Monday, January 28, 2008

Anti-gay Slurs Hurled in Italian Parliament

I always find it so amazing that those who claim to vigorously support "Christian values," typically are the least Christian in their actions. The circus that ensued in the Italian Parliament is yet another example and shows that the USA does not have a monopoly on homphobis asses. Consider the behavior of these defenders of Christian values. What would Jesus do? Surely not engage in this kind of nasty behavior. Here are some highlights via the Washington Blade (http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=16214):
A member of Italy’s Parliament was spat upon and called a “faggot,” a “fairy” and a “traitor” after he broke ranks with his small Catholic-oriented party and announced he would vote to defend Italian Premier Romano Prodi against a resolution aimed at bringing down his center-left government.

The name-calling erupted on the floor of the Italian Senate on Jan. 24 as Sen. Stefano “NuccioCusumano shocked fellow members of the tiny Udeur Party by declaring his support for Prodi. The party decided a week earlier to withdraw from Prodi’s fragile ruling coalition, forcing a “confidence” vote under Italy’s parliamentary system.
According to reports in the Italian news media, Cusumano fainted on the Senate floor and had to be carried out of the chamber on a stretcher after Sen. Tommaso Barbato, a leader of the Udeur Party, shouted the word “frocio,” along with other insults, and spat on him. Sen. Nino Strano, a member of the far-right National Alliance Party, joined in by shouting the words "squallida checca" at Cusumano. A newspaper photo shows Barbato being restrained by other senators after he reportedly lunged at Cusumano. Squallida checca means “squalid fairy” or “squalid queen,” . . . “frocio” is a word for “faggot” in the Roman dialect.

Cusumano returned to the Senate a short time after the name-calling incident and voted “yes” on the Prodi confidence resolution in a gesture viewed as an act of defiance against his fellow party members.

No comments: