h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The following passage in the section under Fag contains some very dubious statements.

"The Catholic response was to ask the young boys from each village to gather bundles of sticks (faggots), and then lay them at the feet of the chained homosexuals. After lighting the pyre and forcing the boys to watch the screaming victims, a priest would lecture to the boys about homosexuality. To understand the cruel nature of this slang word, you might imagine using the word 'noose' to describe black men, in reference to the runaway slave lynchings that once occurred in the Southern US."

The author of the History thread has explained how 'faggot' has nothing to do with the former burning of homosexuals. But apart from that, although public executions by burning or any other method were clearly meant to give a message to the onlookers, there is no evidence at all for the bit about priests getting young boys to build the pyre and then delivering lectures on homosexuality while the victims screamed and burned.
Homosexuals often suffered cruel punishments in the past, but adding imaginary details detracts from rather than adds to the case that this was wrong.
Similarly the comment about runaway slave lynchings completely misrepresents the situation. Slaves were valuable property and slave-owners offered rewards for the capture and return of runaways, not for the return of lynched corpses. Lynchings were more a feature of the post-emancipation era when blacks, no longer being slaves, no longer had a cash value. Then they were frequently strung up by mobs for real or more commonly imaginary 'crimes'.
I know this is not an entry on slavery, but again, misleading statements of this nature detract from the understanding of the injustices suffered by blacks rather than making it clearer.
I think this section of the entry needs to be rewritten.
PS, sissy or cissy may have become homosexual slang at some point, but the word has a long history in the UK at least of designating a boy who was considered 'unmanly' e.g. who cried when he was hurt, was excessively timid, or liked to play with girls. This is much more likely to be the origin of the term as applied to homosexuals.

F47997?thread=3434252 Any suggestions?

That's been sorted now.