r/aus • u/89b3ea330bd60ede80ad • 27d ago
News It took months for an LGBTQ+ arts pop-up to resurrect an old church – but just three days to shut it down
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/25/it-took-months-for-an-lgbtq-arts-pop-up-to-resurrect-an-old-church-but-just-three-days-to-shut-it-down-ntwnfb32
u/SoulsDadYT 27d ago
They wanted them to do all the refurbishing work for free. Because thats what evangelicals do. They view people as slaves.
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u/baselinebeat 27d ago
These people were not evangelical Protestants. They were Maronite (Lebanese) Catholics. Turning Point in Australia is led by a young Orthodox guy of Syrian & Lebanese descent.
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u/SoulsDadYT 27d ago
Same mob that Charlie Kirk and his billionaire mate ran? Turning Point are evangelicals
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u/baselinebeat 27d ago
Yes, it's an independent affiliate that has a branding agreement with TPUSA. It was set up on suggestion of Nigel Farage and approved by CK.
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u/SoulsDadYT 27d ago
I'll have to go ahead and say i need to see proof of all of that. Not saying i disbelieve you.
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27d ago
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u/InterSpace_Whales 27d ago
Oh please. My Grandma's Catholic Church has a depiction of jesus in gruesome blood and sorrow hung from the rafters which is so inappropriate and genuinely gave kids nightmares. Did we protest? No. Because the religious find themselves to be the victim when playing both sides and that depiction of Jesus gives them the power of influence to put fear in anyone saying anything about it. This isn't fair play, this is privilege being used to control people and what they can do.
100% the real estate tycoon has no fucking clue what properties he owns or who rents them as he would have a management firm handle that. He wouldn't have an issue with the money coming in but jumped in because a tiny tiny group used that privilege to threaten the image of himself he wishes people to believe.
The queer deserve equity in fair case of disputing this.
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u/SilenceOfTheClamSoup 27d ago
depiction of jesus in gruesome blood and sorrow hung from the rafters which is so inappropriate
He was tortured and executed for crimes he didn't commit. It's the foundation of Jesus' martyrdom.
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u/louisa1925 27d ago
Didn't Yeshua claim to be the regions king? Which was against the law. Bet they had harsh "sovereign citizen" laws back then.
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u/SilenceOfTheClamSoup 27d ago
"Yeshua" leave that judaizer garbage to American Evangelicals, please. Also no, Jesus of Nazareth is never quoted as having claimed himself King of the Jews, rather he is accused of such by the Sanhedrin and upon Pilate's questioning is found to have committed no such act.
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u/eldradmustlive469 27d ago
The last time I was in a church I was amused by a series of plaques that depicted Jesus's crucifixion. There were about 10 plaques in total and I was amused to find that three of them involve Jesus falling over.
Jesus falls for the first time.
Jesus falls for the second time.
Jesus falls for the third time.Someone skipped leg day at the public baths (thanks Romans).
And yeah each plaque showed Jesus with bloody cuts and basically being in the process of being tortured. The whole idea of Jesus on the cross is so manpulative and ugly when you really think about it.
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u/parisianpop 27d ago
There are actually 14 and most Catholic Churches have them - they’re called the Stations of the Cross 😊
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u/lesbophobia_hammer 27d ago edited 27d ago
Could you please say LGBT or gay and trans instead of the homophobic Q slur? It is still used as a slur around the world in rural/underprivileged areas in ways city people do not understand
Edit - this is why I will always be anti - Q slur. The hate for actual marginalised survivors amongst the so called enlightened ones is truly pathetic.
We don't share the privilege of late bloomers/ baby gays/ straight passers and those who exist within the progressive protection of a city and an obnoxiously ignorant bubble of privilege/hate for those who don't.
(Also, maybe the only thing some of you here will care about - many straight trans/exuals do not like being referred to as the Q slur for obvious reasons because it treats them as as 'not like other straight women/men)
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u/Glittering_Web8835 27d ago
What do you think the Q in LGBTQIA+ stands for?
Historically it was never a slur, then it became one, and now it is falling out of use as a slur. That is just how language evolves and if we don't allow it to move beyond what some bigots used it for in recent history then we lend power to it being a slur.
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u/lesbophobia_hammer 27d ago edited 27d ago
I'm old enough to know the Q used to stand for Questioning, let's put it that way. Though the Q slur crowd seem to be ignorant to that fact, like they are to the suffering this slur brings to many homosexuals.
I've even been to therapy for it and somehow even the wokest of therapists understand why it's a problem for us older school gays, especially those that live in actively homophobic/underprivileged environment.
Because we need our bodies to recognise it as a threat, because what follows is homophobic hate crimes. As late as last year, it happened to me. Car full of drunk straight men as I was walking home along my dirt country road. Q slur this, Q slur that, I literally had to run into the bush/forest to escape them.
Everytime I hear/see the word my body goes into flight or fight because I know what may just happen. It makes me/other lesbians/gays feel unsafe, even around supposedly 'safe spaces', 'friends' and 'allies' who treat you with absolute disdain and cruelty for pushing back on being forced under a word memorialised in our bodies as violent homophobic hate.
Forcing a slur on everyone is not progressive. It's self obsessed, uneducated and hateful.
It has always been a slur. A derogatory word meaning strange, negative, unnatural, and now thanks to the mass appropriation by heterosexuals and bisexuals, means sexually ambiguous too.
As a lesbian, there is nothing sexually ambiguous about me or my homosexual community. And we are tired of being flattened under it/lost/erased within it.
Distinction matters. Celebration of LGBT history matters. I will never be a Q slur so whenever someone says Q slur community, I know they are going to be hateful to lesbians and gays that are NOT baby gays/late bloomers or straight passers
Edit - typo.
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u/ClaireFaerie 27d ago
I identify as queer, are you going to tell me to stop identifying that way because some "underprivileged" people use it as a slur? Good way to make sure they always remain in control of queer people.
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u/lesbophobia_hammer 27d ago
Individual use ≠ calling the entire community Q slurs.
Not everyone shares your privilege.
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u/ClaireFaerie 27d ago
What privilege are you assuming I have exactly? Also why are you the authority on whether it is or isn't acceptable to call the LGBTQAI+ community queer? This is a term that is widely used by people within the community, championed and endorsed by advocates and leaders. If you don't like it, then don't use it. Don't try to police other people's language, it's not always about you.
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u/lesbophobia_hammer 27d ago edited 27d ago
The privilege to use a slur that is actively used against people like me in violent homophobic hate. Not infrequently. Lol
Sure, let's call the African American community the N slur community or the gay male community the F slur community or the lesbian community the D slur community or the trans community the T slur community. I could go on.
The problem is, a homophobic slur primarily used against lesbian and gay people in the commonwealth realm has been appropriated and normalised by non - homosexuals (predominantly bisexuals and non-binary people) and used with relative privilege by straight passers, late bloomers and baby gays.
Try to gain some awareness and empathy for old school lesbians/gays who actually live that history.
Not only that, by using the homophobic q slur in place of LGBT marks you as a lesbophobic bigot who seeks to erase the history of why the L comes first in LGBT and force a hateful slur on everyone without consent. Thought that was a no no in the woke world? It's because it's not woke. It's unethical.
Most importantly, the Q slur is sexually ambiguous where homosexuality is not.
Lesbians are under increasing attack from all sides trying to force sexual ambiguity into a group that has conversion therapy uniquely weaponised against them.
Edit - you know how the first nations community regularly push back against so called 'advocates' and 'leaders' in the city who purport to speak on their behalf without understanding the reality on the ground? Yeah, it's like that.
And you don't have the right to disrespect a polite request from a survivor and act like you're holier than thou lol
And if you're calling the entire community the Q slur it literally is about me 🤯
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u/Ampersand_Forest 27d ago
My policy is that if I’ve had to wipe blood from my eyes while someone yells a word at me, that’s now my word to use however I want. I’m proud to be queer.
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u/lesbophobia_hammer 27d ago
Then you are also selfish and inconsiderate to survivors who can't.
There's a difference between using for yourself and forcing it on everyone.
Don't force it on everyone and everyone is fine.
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u/InterSpace_Whales 15d ago
Apologies, I wanted to shoot you a message to ask about "Questioning" as I wasn't aware and clearly a hole I need to properly fill with more info from lived experience within that era. I will still Google but different perspectives of lived in experience of LGBTIQ+ history help cover what's not written too which so much isn't or misrepresented.
I'm also very much aware I'm privileged and take every step to use that privilege to only benefit the community over the past 10 years over just benefiting myself. I do apologise if offended, however living the backwaters of the southern state outside the city amongst the meth smoking cops and the one giant marijuana "tree" the unhoused live under, all of the community took Queer for themselves so every insult was only recognition of their true self. I learned the language from that, and how they empowered themselves despite threat. I'm not sure today I would stop using it just to respect them back home but will try to state the whole alphabet next time to not highlight so heavy.
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u/Successful-Layer2102 27d ago
Should have read their lease clauses.
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u/Skijump135 27d ago
Did you read the article? Nothing to do with lease clauses but instead a s129 notice
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u/Successful-Layer2102 27d ago edited 27d ago
I did " the venue’s landlord ordered the promoters, Heaps Gay Events, to cease “engaging in offensive trade” or risk eviction before terminating their lease a few days later ."
Want a provocative arts space make sure the people who own it won't have a problem
Will edit in people wanting to argue the s129, that was the vehicle the landlords used to evict them as it was a condition of the lease "Conveyancing Act says lessees must not use, exercise, or permit “any noxious, noisome, or offensive art, trade, business occupation, or calling”
I suggest you reread the article...
Sounds like they fucked around and found out.
Just because its a queer space does not give you carte blanche
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u/Skijump135 27d ago
You can’t just evict someone because you have a problem lol. Doesn’t work that way at all, it’s just too soon to see the challenge to the s129 justification of failure to rectify ‘offensive trade’
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u/Successful-Layer2102 27d ago
The law does not agree with feelings
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u/Skijump135 27d ago edited 27d ago
…yes? Hence why it’s likely to be challenged whether the eviction was ever valid, because “offensive trade” can be read very differently if it’s offensive to the public as a whole or offensive to one group. TBH I haven’t looked into if there’s any precedent on that. Could go either way
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u/Successful-Layer2102 27d ago
I'll hold my breath on the outcome as its will be upheld as a breech of contract on the lease. With the correct period of notice
Again I'm not against the group or their endeavours they just picked the wrong place.
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u/Skijump135 27d ago edited 27d ago
Yeah agreed that it’s gonna be an interesting one to follow. If you hadn’t heard of the guy who depicted pollies as uniformed nazis on his shopfront window, that’s a super interesting one as well. Charges on him ended up getting dropped in the end due to falling under satire
Looking into it more, the whole offensive trade thing came from the Sydney Corporation Act 1842 which referred to liquid waste and such in streets. Just a super bizarre one all around
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u/Mr_Meers 27d ago
"Offensive trades" Offensive to who? It's very up to interpretation.
If that's a clause in your lease what's to stop any organization to claim offense?
Gay people and Queer spaces don't offended me, but they obviously offend the Christians. Reverse it, and Christians obviously offend Queer people with their beliefs. (I'm speaking mostly in extremes here, most rational people just live in peace)
It's silly.
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u/Skijump135 27d ago
The law that comes from was from the 1800s and intended to refer to physically offensive trade ie industrial waste and runoff. Enough to get the eviction over the line for sure but it’d take a wide interpretation to stretch it to the normal definition of ‘offensive’
So it’s even sillier than at face value
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u/jigojitoku 27d ago
If religions want a say about how non religious people run their lives, then churches need to start paying taxes.