Tony Sewell, the new chair of the government's commission on race and ethnic disparities, has had to apologise for saying homosexuals were "the greatest queer bashers around, "tortured queens playing hide and seek" who "made their own sexuality look dirty".
Of course the comments are grotesque and offensive, but they aren't recent comments, they're ones he made in 1990. Why should they be dredged up 30 years later as if he must have the same opinions in 2020? And why should they be used to try and oust him from a job that has nothing to do with homosexuality?
He has said clearly that those remarks "do not reflect my views today nor indeed the views of modern society." Isn't that enough to draw a line under the subject?*
We all have skeletons in the closet when it comes to unsavoury opinions we held when we were younger, and less sensible and circumspect than we are now. I supported all sorts of odd causes I wouldn't support now. I criticised people for personal failings I would now have more sympathy for.
If anybody could lose their job because of some off-the-cuff insult from decades ago, there would be an awful lot of sackings, and an awful lot of job vacancies. Can any of us say we've never let slip an ill-considered remark?
Unfortunately in the age of the internet such mortifying remarks are preserved for posterity and aren't easily buried.
* More to the point, he has denied the existence of institutional racism, which surely disqualifies him from a job concerning racial inequality
Most of us aren’t in positions where our random comments were recorded 30 years ago. But this guy wrote these things as a columnist, which seems a bit different. Plus the fact that it’s in direct opposition to the job, which makes its valid point.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Not sure how it's in direct opposition to the job, unless you mean he doesn't seem to believe in equality?
DeleteHe had previously said that he didn’t believe that institutional racism existed. Oh, the irony of him then taking that position. It’s crazy to me that they couldn’t find someone better suited for the job.
DeleteBijoux: Indeed, how could he even think of taking the job if he doesn't believe in some absolutely fundamental aspect of racism?
DeleteCan we change our opinions on racism, fascism, misogyny? I think these are deeply entrenched. Wearing blackface or a nazi uniform shows a blatant disregard for the pain of others. Another example: I ended a friendship because he had been cruel to animals as a child.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
www: I don't think our opinions are that entrenched. Lots of people change their opinions quite radically over the years. But I certainly wouldn't employ someone who had pro-nazi sympathies.
DeleteI kind of agree with WWW. Percentage wise I think less people are changeable than you think, Nick.
DeleteDeeply entrenched opinions are deeply entrenched hence the difficulty of them being altered. Faddy opinions, or on-trend opinions are the ones that change all the time.
Look at Boris and Trump - it'd be a miracle if they changed!!
Sx
Ms Scarlet: I think deeply entrenched opinions can stay the same for a lifetime, or they can change as a result of personal experience. BJ has said that after his stay in hospital, he's much keener to tackle the obesity epidemic. And Tony Sewell said in August 2013 "The gay rights movement is surely a human struggle for homosexuals to be treated equally." That's a big change from 1990.
DeleteTimes now are different and people are simply settling scores on long festering wounds. What an acquaintance of mine told me about a complaint that she has made with her ex employer - "It is payback time." She can do it now as her pension is secure and all her terminal benefits have accrued to her. She could not have done that during the time that she was employed there.
ReplyDeleteRamana: Settling scores might well come into it. As you say, it's hard to level with an employer if you have a lot to lose financially.
DeleteTimes have changed a lot and a lot of jokes that people used unthinkingly years ago would be taboo now. People can change a lot in 30 years.
ReplyDeleteJean: Exactly. You only have to look at a few old comedy programmes to see how embarrassing some of the "humour" now is by today's norms.
DeleteI am not aware of the person or the incident, but I so agree. Let the past alone when it's no longer relevant to the present.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Quite so. Let sleeping dogs lie is my opinion.
DeleteWhen I was a child I was a girly girl. When my brothers and cousins played cowboys I was the dance hall girl in my long taffeta skirt with a ruffle at the bottom. Of course, I had no idea what a dance hall girl was back then. But, I'm certainly not a girly girl now. I never wear nylons and don't own any high heels or skirts/dresses for that matter. I can't stand ruffles nor flowered fabrics. I certainly would not now like to be judged by who I was back then.
ReplyDeleteLinda: I didn't know the dubious overtones of "dance hall girl" either. I just googled it! I think a lot of women refuse to wear uncomfortable female clothing as they get older. Jenny long ago abandoned tights, skirts, dresses, high heels and all those impractical gender symbols.
Delete"We all have skeletons in the closet when it comes to unsavoury opinions we held when we were younger, and less sensible and circumspect than we are now."
ReplyDeleteThat's a rather broad brush used in that statement. I've been trying to think of any opinions I had that were "unsavory" and honestly can't. I do remember using the n-word in a rhyme and in a saying when I was a child, but that was before I understood the significance and how hurtful it was. But that's all I can come up with.
Mike: I'm surprised and impressed that you had no unsavoury opinions! I can remember supporting the IRA for quite a while, conveniently overlooking the violence, the bombings, and all the innocent victims.
DeleteAnd to think all we had to worry about was mothers producing baby and toddler photographs....the social mdia can be a curse.
ReplyDeleteFly: I know, those innocent times! Social media has a lot to answer for. Nowadays if you're looking for dirt and you dig away for long enough, you'll find some.
DeleteIt is ridiculous as is this cancel culture. I'm so sick of it.
ReplyDeleteMary: There seems to be an army of people out there whose sole purpose in life is to give and take offence. So utterly childish.
DeleteMaybe. Depends on what a person said and what their words and actions have been since. Case in point - Trump said some pretty awful things thirty years ago, and his actions since are equally despicable.
ReplyDeleteAgent: Trump is just a thoroughly odious character now, never mind all the odious things he did in the past. Tony Sewell has recently condemned homophobia, so it seems his views have genuinely changed.
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