（所有圖文版權皆屬原著作權人所有）
中譯版原文出處：http://globalnewscllee.blogspot.tw/2013/12/1130.html
英文版原文出處：http://fareasternpotato.blogspot.tw/2013/11/a-feast-of-hatred.html
反對同性婚姻的人走上街頭，又一次說明了盲目與偏狹、謊言與仇恨才是他們信仰的根基。Once again, opponents of same-sex marriage demonstrated that bigotry and intolerance, lies and hatred, are the foundations of their beliefs。
經過數週的籌備，反對同性婚姻的團體今天 （11/30）包車到台北集結，抗議政府有意修法，通過同性婚姻合法化。他們先前祭出的論述都是老掉牙，不出我所料，此次也聽到了不少偏見。但這倒也顯現出他們最真實的聲音，顯示出他們的觀念有多麼偏狹。
反同性婚姻的抗議民眾集結在凱達格蘭大道Opponents of same-sex marriage gather on Ketagalan
主辦單位統計，這次活動人數約有三十五萬人（可能沒那麼多），他們站出來反對增修民法972條，拒絕同性婚姻合法化。此次活動單位選擇粉紅作為主色調，遊行隊伍中四處可見各種海報，上面寫著「爸媽製造」或是「孩子需要爸爸媽媽」等等標語（可我有一個爸爸三個媽媽，他們都疼我，這又該怎麼說呢，小姐？），顯然主辦單位沒有發現紅色曾經被德國納粹拿來做為同性戀者的標記，也就是惡名昭彰的「粉紅三角形」（根據美國大屠殺紀念館資料，蓋世太保於一九三三年至一九四五年間共逮捕十萬男同性戀，當中約有五萬人被送進了大牢，另外有五千人至一萬五千人被送進集中營）。遊行隊伍中更有示威者直接穿著整套納粹軍服，「大家不喜歡也沒關係！」他說。「我會反擊！」為了要對納粹以示公平，我得說，今天上街遊行抗議的仇恨者，較像是納粹和3K黨（註）的混合體才對！
當然並不是來參加抗議遊行的人都是納粹分子，不過多數的參加民眾都是基督徒，就算主辦單位呼籲參與民眾避免秀出他們教徒的記號，但這次活動選用的歌曲卻透露了一點端倪。
示威者妨礙其他民眾行動自由Blocking efforts
有趣的是，在臺灣從事報導工作這七年多來，第一次有民眾跑來告訴我不可以拍照。這次的活動場地設在凱達格蘭大道，我才正要走過去時，就有人跟我說：「這裡是封鎖區」。直到我表明了記者身分，Ketty也說她是來台考察社會運動的學者後，他們才肯放行讓我們進去。其中還有戴著紅色臂章的「糾察隊」，人數不下百位，不斷監視附近走動的人群。這樣的場景次曾相似，上回我想要訪問抗議者的時候，公民1985行動聯盟的工作人員也讓我緊張兮兮，可是這次的方式卻十分挑釁。若有人想要靠近，他們會先問對方「支持」或「反對」同性婚姻，如果回答支持的人便不許進入。什麼對話啊…
遭群眾圍困的年輕同志Surrounded by intolerance
公民的權利和責任也首度僭越了執法人員。到場抗議的團體，手牽著手始終圍住會場，並阻擋舉著支持同性婚姻標語的群眾入內（見影片1、影片2、影片3），就連在苗栗苑里風力發電廠預定地，那些被德國英華威雇來抗議、嚼著檳榔的流氓都沒這麼壞。他們甚至不斷阻擋我隨意走動，讓我不得不與他們發生衝撞，屢次問他們究竟有什麼權利阻擋我在公共場所自由行動，卻都沒有人回答我。
影片1
影片2
影片3
就在反同性婚姻的團體包圍「同光教會」（支持同性戀的教會）的時候，有位小姐因為Ketty講英文而大聲喝斥。她說：「在中國就要說中文啊！」不用說，這種莫名其妙的語言歧視是激怒不了Ketty的，但說到中國，這下可就把她給惹毛了。
用禱告來「醫治」年輕的男同志？Praying to ‘heal’ a young gay man?
隊伍裡有兩個男人追捕一個年輕人，結果年輕人跌坐在地上，他們一度把年輕人圍住，我蹲在他旁邊，趕緊拿出相機拍下這一幕，一旁還有不少手中拿著粉紅色看板和旗幟的抗議群眾上前圍觀。他們靠他非常近，幾乎就要抓住他了，結果這可憐的年輕人差點給悶死了。我抬起頭來，看見一群好像是從東南亞來的女性正在大聲禱告，同時將手臂伸向年輕人。我走過去問她們在做什麼。其中一名婦人說：「我們在禱告。」我接著又問：「所以你們打算禱告治好他嗎？」我了解很多有宗教信仰的人始終認為同性戀是可以醫治的疾病。「問這個做什麼？」其中一位這樣回答，還明顯帶著輕蔑的語氣。我表明自己是記者，十分好奇為什麼在禱告時要伸手指著那位年輕人。她回答：「就只是禱告而已。」這些舉動在在表明了這個少年的問題、他的存在是不受歡迎的，但是我心中已經有了答案：她們確實打算「治癒」他。
這群人口中說他們了解什麼是愛，但今天這場行動卻完全出於仇恨與歧視。現在我總算證實了很久的疑慮了，所謂到場抗議的聯盟來自不同背景是假的，大多數的人都有宗教信仰，因為教會要求才來響應，他們多半遵從主流教派，如同羊群跟著牧羊人，卻不曉得這根本就無異於盲從。作為個體，他們是軟弱的，但團結起來卻可以將自己的信念強加在別人身上，這種行徑根本違背了他們的經典的教導。一遇到事實挑戰，馬上就黔驢技窮，逃之夭夭。
以愛奮戰Fighting back with love
像是要請他們解釋為什麼允許同性戀結婚會導致人獸交，為什麼阻止同性伴侶聯姻，所有的問題就能迎刃而解（他們認為同性戀終究會消失），結果他們卻不知怎麼答腔，往往只是帶著高傲的神情，再謙卑告訴你這都是上帝說的如此云云。講到最後，會發現其思想有多虛偽和空洞。（用人獸交作為類比更是離譜。這種「去人性化」的推論好像說所有的歧視都是巧合。好像另一半不是異性就是次一等的人，一旦容許這個假設，下一步就說可能容許和動物交配了。）
啊，其中還有仇視外國人的，有塊很大的看板就把同性戀歸咎給外國人。
不少來抗議的人是被拉來的孩子，他們一點也不了解這項議題，有的還蹲在地上寫作業。其中有名媽媽強拉著小女孩參加，顯然小女孩一點也不想來。約有一個半小時的時間，同志們都會看到她手中的粉紅色看板。主辦單位希望人越多越好，現場果然看到黑壓壓的人群，只是從大環境來看，這樣的數字說明不了什麼，今天即便有不少人到場反對同性婚姻，但他們依舊是少數。台灣是佛教為主國家，天主教徒約有五十萬人，就算每個教徒都到場抗議同性婚姻合法（要注意，並不是每個信徒都恐同，但有不少恐同的人都是教徒），也只占了台灣總人口兩千三百萬的四十六分之一，可是站出來支持同性婚姻的人更少，還沒現身的支持者也不多，兩者相加，對這些人而言並無法構成氣候，對他們而言，少數人的權利也不干己事。不過上月舉辦的同志大遊行吸引了大約六萬五千人響應，確實提倡同性伴侶結婚的權利。
充滿愁苦的臉龐The face of pain
只是，數以千計的示威群眾就站在面前，讓我不禁在想，少數勇敢的同志舉著牌子站在外交部外，距離遊行隊伍只有幾步之遙，心中有什麼樣的感受。換做是我，想到這麼多人站出來，滿懷仇恨來否定我的存在、痛恨我與生俱來的特質，我不知道會有多心痛，怪不得有些同志當場掉下了眼淚。
我走在遊行隊伍中，想起過去十八個月來觀察過的各種抗議、我所經歷過的各種苦楚。當時這些人在哪裡？這群人理應滿懷宗教情操、慈悲為懷才對，但當政府拆毀人民溫暖的家園時，他們在哪裡？當人們失去生活的希望時，他們又在哪裡？為什麼這群人的臉孔對我來說如此陌生？（而唯一熟悉的臉孔是站在一旁為正義而奮鬥的朋友）
這個社會還有很多問題尚待解決，還有很多不公不義需要平反，可是，今天讓人們站出來的唯一動力，竟然是要否定其他人組成家庭的基本權利。
最新消息：律師團已經介入，受害者將提起誹謗、違反拘禁、與侵犯人身自由等民事告訴，另外也不排除提出刑事告訴。
（所有照片皆為作者所攝）
（本文作者J. Michael Cole寇謐將為前《Taipei Times》記者，現為自由媒體撰稿人，全文已獲得作者同意翻譯與轉載。原文網址：http://fareasternpotato.blogspot.tw/2013/11/a-feast-of-hatred.html）
譯註：3K黨為美國奉行白人優越主義與基督教恐怖主義的仇恨團體，仇視黑人、天主教徒與猶太人。
以下為原英文版全文
A feast of hatred文／寇謐將（J. Michael Cole）。
Once again, opponents of same-sex marriage demonstrated that bigotry and intolerance, lies and hatred, are the foundations of their beliefs
After several weeks of buildup, the groups who oppose same sex-marriage in Taiwan descended by the busload on Taipei today for a large protest as the government mulls legal revisions that would make same-sex unions possible. Based on the language that had been used to date, I expected bigotry — and they certainly delivered. In fact, in terms of the magnitude of their intolerance, they showed their true colors.
Opponents of same-sex marriage gather on Ketagalan
According to the organizers, as many as 350,000 people (though probably less) turned up for the event, which was intended as a means to pressure the legislature not to amend Article 972 of the Civil Code, which would open the door to same-sex marriage. Pink was the color theme for the event. There was a variety of placards, many reading “Made in Mommy and Daddy” or “All Kids Need Daddy and Mommy,” among others (I have one dad and three moms, and they all love me; how about that, lady?). Apparently the organizers failed to realize that pink was the very color used by the Nazis — the infamous “pink triangle” — to identify homosexuals. (According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia, the Gestapo arrested as many as 100,000 men as homosexuals between 1933 and 1945. About 50,000 men were sent to regular prison, while between 5,000 and 15,000 were interned in concentration camps.) One of the protesters even turned up wearing a complete Nazi uniform. “I don’t care if people don’t like it,” he said. “I will fight back.” To be fair to the Nazis (I can’t believe I’m saying this!), I would say that many of the haters who came out today were more a mix of Nazis and the KKK.
Not all the protesters who participated at the event were Nazis, of course, but a great many of them were Christians. Even though organizers had called upon their followers to avoid showing any sign that would identity them as members of the Church, the choice of songs left little doubt about their affiliations.
Blocking efforts
Interestingly, in my more than seven years working as a journalist in Taiwan, this was the first time that civilians approached me and told me I was not allowed to take pictures. The site of the protest on Ketagalan Boulevard, they told us as we approached, was a “closed area.” Only after I insisted that I was a journalist, and Ketty told them she was an academic here to study social movements in Taiwan, were we allowed to enter the site. All “security” staff wore special red armbands. There were several hundreds of them, and they kept close tabs on whoever walked around, in a manner that was reminiscent of, but that surpassed in its aggressiveness, the staff of Citizen 1985 who got on my nerves when I tried to cover their protests. Sometimes they would ask people who approached whether they were “for” or “against” same-sex marriage. Those who answered that they were for were barred access. So much for dialogue…
Surrounded by intolerance
This was also one of the rare times when civilians arrogated upon themselves rights and duties that are normally the remit of law-enforcement officers. Groups of protesters repeatedly locked arms, encircled, and blocked people who carried placards supporting gay marriage (see videos here and here and here). Not even the betel nut-chewing thugs hired by the German wind power firm InfraVest to protest their sites in Yuanli, Miaoli County, were this bad. On many occasions, they also prevented me from walking around freely and left me little choice but to collide with them. More than once I asked what right they had to prevent people from moving freely in a public space. I never received an answer.
As the anti-same-sex marriage group formed a tightening circle around members of the United Church (which tolerates homosexuality), a woman berated Ketty for speaking English. “We’re in China, and we speak Chinese here,” she said. Needless to say, if the discriminatory and utterly unnecessary remarks against language weren’t sufficient to anger Ketty, the reference to China did the trick.
Praying to ‘heal’ a young gay man?
At one point, two men locked arms around a young man who had fallen to the ground while they were pursuing him. I got on my knees next to him and snapped pictures, as several dozens of protesters with their pink placards and banners looked on. They nearly suffocated the poor thing, so closely were they holding him. I looked up and saw a group of Southeast Asian women praying out loud, their arms extended towards the young man. I went over and asked them what they were doing. “We are praying,” one of them said. This much I could tell. “Are you praying so that you will heal him?” I asked, echoing a belief, held by many religious people, that somehow homosexuality is a disease that can be healed. “Why are you asking?” one of them replied with palpable contempt. I told them I was a journalist and that I was curious as to why they were extending their arms in his direction while praying. “We’re just praying,” she said, whereupon they made it clear that his questions — his presence, in fact — were unwelcome. I had my answer: they were indeed trying to “heal” him.
For people who claim to know about love, the mobilization today was one of pure hatred and discrimination. Group dynamics were evidently at play and confirmed what I have long suspected, that a large number of those who turn to religion do so out of a need to follow, to be told how to think. Many of them are perfectly suited to meet the needs of the authoritarian Church and follow it like sheep, even if this leads them down the road of bigotry. Individually they are cowards, but as a group, they impose their beliefs on others in a way that contradicts what the Book tells them. Challenged with fact, they quickly run out of ideas and run away.
Fighting back with love
For example, ask them to explain how allowing same-sex marriage would lead to bestiality, or how preventing gay unions would eventually solve the problem (homosexuals would disappear over time), and they don’t have a clue how to respond. They’ll have that inevitable smug look on their face, and they will condescend, tell you that they are enlightened by their religion, et cetera. But in the end, their minds are hollow. (The repeated references to bestiality are especially worrying, as this points to a process of dehumanization, whereby the “other” isn’t exactly human and is therefore fair game for all kinds of discriminations. Somehow if one’s partner is of the same sex, he or she is less than human; once we allow that, the next step is presumably having intercourse with animals.)
Oh, and there was xenophobia, too. A huge sign blamed homosexuality on foreigners.
Many of the protesters were children and hired helps who obviously didn’t have a clue about the issue. Some children were doing their homework on the ground. One mother firmly held up the arm of her little girl, who obviously didn’t want to be there, for half an hour so that the homosexuals and their supporters who faced them could see the pink placard she was holding. Organizers wanted a large turnout, and they got one. Still, numbers alone don’t mean much unless they are put in a context. There were far, far more people today who expressed their opposition to same-sex marriage, but in the end, they remain the minority. Taiwan, a predominantly Buddhist country, has about 500,000 Catholics. Even if every single one of them opposed same-sex marriage and showed up at the protest (not all religious persons are homophobic, but most homophobes happen to be religious), they would still only constitute 1/46th of the total population of about 23 million. That a relatively much smaller number of people turned up to support gay marriage, or didn’t show up altogether, is a sign that for them, this is a non issue and none of their business. We should also add that the LGBT Pride parade held last month, which attracted approximately 65,000 people, had already advocated for the marriage rights of same-sex couples.
The face of pain
Still, as the several thousands of people poured onto the scene, I could not help but try to imagine what it must feel like to be one of the small number of courageous homosexuals who were holding their placards a few meters away, near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I would be devastated at the idea that so many people would come out, with hatred in their hearts, to deny my very existence, to resent me for something I was born with. No wonder some of them shed tears.
As I mingled with the crowd, I thought about all the other protests I had been to in the past 18 months, all the suffering that I had experienced. Where were those people — people with supposed religious ideals, a conscience, love, compassion — when the government was demolishing the homes of vulnerable individuals? When people who had lost all hope were ending their lives? None of them were familiar faces (the only familiar faces today were on the side of the angels).
There are so many problems in society, so much injustice that need remedying. And yet, the only cause that prompted those people to mobilize today was one that seeks to deny other people the right to form a family.
UPDATE: Lawyers have gotten involved, and the victims are planning to file civil lawsuits for slander, false imprisonment, and infringement on personal freedom. They are also considering criminal charges. (All photos by the author)