■*1
(
General Gayety
by Leslie Robinson . Contributing Writer
It’s an off-the-wall world
P*:E R S P E C-T I V E
As 2008 winds down, the worldwide wack
iness level jumps up.
In Paris, armed robbers made off with
$100 million worth of jewelry from a Harry
Winston store near the Champs-filysees. Police
said the heist ranks among the biggest jewel
thefts in French history.
That wasn’t all that made the robbery
monumental. Of the four thieves, at least two
were men in wigs and women’s clothes.
Who knew there was so much money to be
made in drag?
Bizarreness is also alive and well across the
English Channel in London, where Boy
George, the former Culture Club singer, was
convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort.
Boy George, 46, was tried under his real
name of George O’Dowd. More appropriate for
legal proceedings, I suppose, than Boy George
or Middle-Aged George.
Norwegian hustler Audun Carlsen said
that, following a naked photo shoot, George
handcuffed him to a wall at the singer’s apart
ment and beat him after he got loose. George
admitted handcuffing him, but denied assault
ing him.
It must’ve been difficult for those watching
the trial to refrain from breaking into “Do You
Really Want to Hurt Me.”
George’s sentencing will be in January and
odds are he’ll see jail time. Two years ago he
swept streets in New York
City after pleading guilty
to filing a false police
report. On that occasion
he’d called the cops with
a bogus story of a bur
glary by a male prostitute
in his Manhattan apartment. What the
responding officers found was cocaine.
In the London case, George believed the
escort had stolen pictures from him. Mbcing
hookers, drugs and paranoia makes George an
un-dull Boy.
Let’s turn now to a different kind of court
case and a different brand of bizarre. In India,
the Delhi High Court has been hearing argu
ments about whether to scrap the country’s
law against homosexual sex, the infamous
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.
The federal government, a big fan of the
law, declared in a recent submission to the
court that homosexuality is the result of a per
verse mind.
Well then.
This claim fits in snugly with similar state
ments from the government during the legal
proceedings. In October the government stat
ed homosexuality is a disease that’s responsi
ble for the spread of AIDS in India.
A disease. The result of a perverse mind.
How encouraging to hear this up-and-coming
world power has such a firm grasp of science.
Now back to Europe for other ridiculous
claims, thanks to a man who specializes in
them. Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov is Russia’s
homophobia poster child. For the last three
years his administration has banned Pride
marches and he’ll always be remembered for
calling gay parades “Satanic.”
Speaking in early December at an inter-
■ national HIV/AIDS conference in Moscow,
Luzhkov pledged to continue putting the
kibosh on gay parades.'“We have banned and
will continue to forbid this propaganda by
sexual minorities, as they could turn out to
be one of the factors in the spread of HIV
infections.”
There you have it. Pride parades spread
AIDS. Must be something in the paint on-the
banners.
The mayor added, “Certain homegrown
democrats believe that sexual minorities can
be a primary indicator and symbol of democ
racy, but we will forbid the dissemination of
these opinions in the future as well.”
An autocrat only Stalin could love.
Luzhkov offered another piece of wisdom,
when he declared, “Certain manufacturers
state that condoms are reliable protection
against AIDS, but modern science has proven
this is untrue.”
The assembled HIV/AIDS experts from
around the world must’ve thought the trans
lating mechanism was on the blink. But only
the mayor was. >
info: LcsRobinsn@aol.com . www.GeneralGayety^com
^online q-poll^
Are you going to Obama’s
inauguration on Jan. 20?
See the options and vote at
www.q-notes.com
P Q§^
^XHARLOTTE^S BEST
PLACE FOR
VINTAGE FURNITURE,
JEWELRY, CLOTHING ft
OTHER COOL STUFF*^
4450 SOUTH BOULEVARD
CHARLOTTE, NC 28209
704.529.6369
DECEMBER 27.2008 • QNotes I 5