Comment Archives: stories: Feature: News
Re: “Confessions of a Teenage Prostitute”
I wish there were something we could do about this, is there somewhere we can give to charity to help?
Re: “More than Missionary”
It's funny how little difference there is between modern atheists and traditional religious zealots. Atheists can't prove their faith that there is no god any more than the deists can prove god exists.
Re: “Confessions of a Teenage Prostitute”
Excellent article! Well-written and thoughtful.
Re: “More than Missionary”
I really don't understand it. Yes, history IS everything - which is exactly my point!
I know precisely how [god]aweful the christian religion is BECAUSE of history, in large part. And the bible is [among many other things] horendous towards gays. So i cannot understand a person who is gay could possibly console themselves with such a religion. Either be a dumb, self-loathing zealot or be FREE, HONEST, & HAPPY! But you can't have it both ways.
And i don't understand why any sane person could claim [in any capacity] such a thuroughly racist belief as Mormonism.
Re: “Confessions of a Teenage Prostitute”
"...it's not really fair to compare forcing a 15- or 16-year-old girl to have sex for money with a woman electing to dance naked on-stage to self-selected jukebox tunes."
Not without justification, no -- but there's an argument to be made there. It's neither self-evidently nor necessarily true that "a woman electing to dance naked on-stage" is either empowering or something to be lauded.
Re: “More than Missionary”
You have to understand where this comes from. History is everything. From the moment you are born you are spoon fed... what your heritage is... the suffering... the sacrifice...that you have an inherent purpose upon this earth... that families are sealed together for time and eternity and if you turn your back on the church and it's beliefs you turn your back on your family and are separated from them for all time and eternity. There's a great deal to lose and the guilt you deal with is overwhelming. It takes a great deal of courage to walk away, regardless of your reasons for doing so.
Re: “More than Missionary”
GTFO, DamosA. Seeing as you're neither gay nor Mormon, and have only extremely offensive things to say, I would quit while you still have some shred dignity.
Re: “More than Missionary”
>>> zipitup,
Since you're bitching & whinning soo much, why did you even bother wasting your precious time reading this article?
Re: “More than Missionary”
YAWN...FUCKING YAWN, YAWN!
What, another "coming-out" story? That's super original and insightful journalism there Miss. Mirk. Quite boring I'm sorry to say.
Jesus... I grew up in SLC and you couldn't swing a dead cat in that town without hitting a gay return missionary with fucking family issues. I'm sorry, but this is hardly anything new or insightful. What's that, you couldn't get any Catholic priests to agree to a story?
You suck reindeer nuts!
Re: “More than Missionary”
I'm a former sixth generation Mormon (was a missionary in Germany, graduated from BYU, married in a Mormon Temple).
Thank you for this great article.
I too hope that Mormons who see the hideous nature of their religion can make a clean break.
But the truth is Mormonism is far more than a church. It's a culture. Breaking away from a culture is not easy; few can do that completely.
Re: “More than Missionary”
Well as a person of colour who grew up in a Southern Baptist/Methodist [though massively flawed & hypocritical] family, i've always seen this whole christian CONcept as mortally detriment to Blacks, as well as other people of color. I might've gone through a 2-3 week phase in my teens when i [thought] i considered myself "agnostic". Other than that, the christian lies never took with me. Christianity, Catholicism, Mormanism (which is essentially all the same) are destructive SLAVE religions created by men of power long ago in order to keep all beneath them in check. And the rules really haven't changed in thousands of years - such religions ONLY benefit: WHITE/MALE/STRAIGHT/[preferably]LAND-OWNING PATRIARCHS!
So anyone ELSE who feels the need to cling to the church should seek help for their stockholm syndrome.
Re: “More than Missionary”
The Mormon religion is a made up cult that is full of murders, attempts to blam others for either actions, tries to justify plural/spiritual wives, and has riped this country off for millions of dollars in welfare benefits, who's founder said that God revealed to him that he was the next prophet.
Don't believe me, go read "Under the Banner of Heaven" by John Krakauer.
Mormonism is a joke.
Re: “More than Missionary”
I would like to clarify that being a lesbian had nothing to do with my request for excommunication. I left the LDS church because I did not believe in their doctrine. It was a matter of integrity. It was not until after I was excommunicated that I realized that I was lesbian, and then, subsequently visited a lesbian bar.
The credit for staying in contact with my family goes to them. My excommunication, my lesbianism, and my being transgender had no effect on their love for me, or their treatment of me. Not everyone is so fortunate.
AleX Dean
Re: “More than Missionary”
I do not know if the first two people grew up religious, but I did. For me, being excommunicated from my faith took some very precious things from me. The community of the church, the shared music, and the shared stories are all things I miss very much. I tried to avoid church for a long time, because I was hurt so much by Christians, but I have come to understand that growing up Christian is part of my cultural background. Like Jews who decide to be culturally Jewish, I want to be culturally Christian. I'm now looking for a church that will accommodate my lifestyle.
Great article. Thanks for writing it.
Re: “More than Missionary”
Oh people....so easy to judge when you haven't been through it, huh?
Re: “More than Missionary”
They're kinda like the whipped dog who keeps coming back. Apparently it's all they know...
Re: “More than Missionary”
Well i've delt with these types before. The niave "liberal religious" types who want to both have their cake & eat it too. The types who like to cherry-pick all of the "nice" things out of the bible. Because hey, nobody likes to think of themselves as a monster.
But that's ezactly what christianity - including Mormonism - is... a monsterous religion. Mormonism is particularly hidious, even by christian standards. Isn't there something in Mormon docturine about Blacks being "mud people" or something? Then there's the whole poligamy thing... which is really just a front form child rape, everyone knows that.
Why don't the Gays/transgenders featured in this article simply make peace with THEMSELVES & make their own appeal to god themselves? Why do they feel like they HAVE to belong to a church? And i've got news for ya - the Mormon church is as inheirantly, thuroughly homophobic as the Catholic church is prone to pedophilia This inescapable fact will NOT change with a federal recognition of Gay marriage!
And to me, being Gay & Mormon makes EXACTLY as much since as being Black & a Klansman. Obviously such a self-deluted, self-loathing person has many deep issues to work out.
Re: “ The Mercury Online Charity Auction Benefits Outside In”
So, The Stranger gets some hot scandinavian chick pouring milk down her blouse on their cover, and we get a couple of dorks from the Portland editors office, fagging it up on our cover? Doesn't seem right. Who are these losers, and what made somebody think it would be a good idea to plaster their pretentious mugs all over the place? They aren't even attractive, which I understand was your point -- I guess -- to be funny, but it didn't even work. All it did was annoy me, especially because I knew you were trying to make me laugh. Stop trying so hard, guys, it makes you look a lot more square than you actually are. Get your heads out of Portland's ass.
Re: “The Secrets Behind the Secret List”
Well for the people that dont know you are charged with the felony, the only choice you have after that is jail or treatment.
RSSGoing to Seattle?
Re: “Confessions of a Teenage Prostitute”
I am a client of Prostitution Alternatives and I am your text book case abused at home as a child by mothers boyfriends,run away,groomed by pimp,etc I had and still have the "game" down,how could I not,it is in my every dream and seems to have been inherited by at least one child. Offc.Burkeen tried so hard to get the pimp away from my daughter but he knew the laws and that there was not much the police could do so he worked my daughter right into a prison cell,the police did all they could under the law.Please note that Prostitution Alternatives is of yet not funded by any goverment agency and can use donations as donater,such as getting girl out of town etc,They depend on private funding and have helped girls with dental care,school,and just getting their lives started over,being there to see that they get to appts,show up with them to hearings in court,DSHS,total mentoring .There is not enough I can say about the changes that I have been able to make bacause these people mentored and didnt judge.