What are they really afraid of ?
Posted by: mimanifesto on: December 1, 2011
- In: Equality | Uncategorized
- Comment!
“With all the problems currently facing the world, people will struggle to understand why organisations like the Catholic Church are wasting so much money and energy on this homophobic campaign.”
Well said Tom French, from the Equality network, in response to the unholy alliance between Keith O’Brien, Bashir Mann, and Gordon Wilson of Solas on their attempts to dictate the definition of ‘marriage’ to a largely secular society. Now these Catholic, Muslim and Christian Fundamentalists wouldn’t ordinarily cross the floor to each other except to condemn and denounce each other, however they all have decided to spend crazy money on a homophobic campaign to force their own personal views upon a society which has largely left them behind
in the dark ages. Bashir Mann has already had to resign from one public body in Glasgow due to his homophobia, and dear old Gordon,
well, the least said the better. Wise of the Cardinal to dress in mufti though; the sight of him protesting in his red frock, shoes and hat would have been all too delicious to bear ;-p
The Cardinal only speaks for a minority of Scots Roman Catholics on the subject of marriage equality. Bashir Mann is certainly not representative of most Scottish Muslims, and dear old Gordon, well, one man and his dog. You get the picture.
So, with the polls still indicating a majority of Scots favouring full marriage equality, what is the Scottish Government to do? After all, a consultation exercise is mostly replied to by activists at each end of the scale. And religious bodies will contribute based largely on the views of their leaders rather than their active congregations. But what of the middle ground? How are their views represented? By their MSP’s, who will stand or fall at elections depending on their records. And with all the parties at Holyrood broadly supporting this move, that’s a pretty unified view in my opinion, covering all political constituencies up and down the land.
So whilst the government must certainly consider all responses to their consultation, it’s the representatives of the people, accountable to the electorate and not the vested interests of the large (or not so large) organisations and groups, who are really the ones to make a final decision on this matter when legislation is bought before parliament.
I for one pray to God that they will make the right choice. A vote for fairness, equality, freedom of conscience and religion, which will confirm Scotland’s place on the map with the other forward thinking and inclusive tolerant societies across the world.
And perhaps what O’Brien, Mann, and Wilson fear most of all, is this: that their time has been….and gone.
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4 Responses to "What are they really afraid of ?"
December 1, 2011 at 12:55 pm
And Mark Swanepoel makes some very pertinant points in the Herald today..
Mr Wilson, you are hilarious! In polls the majority of Scots support gay marriage. A tiny and arrogant minority oppose it. Nevertheless this vocal loony fringe is worrying:
1. Roman Catholic clergy state that marriage is for raising children. This is an insult to childless marriages. The insistence on children is ridiculous & way out of date.
2. Just for the sake of argument, assume that marriage is indeed for procreation, and marriage for the sake of love alone is wrong. Surely by the same logic, gender itself must then be solely intended for procreation? In that case the demand that Roman Catholic clergy remain celibate yet retain their gender must be abhorrent to God, and Roman Catholic clergy should either respect their gender, marry, and have children – or neuter themselves?!
3. Gays value strong, stable, and supportive relationships just as much as straights. To deny gay people the same institution as everyone else is not only the act of an appalling dog-in-the-manger, but highly discriminatory. Does Mr Wilson think that the love between two gay people is of less value than that between two straight people? If so, he must explain why he thinks this, and why he believes his opinion is right and that of most other people wrong. (Many homophobes are obsessed with the physical side of relationships – a dismal reflection upon themselves.)
4. Gays don’t attack heterosexual marriage, and there is no reason why extending the institution to gays should undermine heterosexual marriage. Given that there are so very, very few gays, as Mr. Wilson so keenly emphasises (only 2-3% of men are gay, & fewer women), surely quick-and-easy divorce is a much more severe attack on the institution of marriage? Why make such an enormous fuss about extending a basic right to such a small group?
5. I have met gay people and discussed their sexuality with them – it is a natural, inalienable, and inherent part of their
identity – but unlike straights, many gays have battled to come to terms with their sexuality in the face of extreme hostility, even facing assault by their fathers. Homosexuality occurs in many species. This natural phenomenon probably occurs because gays have essential roles in society. On the whole their abilities, gifts and traits differ somewhat from those of straights, being related to positive creative & social roles in communities. Gay couples are just as good or even better at being parents as straights, incidentally, and do not influence the sexuality of their children.
6. When I was a kid I did something called “loading the argument”: I would introduce many extraneous issues of no bearing whatsoever on the issue at stake when I found myself losing an argument. It is a juvenile ploy that tells the opposition that one has lost the basic point in contention. Loading the argument is best avoided by adults. I am very sorry to say that by introducing the threat of a lost independence referendum in an argument about an entirely unconnected, civil matter, Mr. Wilson has displayed great immaturity and admitted defeat. show less
December 5, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Related: See new post — “Is There a Christian Case For Same Sex Marriage?”
at: http://JewishChristianGay.wordpress.com
-Alex Haiken
December 5, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Go Jaye go! I was so angry at this rubbish that I actually tweeted to vent my spleen, no big deal I know, but I don’t usually do angry tweets. You are so right about their time being gone, although I have the additional fear that religions, being largely patriarchal and by tendency traditional, are still being given too much airtime and credibility; for example getting places in the House of Lords. I think I side with Dawkins in saying that we are too cautious in criticising religions because they have a free pass from society to talk rubbish as criticism is seen as blasphemy or intolerance. In this case, their poison is simply nasty and wrong, and may even come close to homophobic discrimination.
December 1, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Gary Otten makes some great points here…
Garry Otton
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Over £10,000 was spent on advertising yesterday by militant religious groups in Scotland. It is a campaign organised against gay people. Pure and simple. The names of the militant groups who are involved in organising this campaign are: Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) which funds interns to infiltrate the Scottish parliament and media; the Christian Institute which secures tax relief by registering as a charity while campaigning vociferously against any attempt to treat lgbt people equally; the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland which receives instructions from the Vatican; Destiny Churches Scotland a collection of evangelicals who also benefit from taxpayer-funded grants; the Evangelical Alliance, a well-funded organisation to promote its extreme brand of Christianity and the Family Education Trust, a grand-sounding name that is always on call to give media soundbites in support of religion.