Comments on South Belfast Diary: ….. but not if you’re gay

Scrabo - you may be right, given also the remarks ...

2008-08-20T19:52:00.000+01:00

Scrabo - you may be right, given also the remarks from Ian Paisley Jnr today about shooting to kill, plus Sammy Wilson's disavowal of global warming. I suspect that the DUP really know their constituency. But this provides a political opportunity for everyone else, and most particularly for the UUP in their new (or rather, renewed) link with the modern Tory party.

Hi, great blogI think this is a cynical manipulati...

2008-08-20T16:46:00.000+01:00

Hi, great blog

I think this is a cynical manipulation by the DUP of their hard-line evangelical support. A few weeks after their religious leader is succeeded by the secularising Peter Robinson, Iris suddenly pops up as defensor fidei on the gay issue to keep the hard-liners sweet.

I wasn't talking about the potential to exploit th...

2008-06-16T09:50:00.000+01:00

I wasn't talking about the potential to exploit the locals in low-paod work here, but the need to attract the 'frequent flyers' class of specialist workers who can choose where they work, some of whom will be gay (or lesbian - although interestingly Robinson's remarks pertain to men: perhaps like Queen Victoria she thinks lesbians don't really exist). The PfG really wants these workers, to help with establishing a skilled economy to minimise the chance that jobs won't subsequently go to lower cost countries.

Certainly her remarks may put off some entrepreneu...

2008-06-12T15:40:00.000+01:00

Certainly her remarks may put off some entrepreneurs who would rather invest in a more open-minded society, but for most companies if the country's profit potential is alluring enough they don't give two hoots about the odd rabid politician. The best deterrent is still the law, if someone would actually enforce it.

Oh I don't know - there's been a huge on-line back...

2008-06-11T21:27:00.000+01:00

Oh I don't know - there's been a huge on-line backlash here, including a petition to the Prime Minister and 2 Facebook groups giving details of addresses to complain to. For all that it's infuriating - and the point of my post was also to point out the economic damage these comments do - it's plain that not everyone agrees. Now THAT would have been really depressing......

It sometimes feels, Jenny, as we have taken 10,000...

2008-06-11T03:18:00.000+01:00

It sometimes feels, Jenny, as we have taken 10,000 steps backwards, doesn't it?
I look at this along with the appalling misogyny in the US and I just want to fold up the old tent and crawl away.
One gets exhausted from the fight for just plain and ordinary HUMAN RIGHTS.
Why are people so obsessed with the naughty bits?
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