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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 24, 2024

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outdoor public places turning into a summer-long gay sex party, but whatdya gonna do

https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2024/06/19/three-gay-men-hunted-in-phoenix-park-by-six-men-with-knives-in-shocking-incident/

It's possible that in this incident from last week the purported 'victims' were just walking at night in an area known for public sex between men, when they encounterd an armed homophobic gang. There are other scenarios that seem more likely.

well, that does sound horrific. I am sorry that it happened, and I hope that my stupid comment was not read as encouraging that sort of menacing behaviour.

No I didn't read your comment as promoting menacing.

Our societies used to have solutions to the outdoor gay sex party problem. Buggery was illegal in many jurisdictions. Even after it was decriminalized public sex in parks or toilets was still criminal and there was a stigma still to participating in homosexual activities.

Now that buggery isn't a crime in the west. The stigma on homosex is largely gone, in the west. Policing and prosecuting public sex acts is virtually non-existent in the west, people are left to solve their own problems. In some areas I suspect this would look like armed neighborhood watch groups rousting those they suspect are up to public buggery.

I'm not sure this encounter rises to horrific.

How do you limit or reduce undesirable behavior by a determined cohort if it's not prosecuted or stigmatized? Vigilante groups have been a traditional answer.