Burn Down the Mission

Today's news on Sir Elton John's statements on how "Religion should be banned" illuminated for me a question raised by my friend Donna years ago. She asked, "What does the song mean?" Such an epiphany! Donna! - it means what Elton said today - all religion should be banned! Burn down the mission!

"Everybody now bring your family down to the riverside
Look to the east to see where the fat stock hide
Behind four walls of stone the rich man sleeps
It's time we put the flame torch to their keep

Burn down the mission
If we're gonna stay alive
Watch the black smoke fly to heaven
See the red flame light the sky

Burn down the mission
Burn it down to stay alive
It's our only chance of living"

So Elton was anti-religious back then? Oh - that's right - so was I - Donna pretty much remains so today. "Tumbleweed Connection" is my all-time favorite album - it came out when Elton looked like this photo - kind of hippie, kind of 'underground'. I was told he was gay but didn't believe it - only guys who worked in fashion were gay - so I thought. I never associated rock-n-roll with gay - gay people only liked Broadway show tunes, Barbara Streisand and Judy Garland. Turns out he was gay - I couldn't ignore it when he went all glitz and bubble-gum. (I have to admit, I like "Philadelphia Freedom" - I wish I had a copy.) "Tumbleweed" and "Madman" remain two of my favorite albums - he more or less lost me after that. (Just as Michael had after "Thriller.")

Silly Elton. Whose the best friend gays ever had? The Roman Catholic Church you silly! Cardinal O'Connor called in the Missionaries of Charity to assist those suffering from AIDS in NYC. Cardinal Cooke started Courage, a group for gays seeking to live a chaste and celibate life. It was the Catholic Church who took the initiative to help those suffering from AIDS worlwide.

Elton thinks he is like the old Queen Mum; in his recent interview he says,

"Sir Elton compared his place in British culture with that of the Queen Mother's. He said:

"People come to me and I'm a bit like the Queen Mother. I never get those problems. I don't know what it is with me, people treat me very reverently. Referring to his "wedding" to long-term partner David Furnish, he said: "It was the same when Dave and I had our civil union - I was expecting the odd flour bomb and there wasn't."Dave and I as a couple seem to be the acceptable face of gayness..."

People may seem to be approaching him reverently because they are usually walking on eggs around him. The bitch-queen is known to throw hissyfits if he doesn't get his way. He's had fall-outs with everyone he's ever known. He is kind of queen mother-ish, mainly because he's an old queen. (George Michael said he's fat - it cracks me up how they cat-fight - so "Will and Grace"!) I don't think there is a person alive who thinks he and his partner are the acceptable face of gayness, much less respect his bogus marriage.

Looks like "Madman across the water" was autobiographical as well.

"EAT STEAK!" (I'm sooooooo glad Lovitz is straight!:)