, be in good health. Highly visible in the West now and potentially looming in Asia with years of increasing recreational drug use;

3.  Gay Ghetto Physical Infrastructure

1. Huge shortage of gay nursing homes, retirement homes and hospices - particularly in the West; 
2. The problem has not even been acknowledged in Asia;
3. Large percentage of rentals vs owner occupation - particularly in the West;
4. Slow or non existent fag-originated gentrification - particularly in the West; 
5. Signs of urban gentrification occurring in Asia;

4.  Collapsing Gay Social Infrastructure 

1. Crumbling fag infrastructure with constant pleas for funding outreach and social programs - particularly in the West; 
2. Asia is developing those resources through lobbying and private funding;
3. Desperate attempts in the West to keep up appearances – “our community”, “our village”- in the face of economic forces bigger than them - usually Hetero Yuppification, luxury (and unaffordable to the average fag) condos, mixed and more expensive bars resulting in a dilution of fag-centric diversity; All these cause resentment to the fag.  Asia appears more tolerant to evolving economic and demographic changes in the drive for upward mobility;
4. In the West, the fag feels socially, personally, economically and politically threatened. There is pervasive paranoia and easily triggered outrage as the full extent of the economic issues and political shifts dawn on the fag;

Coming up in Part 3:

4.  The Lightbulb Moment
5.  Facing A Dangerous and Uncertain Future 
6.  A Lack of Vision in Fagland

Originally published 23 October 2008
Amended and Republished 7 September 2013 | 30 October 2014 | 22 May 2017

Copyright © 2006 - 2017 FuelMix All Rights Reserved