Ignorance alive and well

Two recent and unrelated outbursts connecting been gay with been a pedophile shows prejudice and ignorance is alive and well in both New Zealand and Australia.

The outburst in New Zealand was not that surprising coming from Garth Taylor - a member of a conservative Christian group in small town New Zealand.

"They are offering a gay service as well. Most paedophiles are homosexuals, and you know we don't want to bring that here. " - Residents revolt at the idea of a brothel

Mr Taylor clearly shows his ignorance and prejudices.

Even worse however was Jeff Kennett's comments supporting the sacking of a gay trainer.

Mr Kennett said it was as if the club had a pedophile trainer.

"It's the same if you have a pedophile there as a masseur, right?"

"And you might say the pedophile would do no damage, but once it was pointed out to you, you have a duty of care to those underage children not to put them in a situation of risk."

As a former Liberal premier of Victoria one wouldn't expect this sort of nonsense been spouted from his mouth equating been gay with been a pedophile.

Ken Campagnolo is has taken the Bonnie Doon Football Club to court for been sacked for been gay was appalled by Kennett's comments.

"I am not a pedophile. Does that mean every straight male doctor cannot treat any female patient?" he said.

Sadly Kennett's comments shows homophobia is alive and well in Australia.

Buggery

On the Queers United blog the Word of the Gay recently was "Buggery".

Of course in New Zealand and Australia the word Bugger is used more as a profanity rather than reference to sodomy.

Walk Like A Man - SBS Tuesday.

Great to see a documentary on Tuesday night on SBS at 7:30pm about the Sydney Convict's and Bingham Cup.

Walk Like A Man is a real life drama about real men grunting it out on the sports field; blood, sweat and queers!

Great to see this documentary on at peak time on SBS.

Naked Rugby

Moved to www.queernewsdownunder.com/2008/07/naked-rugby

WYD - This isn't annoying

World Youth Day has arrived in Sydney and as an event it is a real misnomer.

Firstly is a week long event so not sure why it is called a day.

Secondly the concept of "World" is very narrow - effectively it is a Roman Catholic event - so don't bother coming if you are Muslim, Greek Orthodox, gay, feminist, believe in abortion rights, condoms and lots more.

Thirdly the church is still dealing badly with the issues of illegal activities by some of the "celibate" male clergy. It is time the church actually stopped listening to it's legal advisers and actually took some action against the priests and acted with compassion to the victims rather than trying to protect the church finances.

To make matters worse the despised NSW State government passed regulations which make it an offence to be "annoying" to a WYD Participate.

That has generated a lot of discussion and helped the various groups who will protest the Pope's visit - see the No to Pope Coalition website.

Simply Queer

I stumbled on this new blog - Simply Queer - I have really enjoyed reading it - it speaks of a positive attitude to life which touched me and reminded me of the joy of living.

It is easy at times to get worn down with day to day life but it is the little things that touch you. It was like when I was back in New Zealand for my father's funeral that the warmth of family friends who I hadn't seen for 20 plus years reminded me of the importance of community.

It is sometimes easy when you live in a large city like Sydney to feel isolated from the rest of the world. Oh you have work and friends but your social circle is tight and limited. When you go back to a small town you find people generally warm and welcoming.

I think that is why New Zealand has moved ahead of Australia in recognition of gay rights in that New Zealand is one small community - it isn't six degrees of separation but two - so everyone knows someone who knows someone who is gay. It might be their aunt or uncle, brother or sister or a close friend. That is why you can drive through small towns and find a rainbow flag and a small cafe operated by two gay guys, etc.

I just feels so reaffirming of humanity that the acceptance is there. It also means those who try to decry gays as evil have less of a hearing.

Yes small towns can be someone hard to grow up and can at times feel stiffling they do offer some opportunities if you are willing to be open about who you are.