I am Troisnyx, LLB (Hons).

The graduation ceremony for my LLB took place two days ago (22 November 2012) at St Albans, the same city we used to frequent for our lectures up till mid-2011.

It was a very bittersweet day, with none of my family able to make it. I only had one witness for the day — my close friend and bandmate from Kingdom of Herts, Christo Tracey. 22 November was also the feast day of St Cecilia, patron saint of music and musicians, and I was unable to attend Mass on the day because it coincided with the graduation ceremony. To top it all up, Mark Tanner's birthday was on the 22nd, and we really missed him a lot!

I decided to wear my favourite dress: one that my mother got for me several years ago. Many people bought or rented new dresses, suits and whatnot... but I decided to go with the one that I cherished the most.

Pictures and visuals



My walk to the main building at College Lane Campus — the Prince Edward Hall. I was told that there were shuttles from the area, so I walked. I later discovered that there were no shuttles going from that place, and that we had to take the 602 (or 655) to St Albans and pay the standard student fare! Not to mention, I wasted about half an hour at the Prince Edward Hall looking for leads on how to get to the place.



The Alban Arena, the place where we were to get our robes. It was windy, and I dropped my confirmation e-mail that I had to bring for the day, and it got stained, and there was a slug stuck on it. Botherment.

So when I came to the Alban Arena, the first thing I had to do was head downstairs, where they had two stalls for ticket collection and robe rental. The people who were at Alban Arena by the time I came there... they were all preparing for their graduation ceremony which was at 2:00 p.m. (they were the Nursing and Midwifery students). Surprisingly enough, I got my tickets and my robe early!

The Ceremonies booklet and tix. In the envelope were my own ticket and two guest tickets, which I had paid for.

The robe rental stall. The people from J Wippell & Co, robemakers for (among others) Uni Hertfordshire. We queued up to get them. Now technically they didn't give robes to people whose ceremonies were much later — mine was at 7:00 p.m. — but since I already had the tickets, they presented the robe to me. So I'm the only person in the entire law school to have worn the robe for long hours! :D

Troisnyx, fully vested!



And I just repeated everything I wrote earlier.

The sea of people at the Alban Arena. It was insane to walk in and out.

Professional photographs were taken in the auditorium. But I passed them altogether. I was to go through a poor man's graduation. What's a poor man's graduation, you ask? I'll explain shortly. ;-)



Happy feelings and disdain get into the mix here. Blue prison bars!

I got back into the auditorium, it was full of people... A lot of whom were faces I had never frequently seen.

You think you got the best pictures, eh, photographers? Beat this! This was taken at the auditorium, and honestly, I prefer being natural to just posing for the backgrounds like a statue. And you get to see a little more of my cape, mortarboard and whatnot.

The helpers and ushers for the day were dressed in purple. Some of them were staff at the law school, while some came from other departments. Still university colours. Can't complain. :D

The one next to me is Nina. We knew each other from our A-Level years, but she was a direct entrant to Uni Hertfordshire in Year 3. We were especially close through these years.

It kinda felt bittersweet to see that people were bringing guests in droves... and by that time I was still alone.

The sands of time, gold and silver, they fall, and soon I shall be at my last breath.

There was a Students' Union stall set up selling Uni Hertfordshire merch. Much of it was particular to the graduation.

And here's the UH Alumni stall. I'll be joining the Alumni Association shortly. Technically, I'm still a UH student, but we're automatically entitled to be part of the Alumni as soon as we finish our first course. Case in point, the e-mail informing us about the Alumni Association came to all of us who had finished the LLB in May, although we were on the Legal Practice Course and/or Masters in Law.

There was a video being shot, "The Alumni Diaries", and it documented the thoughts of students graduating during this week. P.S. I am also part of this video!


This video should provide just a little bit more explanation about said film.

This is Clara. She and I have also been close throughout Years 2 and 3.

This is Collins. He and I are doing the Legal Practice Course together. We are part of a cohort of only 57. It's funny... doing the LPC and then revisiting one's steps during the LLB.

This is Lilian and her two sons. She is also one of my friends from the LPC cohort. I'd promised I would take the family picture for her... to disprove the idea that family pictures needed to be taken in a studio. I will admit, I love the second one.

The last picture makes it look as though we were frozen in time while the others moved around us.

The main entrance to Alban Arena. The UH light was on just for the week!

Down the High Street through to the road leading to St Albans Abbey. It was almost 6:00, and it was time for us to proceed.



The walk to St Albans Abbey. I was singing my favourite hymn of all time, Lead, Kindly Light, the words to which were penned by Blessed John Henry Newman. As you might tell, the weather was horrible. It was cold and windy, and not many of us could wear our graduation robes over our coats. Our capes and mortarboards were being blown all over the place, it was awful to hold the camera and keep my robes still.

At the Abbey, we were set out like this: the students were seated at the side aisles, by and large blocked by pillars, while the guests were seated at the centre aisles. Because some of us couldn't see much of what was going on from the side aisles (pillars!), there were screens nearby. The footage from the graduation was shown live.

The picture was taken by one of the Law School helpers. I forget the person's name (is it Asif??), but at any rate, I had met him on and off during my Years 2 and 3. Oh also, it's not that I have a downgraded cape. The white section of the cape got blown over by the wind!

I can only fix my eyes to you, Lord, even for a brief moment, when nobody else wants to think that you and all of Heaven are celebrating with us.

At around 6:30, Christo came, and I ran into his arms. I was overjoyed to see him! I passed him my camera so that he might be able to get one or two pictures in during the actual ceremony. Since only one ticket could be used, my other ticket was given up so that another person's family member could come and join in the celebration.

Right before the start of the ceremony. The Chancellor and Vice Chancellors, the Dean of the School of Law and the Law School lecturers were to process in academic dress.

I know this is kinda blurry, but I managed to point out a few familiar faces from the front. (Alliteration for the win.)

Another blurry picture, but one I decided to put up anyway. Essentially when Christo was taking this, I made a little salute to the camera before making my way up to the front. And yes, I was wearing heels.

Receiving my certificate. There were two phases: shaking the Chancellor's (?) hand, and receiving the certificate (apparently not from the same person). But at any rate, I was walking down from the sanctuary, a proud LLB graduate. And all that, without tripping on the sanctuary even once. Success!

It was a haze as the staff and students marched out in procession. Still, at least we can make out one face. : )

Back at Alban Arena...

I did the blessing gesture, yay! This was to be the last photo I would ever take in graduation robes for the day.  Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. we were to return our robes, if we rented them. Christo and I settled for cups of juice and snacks, and then after that, it was time for me to return the robes. I wanted to avoid the crowd, so I slipped out early.

The two of us then went to Nando's for dinner.

Our little happy birthday note to Mark Tanner, ex-member of Kingdom of Herts and still a very dear friend of ours.

Dare you point that finger at me again, Christo... He was holding my certificate, by the way, but it had a little casing, and the casing was reflecting the light...

We both had a great meal, spoke about Kingdom of Herts stuff, school and matters of faith. (Oh, by the way: his normal spice level was Medium and my normal spice level was Extra Hot, so today we settled for a fair compromise: Hot. And he actually enjoyed it!) It was great company, and I especially enjoyed that time.

By the time we got out of Nando's it had begun to rain. Heavily. No surprise there, considering the strong winds we had earlier. We walked back to the bus stop and waited until I caught the 602 back home.

So there it was. Our humble graduation ceremony.

The poor man's graduation

There's a simple reason as to why we call it the "poor man's graduation". Note, a lot of my working friends also took this. Now: robe rental and guest tickets come up to a pretty hefty sum. And as if that's not enough, there are the studio pictures.

We decided to forgo the student pictures, because of how expensive they were. The pictures that really mattered to us were the presentation pictures on the sanctuary, but those cost us a good £30, and postage, online download and even the slightest edits were charged. Good heavens. We all thought, hang on a second: we have Photoshop, we have RealPlayer if we were to convert videos, we have a good camera and two SDs, we might as well use them to our advantage! And we did! :D

Well, that's it for now. See you at a later point.

We're tired of being silent: an open letter to our offenders

Dear offenders of ours,

It pains us to note that your actions, your repulse, your words and sometimes even your false testimony have caused thousands upon thousands of Christians to be thrown into prison, deprived of their liberties, tortured or even put to death. Whilst we acknowledge our own sinfulness and balk in guilt and shame, we realise, and it pains it to find that you have not realised, that the limit to one's freedom is the freedom of another. Not only have you caused the mass persecution of Christians, you have also caused the mass persecution of minorities, who have been granted freedoms cited in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many of you campaign so strongly for your own freedom without even realising that their freedoms have been severely neglected.

We write from a place where, though we are facing verbal and emotional persecution, still provides us with liberties that many of us often take for granted. Some of us have had the opportunity of going to Knightsbridge on Thursday, 14 June 2012, three years after the wrongful condemnation of Asia Bibi to death under the blasphemy laws. We were few in number, but we stood, sang, chanted and testified outside the Pakistani Embassy in Lowndes Square. I would like to personally share with you my side of the story, in just two videos:

Asia Bibi's story is not the only one that needs to be told. There are thousands of stories that have been silenced by your actions, and these stories go unnoticed. They are from China, North Korea, India, Syria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and even place we wouldn't expect — Russia, the Philippines, Venezuela, and many other nations. We, the people who walk the streets day by day picking the papers or reading the news online, can vouch that each of us desires what is good, right, true and just.

We are here to remind you, our offenders, that you'd best not be lambasting others for discrimination when you yourselves discriminate. Much of the persecution that has taken place comes from blatant misunderstanding, or the holding of grudges. Can you not see that the person struggling in your clenched hands is as human as you are?

We, young and old alike, have come out to Knightsbridge in peace, and we are sure we are not alone in fighting this good fight. We who have been persecuted have been expected to take it all silently like doormats, while the truth is shut away in a corner. But you know what? We are the light of the world. No one lights lamps to put them under tubs. They put these lamps at high places in the house so that the light would spill on everyone to see. And so it is with us who seek the truth. We're tired of being silent.

We are free, yes, and while there is lots of work to be done in our beloved Britain, nothing is going to stop us from spreading the flames of love wherever we go. We have been urged to stand up in defence of our weaker brethren, to be with them in their time of suffering, to comfort those who mourn, to hunger and thirst for what is right. Nothing, no one, is going to stop us from doing that. For we are doing work of the highest order, work ordered by God Himself.

Before we end this letter, dear offenders of ours...

We love you, and want what is best for you, for us, and for the common good. And we, the people who languish in prisons while you take out your instruments of torture, the people who weep while you utter abuse against us..... we forgive you.

See also:

Defend religious freedom, inter-faith delegates tell embassy (Aid to the Church in Need UK) 

P.S. Special thanks to James Kelliher for recording the video footage of the first live performance of 'Indignation, and to John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need, editor of the report 'Persecuted and Forgotten', for taking the time to participate in the interview.

On the death penalty, human justification and forgiveness

The reason why I feel so strongly about matters of human life and death is not solely because I have been strongly founded in Scripture and Tradition.

Around the time the Troy Davis case was discussed, last year (I believe it was in November), I went to bed and woke up after a horrifying dream. I want you to know what I felt, I want you to know what I went through.

This dream was of me in death row. I was being sent to a death cell, the last few days of my earthly life. Everything was taken away from me. I was stripped of all honour, all dignity, and the people who saw me recognised that I was going to die soon. I was lonely, desperate, inconsolable. No family or friends came to see me. I was stuck in a small enclosure with four walls and a metal door with bars where my head would be if I stood up. The walls around me were grey. I couldn't bear to live.

In that cell, I was driven to insanity. Prior to that, even after the many times I maintained my innocence and consistenly presented my facts, no one listened. No one even cared what my 'crime' was, or whether I had committed it. All the prison guards were ever concerned with was the fact that I was in the death cell, and that I would die at their hands soon. I just covered my face with my hands as if to shield myself from all the terrors surrounding me...

The next morning, I woke up with the worst possible feeling I could ever imagine. Even though the day went well, I knew that someday, I would have to share this story. The day has finally come.



People make all sorts of justifications to end others' lives. Note that I am speaking about capital punishment, and not legitimate self-defence. While it is true that the debate on capital punishment hasn't really got a clear, well-defined line to it, I would like for you to stop just a few moments, put yourself in my position in that death cell, and imagine what you would be going through.

Now open your eyes, and think that a lot of people who are in death cells at this point are going through the same things, to different degrees, with only a few people fully coming to terms over the fact that they are going to die.

The Old Testament and the early Christians may have seen the rationale of the death penalty, but Jesus gave life where He could. People have spat at my face telling me to come up with Scriptural reference to counter the fact that the people of the OT held on to the death penalty. I have two references for this: Jesus' forgiving of Mary Magdalene, and his healing and forgiveness towards St Paul the Apostle. Yes, on the one hand, you have an adulterer who has been caught red-handed, and on the other,  you have a mass murderer who grabs fathers, mothers and children and drags them to Jerusalem to be stoned to freakin' death.

What did Jesus say? "Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone." Did anyone even dare cast the first stone after that? No.

For once I'm going to take the offensive and agree with Abby Johnson when she wrote on LifeNews about supporting all human life. She wrote that God intervenes even among people who have killed and who have been sent to prison, and when life is given a chance, they do great things. So then, what about the people who don't? To that, she says, let God intervene in His own time. How are we to decide whether someone will behave in the same way? Time does marvellous things to people, if we believe.

Our justifications for capital punishment in this day and age are numerous. The dangerousness of the criminal, the closure of a case, society's way of self-defence, the death penalty being a deterrent, you name it, there's a justification for it. But really, think. We claim to do this out of love for humanity and for society and for the person. If we really love society and love that person, our primary focus would be on the reintegration of that person into society. Death is a last resort. With the modern facilities used to incarcerate criminals, there is absolutely no question of prisoners (particularly mass murderers and serial killers) making attempts to escape and threaten the public once more — unless that prisoner happened to be in Shawshank! Instead, what do we do? They are flawed human beings like you and me, and we, acting under the umbrella of the State, drive a lot of these people insane as sometimes, they want to do things to make amends for their misconduct, but they're not given the chance to. It's not right for us to kill all the people who can become saints in their own day.

Further, if the death penalty were really a deterrent, then why are people still doing it? Practically every person I know who stays away from murder just stays away because they know it's the right thing to do, not because they're scared of the death penalty.

If the early Christians, who followed Christ's example, were anything to go by, they forgave a freakin' mass murderer. And he is now a freakin' saint!  This is madness to a lot of non-believers, especially hardliners. This is madness to a lot of people I know as well. I know one person who had actually personally attacked me for the Faith, over the fact that Pope Benedict XVI (while he was much younger and still Joseph Ratzinger) allegedly joined Hitler-Jugend. If anyone were to follow that logic, because of all the crimes committed against humanity, all the rights trampled upon, the people involved in it should die, shouldn't they? But no. To the people who are alive today and live to tell their story, God gave them a chance, through the people who gave them a chance. There's a reason why in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the death penalty is seen as a sort of last resort.

I wrote this earlier, and I write this again: at the end of the day, when it comes to matters of life and death, there are only two choices: life or death. And each of us has the power to choose. It doesn't matter if the punishment is inflicted upon by the State, or the hospital, or by the mother when there's an unborn child in the womb. We are ultimately deciding the time of death of an individual, which, really, naturally, is something decided by God.



As I close this post, I invite all of you to ponder once again upon the death cell dream that I had.



Would you want this?

Freshers' Week begins....... on a rather disgusting note

With the home students coming in, Freshers’ Week began yesterday. Today, there was the gathering with the University of Hertfordshire Students’ Union (UHSU) Media Department, and so I went. I was involved with the media last year, in that I was a blogger for UHSU Soapbox. I knew that new slots would be open for a new batch of Soapbox bloggers, and I also wanted to see what else could be done in the UHSU. So I arrived at the Forum, grabbed a hot meal and went to record two videos, one of which was an interview with one of the VPs, James Bowers — helped out with the Soapbox sign, asked about writing for the weekly newspaper, Universe… I grabbed the Freshers’ Issue of the Universe, and after a while, headed back home.

Just a few minutes ago, I read through it. And truly, what I’ve read is enough proof that Freshers’ Week 2011 begins on a rather disgusting note.

“…If you know yourself and know you might be a bit too drunk to remember that — I wouldn’t recommend (doing that) then, anyway — stick a little reminder in a discrete place by your bed to use a condom. You don’t want to have to be dealing with HIV or a baby for the rest of your life.”

This has undertones of a very serious, very dangerous nature. It’s been mentioned to us in the Faith Summer Conference, it’s been further explained to us in World Youth Day — Blessed John Paul II was right when he mentioned that the contraceptive culture would be a culture of death. In a healthy society, children are seen as gifts. Yet here, in this day and age, for people who are taken up by contraceptive culture, the ultimate disaster is a child. And that the word ‘baby’ had to be written next to ‘HIV’ only further highlights the plight of our people.

This is not new. Towards the fall of ancient Rome, approximately 2,000 years ago, a primitive form of abortion, known as ‘exposure’, was practised. Newborn babies were killed immediately upon delivery. Regardless of whether it’s done in the womb or outside the womb, what we’re killing is the same: human offspring. It is equally dehumanising. We don’t know whether any primitive contraception ever existed, but we do know that when contraception came into public use a few decades ago (purportedly to reduce the number of abortions to nil), the number of abortions skyrocketed. Heck, every provision concerning abortion had been passed after contraception came into public usage. It only takes a quick look into the archives of the Bills passed by the House of Commons to know this. Even the infamous decision in Roe v Wade (for North American readers) came after contraception was publicly accessible.


Sounds fishy? I think the facts on when the Bills were passed would be enough to answer your question and make you think.

On a side note, the irony is that the writer is part of one of the Christian societies under the UHSU. UHSU CathSoc is one of the Christian societies under the UHSU too. Well, I can bravely cite Tradition and state that in the early years of the Church, Christians never exposed newborns, and they never should!

“Be safe…”
 
A very overused phrase, with similar undertones to the previous phrase.

Dive further and you find a question on pregnancy and abortion.
 
Also, with similar undertones to phrase #1.
 

In truth, the disgust I felt from reading that paper is part of a much bigger problem.

There is pressure everywhere, mainly from the media, but also by people who have been taken up by their message. That message is one which reduces the human body to nothing but a commodity. I dare write about these phrases that I have come across, not because I wish to pick on any writer (the merits of the writers’ hearts are not for me to decide), but because I know where all this is leading to. 2,000-year-old history is repeating itself. It’s not a university problem, it’s a societal issue. There could only be one person at work, seminating all that perversion. Other people who spread the message to kill the offspring in the womb are all caught up by the thoughts of people around them and the messages of the media, but there is one sole driving force behind their thoughts. It takes one nasty lie to spread like wildfire and everyone to believe in it for great damage to be done, and it takes a disaster for people to see the error of their ways.

The ‘do what you want, be free, be safe’ mentality has been the cause of the downfall of many civilisations in the past, and I shudder to think of what would happen to our beloved Home Isles if they were to suffer the same fate!

Some updates.

Hey everyone, look who’s hooooome ~

 

 

I’ve got a number of things to say about next month.

Those of you who read my Twitter updates would know that I have two trips coming up next month: one to Woldingham School in Surrey (not London, but Surrey) for the Faith Summer Conference, and one to Madrid for World Youth Day.

A kind soul paid in full for my trip to Surrey when I was out of funds. And all he asked was that I pray for his intentions. My chaplain e-mailed this to me a few Saturdays ago, and that very evening, I got down on my knees in church and thanked the good Lord. A number of others will be turning up for the Faith Conference, though I do wonder how many people are coming from Hatfield (and St Albans).

As for World Youth Day…

I kinda understand that I might be repeating myself to some, but this is gonna be my first ever World Youth Day. I wanted to go for the 2008 one in Sydney when it was announced in 2007, but I had exams, A-Levels and other things just piling up, and circumstances prevented me from going (including my mother’s death). This is only but one opportunity for me to spread my wings. One of my cherished dreams, which I scrawled on paper in National Service, was to meet the sucessor of Peter — the Pope — face to face. And not only shall I be doing this in World Youth Day… I get to join the papal vigil on the 20th of August, and then (it seems that) I’ve got a VIP seat for the next day… ^_^ Really, I am glad. Today I knelt down and thanked the Lord.

And yes, it’s a few days after I hear the news that I am breaking it for all to read. I am glad and grateful that all this is taking place. Not only is the Lord providing for me, He’s giving me nooks and crannies to explore — nooks and crannies which would be disregarded by about 80% of people in Hatfield, if not Britain. I know I’ll have a lot to write home about, and a lot of photo-taking and video-taking to do, considering I shall be spending five days in Surrey, and a week in Madrid. I’ll have to bring a multitap at this rate to charge my PC, camera batteries and whatnot!

I trust those two weeks shall be filled with surprises and goodness. Already this month has had its own surprises. I really can’t wait!

 

 

On a side note, I have now changed my channel on YT.

 

TroisNyxEtienne > Troisnyx

 

And therefore, the new Mario Paint OC Contest Round 17 video is up.

In case you’re wondering what’s going on, it’s that blasted Senate Bill in the US. Earlier there was a loophole which allowed already produced songs to be performed. There were many who found great use for this loophole, not claiming profit for the used songs, but allowing unseen artists to be recognised through covers. In most cases, whenever someone listened to a cover, he’d know about the original song and research the artist.

But soon, it’ll all end. The corporate giants will be controlling every produced song and every bit of content put up on YT. Every single cover will be slapped with a “Matched third party content” note, and people doing Let’s Plays (game walkthroughs with commentaries), fandubs (especially for games and animé not dubbed in a certain language), remixes and song covers will be deeply affected.

And for this very reason, two videos of mine (under TroisNyxEtienne) were struck out. One more, and that account will be closed by YT. At least I’ve only had two vids struck out so far, but I do know the third strike is imminent. It can happen anytime now. Some of my fellow fandubbers have had their channels removed by YT because of this, and as far as we reasonably know, they had done nothing to warrant that apart from make a never-before-released French version of a game we all know and love. They were banned for putting their skills to good use.

YouTube will no longer be a place for us.

YouTube will be, rather, a place controlled by corporations.

And worse, anyone who does whatsoever he is still doing in the US if the Senate Bill is passed would face a fine, or even a jail term of five years.

How admirably stupid. People are going to be thrown into jail just for singing songs. (And on a related note, how did a mother who killed her child get out of prison after only spending two years, and not much, much longer?)

Now I can understand the rationale behind copyrights and wanting to protect intellectual property. The whole spirit behind the law was to enable people to perform without profit, and if profit was taken, then it’d be with permission from the records or from the original artist. And right-thinking artists would not want their work used for anything which is distasteful, hateful or otherwise derogatory. But if that Senate Bill is passed, the entire uploading system around the world will go haywire. And that, seriously, is going too far. This is copyright law gone loopy.

I now have an added reason to study Intellectual Property for Year 3 Law: to find out the reason behind the mess the Senate is creating.

A further discours on love

I was meaning to write this two days ago, but I guess it makes not much difference for us Britons. (Perhaps except for the fact that Catholics in Britain celebrated the Feast of the Ascension today, but still, there is something that needs to be brought across.)

3 June was the feast day of Saints Charles Lwanga and companions.

I imagine my Ugandan friends would be happy that their country can also be called a land of saints. I’m happy for them too. But that’s beside the point.

For the unitiated, Charles Lwanga (a.k.a. Karoli Lwanga) and his twenty-one companions were martyred by King Mwanga II for resisting the king’s efforts to get Christians to abandon their faith. After several Anglicans were massacred, the court’s resident Catholic priest, Joseph Mukasa, reproached the king for his deeds. Mukasa was beheaded and all his followers subsequently arrested. Lwanga took Mukasa’s place and baptised those of his pupils who had been catechumens (i.e. in the process of becoming Christian) in secret. The king asserted himself… and Lwanga and his companions refused King Mwanga II’s homosexual advances. So the king was infuriated, and subsequently had Lwanga and ten of his Catholic companions burnt at the stake. The eleventh was beheaded. The other nine of his companions, who were Anglican, were beheaded. He and his companions were canonised by Blessed John Paul (then Pope John Paul II), and whilst the Anglicans could not be canonised, they were given special mention for enduring death on the account of the name of Jesus Christ. (And what happened to Mwanga II, you ask? After all his persistent efforts in wiping Christianity from Uganda, his actions alarmed the British, he made a few pacts with them but remained tenacious as ever, but was ultimately defeated, deposed to the Seychelles… and there, he became a Christian himself.)

This brings back an account from the Old Testament about seven sons, along with their mother, who were all tortured by a king and forced to taste pigs’ flesh, which is against the Mosaic Law. And because of one of the reasons why Saint Charles Lwanga and his fellow brethren were killed involves (for those of you who are familiar with yaoi [Boys’ Love] manga and animé terms) a seme (attacker) and an uke (receiver)… this brings back the account of the events that happened in Sodom and Gomorrah in the book of Genesis.

Saint Charles knew that which could truly satisfy humankind. I have mentioned, in several accounts in the past, that the love we are searching for gives. The love that we are searching for is not arrogant, selfish, rude or proud. And if the love we are searching for truly gives, then we would be prepared to bring forth a gift — that of a child — out of that same love. This is what marriage is all about. The husband and wife truly become one flesh. The one flesh is the child. The ‘love’ Mwanga II was searching for could not bring forth anything — it was a selfish act. The two people in the couple don’t become one flesh at all. Given the completely stark difference, however Westminster Parliament words it, same-sex unions can never be equal to marriage, like it or not.

I must be perfectly honest in writing this — the thing I have come to notice about most people I’ve encountered who are either homosexual or support LGBT matters is that they don’t stop at being persistent. They are brashly vocal and won’t stop at nothing. The main method of choice is the use of intimidation and jargon. Saints Charles and his companions would’ve endured the same thing… except later, they had to endure torture and death. I had an encounter — a terrible one, I’d say — with another DeviantArt user concerning yaoi and yuri (male-male and female-female homosexuality in Japanese games and animé) and Kingdom Hearts, my favourite game series.

Roxas and Axel, one of the supposed yaoi pairings Kingdom Hearts fans make. The two, however, are shown to be close friends in-game.

Whilst much of what I was doing was sighing and sadly shaking my head, I had to stand up to her. And to her I only gave politeness, but I had to vehemently refuse, because I knew what she was advocating for was immoral. And I was not the only one experiencing the same kind of turmoil. I’m glad that my friends Steffanie and James were ever willing to help me bear the burden. Most others gave vocal support for whatever it was that we were advocating, but one did not understand.

Of course being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is now legal over here because of the rulings in Westminster Parliament. The thing that led to this could most probably be rebellion against what Hitler did in World War II.

The pink triangle of shame as it was in World War II.

He not only was determined to exterminate Jews and cripples, but also those who were gay. Have we not given our rebellion much thought? Are we rebelling the wrong way? Hitler was right in believing that straight is the way to go, but calling them the scum of society and exterminating them is WRONG. That, however, is beside the point. The point, no matter how ironical and how painfully true it is, is that he at least had some horse sense.

The arguments often put forward by these people is

• that it’s “in our genes”,
• that they were “born this way”,
• that they couldn’t direct their attention towards the opposite sex.

To this I and several thousand people who hold the truth close to our hearts respond:

• if it were indeed in our genes, it would only take one generation before the population started getting wiped out. Yes, if it were indeed in our genes, would we see the population as it is today? We highly doubt it. The border line of fertility rates in every country in the world is 2.3%. The USA is at 2.1%. Europe is lagging far behind. And to those who think it’s a lie: it won’t be long before you start seeing an influx in the population of aging Britons.
• No one is born in any which way — homosexuality, like anything else, is indoctrinated into the child, or if not, the child would have discovered it through whatever external means. No one is born a thief and a liar. No one is born an upright person. It’s what we become.
• We are made male and female to complete and complement each other. Our biological make is such.
• The mass media don’t know how to advocate platonic love anymore. When two boys hold hands or hug each other tightly, it’s nearly automatically considered that they are gay. And yet, oftentimes, this is not the case. Friends throughout the ages knew how to treat each other with love. They hugged each other in parting embraces, they held each others’ hands in solidarity, and yet, they had strong feelings for their friends (even of the same sex) simply because they were very strong friends. One only needs to look around him to see how people treat each other today. It’s no wonder the mass media and so many people are struggling with platonic love.
• And if they have the nerve to call us homophobes, we are thinking behind the scenes that these people might more than likely be heterophobic — yet it’s from heterosexuality that they ever came to being in the first place! And yet, there are many people who don’t  condone what they do, for their own good, but love them just because they are persons! Don’t they ever realise that? No, I’m afraid.
• They say we are discriminating against them because of their sexual orientation. To them we say: they are discrminating us because people who don’t condone their acts are not given the same freedoms that they have. We are being treated as sub-persons. I’m afraid this is true, even in present-day Britain. Recently hotel businesses were closed, and (infertile) couples denied the chance to adopt children — all because of what they believed in: homosexuality is not the way to go; straight is the way to go. Whatever happened to the freedom of conscience under the European Convention of Human Rights? The freedom of conscience also entails the right to do whatever one wants in accordance with his conscience. But no, the freedom of conscience is not at all being respected because of what these people are advocating.

I am here not to condone the acts of a person who says he is gay, nor to condone the thoughts of someone who supports LGBT matters. In fact, I will not have any of it. I am only here to love each person, irrespective of who or what he is, and this also means attempting to gently prod the person over issues that concern life, death and love.

The act of faith and love on the part of Ss Charles Lwanga and companions has opened many an eye to the reality of love, as well as what it entails. I am only here to put it forward with my writing ability, humble though it may be, simply because I have been inspired. It is out of love and out of the thirst for truth being shouted out from every rooftop that I write this. A friend of mine mentioned that indoctrination and not looking at others’ points of view was what disgusted him the most. I must tell you in all earnesty: nothing has been more indoctrinated in modern society than the lies people spread over matters of life, death and love. And this, I daresay, includes LGBT matters. Naysayers, be warned: one needs only to wait for a matter of time before the after effects of today’s laws start being felt.

Time to point the finger at what should be pointed at.

Look carefully at the words in the word “LIE”.

Yes, you can identify many of them being touted in today’s society and in today’s factions. All of them are used with one purpose: to continue the culture of death.

Lest we forget, with the many things that we can do, that we are biological too, nature has laws for us. Laws that make us biological, but most of al, distinguish us from other animals. And the Natural Law covers everything — going against it would be naught but a blatant lie.

Il vaut mieux « lui et elle »

Si jamais il y a du shonen-ai ou shojo-ai, le jeu aura comme (rating?) ESRB-Teen. Touhou et Ar Tonelico en sont des exemples. Tout le monde sait que Kingdom Hearts est pour tout le monde.

Bien sûr, mais je vois pas en quoi mettre un couple homo, que ce soit deux hommes ou deux filles, est une raison pour augmenter le rating. M’enfin, j’imagine que tout le monde n’a pas un esprit assez ouvert.

Simplement parce que ça ne tombe pas dans la définition de “family friendly”. Il y en aurait plus, mais j’ai besoin d’en trouver.

Ça vient encore du fait que notre société soit enfermée dans des schémas et idées reçues, quoi.

Peut-être que ce ne serait pas le cas.

Oui, je me répète. Peut-être que ce ne serait pas le cas.

On refusera peut-être de reconnaitre ce fait, mais si on s’aime, on sera prêts à se donner l’un à l’autre, et on n’arrêtera pas là. On redonnera cet amour à tout le monde. Le fardeau sera à nous de lever, et pas aux autres. Si quelqu’un se donnait à moi et je me donnais entièrement à lui, c’est à moi de lever le fardeau qu’il m’aurait donné, pour neuf mois, avec patience et tendresse. Si je n’arrive pas, physiquement, j’aimerais donner mon amour à quelqu’un qui a besoin d’une vraie famille. Un père et une mère.

Si on dit que notre société est enfermée dans des idées fixes, je réfute : je dirais plutôt que notre société est simplement là pour le plaisir, et presque purement le plaisir. Ce plaisir peut nous détruire. Pire, on ne reconnait plus ce que c’est la famille. L’enfant a besoin d’un père, qui protège comme un garçon, qui est ferme, dur et virile ; l’enfant a besoin d’une mère, qui protège comme une fille, qui dirige doucement et de manière gentille, qui caresse l’enfant dans ses bras quand l’enfant est déprimé. Et les deux parents doivent être ensemble. Les deux doivent défendre ce qui est plus précieux à eux, et face à la moindre remarque, ils doivent rester fort et devenir des héros pour l’enfant. C’est pour ça que nos ancêtres auraient dit que leurs parents figurent dans leurs meilleurs amis. Tout le monde était d’accord avec la définition de la famille.

Personnellement, ma mère était l’une de mes meilleures amies. Et aujourd’hui, quand je regarde autour de moi, j’ai envie de savoir… qui peut dire qu’au moins l’un de ses parents figure dans ses meilleurs amis. On dirait très peu de gens.

La famille est dégradée. Le divorce a existé pour longtemps, mais on n’osa jamais le faire — pour la famille, pour les enfants, pour l’honneur, pour la foi. Puis vint Henri VIII, qui n’aima plus sa femme (Catherine d’Aragon) pour quelconque raison et qui en voulut une autre (Anne Boleyn) pour le satisfaire et lui donner un garçon au lieu d’une fille (remarquons, pourtant, les souveraines de l’époque ; il n’eut aucune excuse à faire), et il a tiré des ennuis. Ce problème subsiste jusque maintenant : on peut simplement rompre les liens d’amour qu’on a PROMIS d’établir, même si le fruit de la promesse vit et grandit devant leurs yeux. Et aujourd’hui, quelqu’un a osé dire dans une recherche que le mariage traditionnel est destiné de mourir.

Vous, le lecteur, vous aurez su que je supporte le mariage traditionnel du fond du cœur. Mais je ne suis pas là pour faire une thèse. Je suis ici pour dire, humblement, pourquoi le shonen-ai et le shojo-ai n’iront jamais.

Avec tout mon respect, c’est biologique. Le mariage traditionnel donnera naissance à la famille qui est perdue dans les yeux de la société. Et en plus, il a au moins le potentiel de durer, et il a enduré le temps. C’est dans nos gènes, et cela se manifeste avec nos corps. Nous sommes des hommes et des femmes pour une raison. Alors dans les yeux de l’enfant (et encore plus dans les yeux d’un adulte), c’est impossible d’imaginer comment ça arrivera naturellement. Et donc on a la vérité pure et dure : l’homosexualité est motivée par le plaisir, et uniquement le plaisir ; le mariage traditionnel, même avec tous ses problèmes, donnera au monde la population qu’il a besoin.

Alors pourquoi suis-je contre le shonen-ai et le shojo-ai même si c’est simplement deux garçons ou deux filles qui se tiennent les mains ? Simple. Parce que des choses de ce genre ont toujours été, et seront toujours platoniques. Si je lis une histoire de deux garçons ou deux filles qui se tiennent les mains, qui jurent de se protéger l’un l’autre, quoi qu’il arrive, et qui se chérissent très fortement, CE N’EST PAS L’AMOUR. C’EST DE L’AMITIÉ FORTE. Historiquement, et toujours, les amis très proches se tenaient les mains, vouaient à se chérir et se protéger, et quand ils se séparaient, ils se disaient adieu. Ils s’embrassaient parfois, typiquement sur les joues. Ils étaient prêts de mourir pour leurs amis, parce qu’ils les trouvaient simplement dignes. Et aujourd’hui, si quelqu’un disait la même chose sans vouloir des rapports sexuels avec l’autre, quel que soit son sexe, on dirait qu’il veut juste chérir cette personne fortement. La charité se trouve naturellement dans l’amitié, et ça prouve que cette personne est un véritable ami. C’est tout. Regardez les œuvres de Shakespeare et les vies des gens d’antan et vous trouverez que c’est bien le cas. Le sonnet 18 de Shakespeare a été écrit pour remercier quelqu’un qui devint son patron lorsque personne ne voulut le prendre sous son aile. Évidemment, malgré les diverses références à l’« amour » de nos jours, pas du shonen-ai. Aujourd’hui où se trouve-t-il cette charité ? Il suffit de regarder comment des amis se traitent autour de nous…

Le véritable problème, donc, est que le monde ne connait plus la définition de l’amour. On pense que l’amour est suivi par un rapport sexuel, ou bien des petits copains et petites copines. Et quand cette « chaleur » que donne l’« amour » n’est plus là, c’est terminé. C’est pour ça que la famille est dégradé, et c’est pour ça qu’on confond les rapports entre les amis. L’amour, c’est la charité, où quelqu’un va hors de son chemin (et parfois hors des « lois » de la société et des factions d’aujourd’hui) et se met parfois dans des situations très difficiles et douloureuses pour chérir quelqu’un juste parce qu’il est digne d’être aimé. Juste parce qu’il est une personne, un être humain. On pourrait commencer par le montrer à nos amis. On pourrait commencer par garder ce principe, même face à l’abus (subtile que ce soit), la souffrance et la moindre remarque. On n’a pas forcément besoin de garder le même avis ; il suffit juste de chérir avec tout son cœur. Et quand on sait montrer la charité à nos amis, on comprendra pourquoi la charité nous permet de se donner l’un à l’autre, et nous permet de nous préparer pour le deuil qui suit... le deuil d’une vie toute entière, le deuil d’enlever un enfant et le fardeau de la famille (comme elle doit être).

Now that EU (and Land) Law are finished…

Two down, two more to go. Time to share a sketch which I did somewhere last year. Pardon the lack of detail, but I did spend ages drawing and colouring this.



The UK was once the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, but now it is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I understand the events that led to the severance of Ireland from the UK, but still, solidarity is much needed. Especially given the attitude of the UK towards the application of EU law, as well as the bailout that had to be done to Ireland…

Also, I realise that I’ve spelt “Britannia” wrongly, spelling it with two T’s instead of two N’s.

The people on the top who are out to get Britannia and Hibernia are, from left:

• Suomi-neito (Finland)
• Deutscher Michel (Germany)
• Lady of the Mountain (Iceland - though I doubt Iceland's in the EU anyway)
• Zé Povinho (Portugal)
• Ola Nordmann (Norway)
• the Netherlands Maiden
• Hispania (Spain)
• Marianne (France)
• Italia Turrita (Italy)
• Cossack Mamay (Ukraine)

Like it? View the work on DeviantArt!