I was pleased to see that other politicians leapt on Northern Ireland government minister Ian Paisley Junior as soon as he described gays as 'repulsive' and said they harmed themselves and harmed society.Not so long ago they might have taken no notice and accepted his defence that he was entitled to voice his own personal opinion on a matter he felt strongly about.
Today however such vicious abuse is considered not only unacceptable in itself but also hugely damaging to the department he represents, which is responsible for equality issues.
Assembly members are so disgusted they've drawn up a censure motion against him and want an unconditional apology. So far he has refused to apologise and insisted on his right to heap insults on an already much-maligned group of people.
He's quite oblivious to the elephant-sized blunder he has committed. He's stuck in some 1950s gay-bashing time warp and hasn't noticed that public opinion has moved on and left him behind in his Janet and John utopia.
As Danny Kennedy of the Ulster Unionist Party pointed out: 'The reported comments would not be acceptable anywhere in mainstream British political life.'
Unfortunately Ian Paisley Junior thinks he is a law unto himself and can casually disregard equal opportunities provisions.
If anyone is harming society it's people like him pouring further contempt on vulnerable, insecure homosexuals who are already prone to self-doubt, distress and in some cases suicidal tendencies. What they badly need is not condemnation but reassurance, support and human decency.
And how about the harm from those heterosexuals who think nothing of abusing children, committing adultery, beating their wives and mistreating prostitutes? That's more than repulsive, it's deeply sickening. Those who live in glass houses....
Right on, Nick. Since when does being heterosexual automatically make you an asset to society? Kee-rist Paisley is a knuckle dragger. I don't want him to offer an empty apology. I want him to apologize for being a bigot and a disgrace to his community and politics in general. If we go back to Dawkins again, he shows that we allow people to authorize any kind of hate based on their religious faith. It's bullshit.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point about religion being used to authorise hate. Instead of just saying 'Shit,I hate those bastards' you can say 'But the Lord teaches us that certain people are pursuing the wrong path in life and need to be shown the error of their ways'. Then you can feel completely justified in laying into them as often as you like. Quite sinister.
ReplyDeleteThe Paisleys have never been the sort to pay much heed to human decency so I wasn't at all surprised to hear his comments. Shameful stuff indeed.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, they have a long record of this sort of stuff. I was just reminded of IPJ's offensive remarks when David Trimble's aide Steven King married his gay partner, calling the relationship 'immoral, offensive and obnoxious.' A model of Christian compassion to us all.
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show you, Nick, hate begets hate, like father, like son.
ReplyDeleteThis obsession of the 'holy' ones with sex - and more specifically where everyone puts their naughty bits - makes one wonder though. So many fundamentalists who screamed about gays from the pulpit have been literally caught in the *gasp* homersectual act with their trousers down. Lordy lord. Poetic justice. Sets the old mind on young Ian's proclivities, eh, what?
Yes there have been a few notable cases of double-think. Got to be careful of libel here, but certainly young Ian has a deliciously provocative swagger....
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he was grateful for gay votes, though. Sometimes wish skin changed colour according to whereabouts on a gay/straight continuum you were. I'm sure there's be many, many surprises.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, but I bet he's religious. In my experience the most vitriolic, hateful people are the ones who profess their faith the loudest. Not to say there aren't many lovely religious people, there are, but bigots always seem to hide behind a Banner of Love.
Exactly, I didn't notice him asking gays not to give him their X. What a fabulous idea, skin colour showing sexual preference - not only getting everyone out of their closets but making flirting so much easier! He's religious all right, takes after his notorious bible-bashing father. And I'm sure he thinks trying to convert gays is some warped kind of love.
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