By MIA FREEDMAN
Bob Katter’s Australia Party appears to be making some clear (and worrying) statements about the kinds of candidates it plans to endorse. First this week came candidate Tess Corbett who told a newspaper it would be a sad day if homosexual people had the equal rights to other people. And that “paedophiles will be next in line to be recognised in the same way as gays and lesbians and get rights”.
And yesterday, this tweet from Victorian senate candidate Bernard Gaynor:
Bernard’s tweet
Having just dropped my youngest son to kindy this morning, into the kind and loving care of his gay preschool teacher whom he adores, I was moved to write this open letter to Bob Kattar’s Australia Party candidate.
Bernard Gaynor
Dear Bernard Gaynor,
My name is Mia Freedman and I have three children.
All of them have been lucky enough to go to the same pre-school where they have been taught by a wonderful man called Robert who is also the director of the pre-school. Has been for years.
Bernard, this may shock you but Robert is gay. Furthermore, he does not hide this fact. Why should he? It has absolutely nothing to do with his job.
Some of the best and most influential, beloved teachers I had during my own school years, I have since come to realise, were gay.
Of course, I didn’t know this at the time. Why would I? Children don’t tend to see their teachers as having lives outside of school, let alone sex lives as you seem to be so panicked about.
My 6 year old daughter is still shocked every time we see a teacher at the shops. She thinks they live at school.
Looking back, I have no idea what ‘values’ my teachers held. And the same goes for my children’s teachers. It’s not like kids kick back over a coffee with their teachers and talk about life.
Personal details like whether or not teachers are married, who they vote for, where they live, what they believe in or who they sleep with are none of their students’ business. Nor their concern.
And the same goes for the parents’. The only thing that should and does matter, is the way they teach.
Bob Katter
So Bernard, what exactly do you mean when you refer to “the rights of parents” to object “if they had concerns over the values of teachers”?
Are you actually suggesting teachers should fill out some kind of form detailing their personal views on subjects like sex, religion and politics which are then distributed to all the parents in the school? Should parents then be able to refuse to have their child taught by someone who has different political or religious views to them? Seriously Bernard?
As a Jewish person should I be able to reject a teacher who is Christian? Or who doesn’t identify as a feminist? Or who wears Crocs?
If your rhetoric wasn’t so preposterous it would be laughable.
But it’s not funny because you seem defiantly proud of your homophobic platform at a time when the world is moving overwhelmingly towards acceptance tolerance and an end to the discrimination that gay people have suffered for centuries.
Some people will say we should just ignore your bigoted comments and not give them further oxygen by responding or airing them in the media.
I’ve considered that. But I disagree. Because zero tolerance for homophobic prejudice is the only way to send a clear message that it’s unacceptable. Ignoring something can often be confused with silent agreement. Or not feeling strongly enough to speak out. And people like me who have had direct experience with gay teachers must speak up to counter the repugnant ideas you’re putting out there.
Mia
Your claim that gay teachers “promote homosexual lifestyles, either actively or by example, to children” made me wonder what you actually think goes on in schools.
Have you ever been to one? Because your claims are nonsensical, paranoid and utterly bizarre.
Are you concerned that gay teachers will take their students to Mardi Gras as a school excursion? That they’ll force them to watch Ellen during the day instead of doing Maths? That they’ll make them wave rainbow flags during official school functions? Sing the YMCA instead of the national anthem? Or that they’ll give them detailed accounts of what they do in bed?
Because that seems to be what you’re suggesting.
Finally, as for your claim that being gay is “a lifestyle that has serious negative health consequences and is opposed to the values of the majority of Australians” well that’s just poppycock. I have no idea what your values are but we know that the majority of Australians are not homophobic.
In fact the majority of Australians think gay people should be able to get married so best you don’t try to make it sound like you’re speaking for millions of people who reject your bigotry outright.
Fortunately, Bernard, it’s you who is in the minority. The vast majority of Australians are not homophobes.
And to all the gay teachers I was lucky enough to have and all the gay teachers my kids had and will have during their school years, can I just say this: thank you.
UPDATE: Bob Katter’s Australia Party has cancelled Bernard Gaynor’s bid for preselection and suspended his membership following his comments on Twitter. In a statement the party’s director Aidan McLindon said:”The party has made it perfectly clear on a number of occasions to all candidates and officials that KAP does not exist for individuals to air and promote their own personal preoccupations.”
Comments
356 Comments so far
These kinds of things frustrate me to my very core. I can’t believe that society is still discriminating so harshly against people whom they deem “different”. Being gay doesn’t change the way you teach – there are good and bad teachers both homosexual and heterosexual! The sexuality doesn’t determine your ability to teach. Mia Freedman, you are brilliant and I admire your work.
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Interesting that’s the KAP’s response, yet people with such ignorance and repugnant views seem drawn to that party…
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I think it’s repugnant that this is even a topic of conversation. The questioning of someones ability because of their sexual orientation is akin to questioning their ability because of skin color, religious affiliation, or culture. Homophobia is bigotry plain and simple. I thought as a species we were beyond that. To think people need to be closeted is reprehensible. How are we supposed to maintain a rich tapestry of human ability if we’re all supposed to be homogenous. I say this as a straight, Canadian male. Good article.
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Even in high school I had no idea of any of my teachers’ sexuality, nor whether they were married or their religion or where they lived or anything else. Heck, we didn’t even know most of their first names. Elementary and middle school even less so. Teachers were just teachers, we had no interest in them outside of what they were spouting in class that we needed to know to limp through our exams. The people that we looked up to and wanted to be like were actors and musicians and athletes and astronauts and whatnot. The only people who were interested in teachers as people were the kids that wanted to be teachers themselves.
As long as a teacher isn’t bringing their private life into the classroom, the only thing a parent needs to be worried about is whether the teacher is doing their job effectively.
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While I only had heterosexual teachers I have a cousin who has had a partner for as long as I can remember. I knew their relationship was special for me as a child. Funnily enough, I was more jealous of their relationship because I knew my mother and father didn’t have it.
I agree with Mia. I’m glad she is standing up to what she and I believe is morally wrong. She is right because when I was younger I never thought that my teachers had a life outside of school. I usually freaked out and gaped if I saw them outside of class. My teachers own personal lives were not my concern because I was completely wrapped up in mine. Such is the life of a child sometimes. Three cheers for Mia!!! ^_^
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I am a student, and one of my best cover teachers is openly gay.. I think this is good, as it gives me the confidence to be myself, in an environment when the other student may say words. For the majority of people in my school having a gay teacher will not benefit them , but for the minority, the closeted members of the LGBT community or kids that dont know whats going on or want to try and block the feelings it helps, as you have someone you can look up to, and go to as he would have been through it, unlike straight teachers that have no idea. Teachers should not have to tell schools parts of their private lifes, such as sexuality to parents – as parents dont tell their sex life to the teachers. There needs to be a clear divide between private and work life.
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Well said, from a heterosexual 26 British female (not that it should matter)
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If the only thing keeping you from being attracted to the same sex is knowing a gay person…you’re not that straight to begin with.
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Mia,
This article made me tear.
I am a “school-closeted” male who has been in a same sex relationship for over 15 years.
None of my colleagues, students or parents of students know anything about my relationship because as you mentioned in your article, its my business only and has nothing to do with my job.
I believe i am a fantastic educator and am always praised by my colleagues for my skills as a teacher.
Side by side, as a gay man next to a straight man, as a teacher, you would never tell us apart.
Thank you for standing up for those of us who don’t have a voice, i wish more Australians would do so, and i look forward to the day when we are treat with equality, as all nationalities, women, and sexualities.
THANK YOU.
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Apparently a lot of those commenting here don’t realise this issue has flared due to new laws which would require a school to hire someone who held views diametrically opposed to its own ethos. No company would agree to that in the business world.
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If having a teacher who refuses to hide in a closet and pretend to be somebody they’re not is opposed to a school’s ‘ethos’, perhaps the school should be re-thinking their ‘ethos’ and the values they’re trying to teach their pupils?
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This statement is completely false.
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I should add – in high school things ARE different. Kids are discovering their sexuality and are aware of their teachers as more than just teachers. We were aware of which teacher was gay, which was having an affair with another and which was a slut. (Yep, we labelled her that because someone’s sister saw her leave a nightclub with a bloke!) In early high school our interest in and attitude toward sexuality is easily shaped and if we’ve got a teacher we adore, their attitude will shape ours.
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What, so if you have a teacher who is gay, you’ll suddenly find yourself uncontrollably attracted to members of your own gender?
I find that hard to believe.
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Its sad to think people actually believe that rubbish stated above. I was raised by a single parent so does that mean that i am going to follow the example of my predecessors. I also was raised around alcoholics and other addicts. Are you saying i am predetermined to live a life of addiction and raise kids on my own? If so you’d probably be shocked to find i drink socially and never have touched any type of drug (besides alcohol) I’ve been married with children to my husband of almost 5 years. I’ve finished high school and have a degree…..and i know many like me so be careful what you say children will grow into what they want to be nothing more….
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And won’t it be awesome for gay students struggling to come to terms with their sexuality to see positive gay role models? Bring it on, I say!
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I’m just wondering Mia, how you know that “the majority of Australians think gay people should be able to get married”. Has this been taken to a national vote for all Australians to say what they think?
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Maybe it’s because every single survey done on the topic shows that the majority of Australians think gay people should be able to get married?
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It’s a terrible shame that too many heterosexuals have been duped by homosexual activism. Some of us actually know about Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen’s book, “After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the ’90s.” We know about their six-point plan to change heterosexuals’ views. A quote from the book: “We intend to make the anti-gays look so nasty that average Americans will want to disassociate themselves from such types”. Their six-point plan proposed other tactics like using heterosexuals as homosexual protectors and homosexuals playing the “victim card”. Too many heterosexuals have jumped naively on the bandwagon of supporting homosexual rights without even bothering to find out about the roots of this whole movement.
Homosexual activists have been belligerent and relentless in taking action (e.g., law suits), especially in the USA, to further their cause. Even when sued, they have counter-sued – to that extent they are militant and uncompassionate. San Fransisco is a clear example of this militancy.
Homosexuals have complained for years about “homophobia” from heterosexuals. However, when one investigates deeper into the GLBT sphere, there are complex issues of prejudice and discrimination, which homosexuals are not revealing to us. There is tremendous and undeniable hypocrisy on the part of homosexuals because they have carried out their own “biphobia” towards bisexuals.
In addition “transphobia” has also been carried out by the same. Observe the words of the transsexual, Gianna E. Israel:
“During the early 1980s when having a transgender identity was less accepted by gays and lesbians, there were a variety of occasions I was verbally harassed or physically attacked by these persons. How dare you make us gays look bad by living as a woman. You have to leave, this may be the Castro, but we don’t serve your type of person in this business. Words hurt, but so did the spit, rocks and bottles I had thrown at me by hostile gay men. Such attacks these days would not be considered politically correct, although I still hear of those situations occurring from time to time.
Naturally at the time I discussed the transphobia I experienced with those gays and lesbians I considered supportive. They assured me that not all gays and lesbians hated transgender people. Despite those consoling words a deep anger remained inside of me. I found that this anger came out often at the most inconvenient times. In the future, when I encounter petty acts of transphobia from gays or lesbians, I feel I would throw a big fit! Can you image a full grown therapist throwing temper tantrums in public? These feelings arise most frequently when I am minding my own business, and I encounter a gay couple who was not content to leave me alone.”
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“It’s a terrible shame that too many heterosexuals have been duped by homosexual activism.”
Yes, it’s awful how we’ve been conned into thinking that gay people are human beings who should be treated equally under the law and not discriminated against.
“A quote from the book: “We intend to make the anti-gays look so nasty that average Americans will want to disassociate themselves from such types”.”
Well, everybody knows that’s entirely unnecessary. You’re all quite capable of making yourselves look very nasty indeed without any help from anybody else.
“Homosexual activists have been belligerent and relentless in taking action (e.g., law suits), especially in the USA, to further their cause. Even when sued, they have counter-sued – to that extent they are militant and uncompassionate. San Fransisco is a clear example of this militancy.”
Militant = “How dare they stand up to our constant bullying, discrimination and vilification? How dare they demand to be treated like human beings?” Who do you think you’re trying to con with this nonsense? And who would you have them show compassion for? The bigots and bullies who would treat them as less than equal? Who would deny them their rights as human beings, simply on the basis of their sexual orientation?
“During the early 1980s when having a transgender identity was less accepted by gays and lesbians…”
Yes, it was less accepted then, THIRTY YEARS AGO. People in the LGBT community (you do know what those letters stand for, right?) have changed since then. Because some people are actually capable of re-thinking their ignorant, bigoted views.
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There is a difference between standing up for oneself and connivingly strategising to the extent of including manipulation of others, e.g., evoking heterosexuals to be their protectors (which they clearly have succeeded in achieving given people like yourself). In fact, that quote above from Kirk and Madsen is being fulfilled as we can clearly see here.
Just because I gave one example where the transsexual talks of what happened 30 years ago, doesn’t mean that prejudice from homosexuals has disappeared for the last several years. Why don’t you go to http://www.bilerico.com/2009/12/upon_further_reflection_and_deliberation.php, which is in reference to a transphobic article written by a prejudiced homosexual. As you will see, this crisis occurred in 2009. View the indignation from transgender supporters towards this article and the Bilerico editorial team. Ironically, a homosexual’s right to his own personal opinion has been impeded!! While you are at it, have a look at http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/why-do-lesbians-hate-bisexuals/ (written in 2008) and http://phobos.ramapo.edu/~jweiss/glvsbt.htm (written in 2004) so that you are more informed about this matter.
The other issue about this is why did homosexuals even perpetrate bigotry and discrimination against others in the GLBT sphere? Surely homosexuals, who are complaining of facing bigotry and discrimination, would be the last to execute such behaviour on LBT persons? Simply put, it’s hypocrisy.
Regarding facing bullying and such, the “shoe is now on the other foot” and homosexual activists have used bullying tactics to achieve what they want. “Two wrongs don’t make a right” and vengeance is unjustifiable.
With acceptance of homosexuality, the occurrences of harassment of heterosexuals by homosexuals will rise. My wife has faced such harassment, twice from one lesbian couple in the same supermarket on different occasions and once each from two different lesbians in different shopping centres. On one occasion, one of the former couple rubbed themselves against my wife while she reached for a product on the shelves. My wife was made to feel uncomfortable in every case. She and I are offended and infuriated by such behaviour. Is it unacceptable when a male perpetrates such harassment, yet somehow condonable if a female does it because they are of the same gender? I have experienced similar harassment from two different males. Both had invaded my personal space, which we all fully know is socially inappropriate behaviour. This type of harassment was unheard of when homosexuals knew their orientation had to be kept hidden. In fact, it will now be worse because both male and female homosexuals will be perpetrators unlike before when it was a male phenomenon. RobC – where were you to support us with your supposed human rights advocacy when we unfortunately experienced these incidents?
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As a lesbian woman, I must point out the fact that both of you are generalizing horribly. Yes, there is severely unnecessary discrimination within the GLBT community that infuriates me because it makes absolutely no sense. There is also severely unnecessary discrimination among heterosexuals toward themselves and toward us that infuriate me. HOWEVER, there are just as many if not more GLBT people who are accepting of every letter of the community, or at least are willing to learn and educate themselves. There are also members in the heterosexual community that may not agree with us, but don’t make a point in tearing us down or treating us as less than people.
My point here is both houses have dirty laundry so nobody has any right to try and determine who’s smells worse.
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Why would that invalidate the gay cause? I am a transgender woman, and I do get discriminated from a variety of people including but not limited to homosexual people. But there a thousands of movements, various political movements, and everyone with varying agendas.
A victory for non-heterosexuals would be good in many ways, in other ways not. Personally I do not care about marriage; traditional heterosexual values does not apply to my world-view. In my opinion we should work at experimenting and exploring non-conservative relationship and family structures, because the variations in sexual attraction, gender expression and other things, gives us a clear opportunity to figure out ways that works best given each individual case. But there is a large movement that wants to fit into conventional heterosexual systems, and they should have the right to do so of course. Everyone should be free to be in, or emulate, conventional structures as has been defined by a heterosexual based history. (They just shouldn’t force anyone – there are agreements here)
Bisexuality are not dead and embraced by many, as a demonstration against the mainstream gay lobby. But even as there infighting, it doesn’t mean the overall goal is different. The goal is simple; equal rights regardless of sexual orientation, gender orientation or choice of social structures et cetera. Some groups want to obtain rights to current structures in society, and obtain all rights given to any other person that is conforming in any way they are non-conforming. Other groups want to obtain the right to not conform to any structure, and the right to define new structures.
Some groups are non-inclusive of other issues than purely one issue, such as homosexuality only, while other groups are wide-inclusive and fight for equal rights for not only sexualities, gender expressions but also biological genders (feminism), ethnicity, societal classes, sex-workers, workers rights and so on. (That is actually closely tied to some of the roots of the gay movement, that was born of the afro-american rights movement, the womans rights movement, the workers rights movement and a rebellion of homeless queers, transvestites, queens, kings and other non-conforming that was beaten and/or killed by law enforcement)
There is no big scheme sadly. Many different players however, in various places, with various agendas and various kind of power. Everything from rich people, to political powerful people, to homeless sex workers in the street rebelling against unjustice.
The whole issue is complex and cannot be put into such a simple description as you desire.
That’s why I’ve chosen a different view of things; non-conformity. I want the equal rights in all aspects of my life, despite any non-conform expressions, desires, wishes or choices. The very idea that individuals should be denied any right, any right at all, is appalling and must be fought. (In my opinion quite militantly; our history speaks only of loss – this is not asking politely, this is demanding what we deserve) Therefore any cause, be it homo, bi, pan, queer, trans or women rights, workers rights, ethnicity rights or anything else where rights are denied unrighteously, we must fight.
Regarding harassment, it is right for no person to do, but do not apply anything to a group. Unless you want me to call all heterosexuals for harassers equally, based on harassment some (self-claimed) heterosexuals have done towards me.
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So sorry our activism isn’t ‘polite’ enough for you, but rarely are rights won by asking politely, or by waiting passively
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Quoting your question Mia “So Bernard, what exactly do you mean when you refer to “the rights of parents” to object “if they had concerns over the values of teachers”?” I actually have no problem with his statement. Of course a parent can question or dislike the values being displayed by a teacher. And if they don’t like them and wish to object – move your child – it is your prerogative and your right. That is what you meant isn’t it Bernard?
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What do you expect from a person who still believes that Mary was a virgin, and somehow God planted Jesus in her womb. Mr Gaynor is a fine example of the twisted minds that still believe in the doctrine of all religions. And no doubt he is teaching his kids to be as small minded as he is. I hope one of his kids is gay. Actually, no i don’t. The poor kid would probably commit suicide, or become drug addicted. At the very least, the kid would be very screwed up. If he is a boy, i suppose he could become a priest, or whatever they call them in the Catholic church, and have carte blanche to molest other children. I am a gay man who would have loved to have been a teacher but there is no way i would pursue that lifelong dream. I couldn’t cope with the small minded people who would think i was there only to molest their children. The western world is effen crazy!
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Alan,
I’m a straight, boofy Australian bloke. I had homosexual teachers, and there was nothing wrong with them. I never felt intimidated by them, they never made any moves on me or any of the boys in my class and their general behaviour as teachers was impeccable. I don’t know nor care if they had group gay romping sessions outside of school because it’s none of my business. I ended up being a successful bloke who overall, contributes to society.
I was at high school in the 70′s and these men were accepted without question. It was in South Australia though, and I think at the time SA was the only state to have decriminalized homosexuality.
My point is that if you want to be a teacher and it’s a real passion, then go for it. Homosexuality doesn’t equate to paedophilia. Paedophiles are sick bastards regardless of their preference for boys or girls. Don’t let small minds prevent you from doing what is right for you.
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I worry about comments like these – I have kids and worry about the dangers that face them. However, surely paedophiles don’t chose their desires. There are no doubt many people who have these desires and control them because they know that to act on them is immoral – we should support and help such people, not demonise them.
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Okay, so I first want to say that I’m gay myself, so I do know where you’re coming from. But do you realise the hypocrisy in your comment? You don’t want people to assume you’re a paedophile out to molest children if you become a teacher, but then accuse gay men who become priests of exactly that? Nevermind that the frequency of child abuse from priests is the same as it is for anyone else in a position of power over children, including, you guessed it, teachers? Criticize how the church is HANDLING these scandals all you want, but the misconception that priests are more likely to be paedophiles is just as dangerous as the misconception that gay teachers are more likely to be paedophiles.
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I think what Mr Gaynor meant is that he does not want to have homosexuality portrayed as an acceptable or normal lifestyle to his children. And I don’t want that either. Homosexuality is not normal, it has just become more publicly accepted by a loud minority and people are generally afraid to express this view for fear of appearing discriminatory. Like it or not, there are still a huge amount of people who can see that homosexuality goes against the natural order of things. Unfortunately these days a lot of people follow the politicallly correct opinion without questioning themselves about what is really right and wrong.
Reading the comments on this article, just about all of the authors have either resorted to childish and malicious diversions or attacks against Mr Gaynor personally.
The word ‘homophobe’ is an unfair label to pin upon all people who think homosexuality is wrong. Just because one opposes something on moral grounds does not mean that they have an irrational fear or hatred of people who live that way.
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Maybe lay off the religious books and study the science books instead. Homosexuality is normal, both for animals and humans – google it and read some peer reviewed science sources to confirm.
“publicly accepted by a loud minority”? again you ignore the facts, since greater than 50% of people support gay rights & gay marriage.
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I do not want to have bigotry and discrimination portrayed as an acceptable or normal lifestyle to my children. Bigotry is not normal, it has just become more publicly accepted by a loud minority.
“The word ‘homophobe’ is an unfair label to pin upon all people who think homosexuality is wrong.”
What about people who would reject from their child’s classroom a perfectly good teacher, based simply on his/her sexual orientation? Do you think it’s an unfair label to pin on them?
And what’s wrong with having teachers who are gay, anyway? You don’t want “homosexuality portrayed as an acceptable or normal lifestyle to (your) children?” Why not? Are you worried if your kids see gay people as just normal people like you or I, having happy lives and not cowering in fear lest they be found out and driven from the village, that they’ll want to become gay too? Are you really that ignorant to think that sexual orientation is something one chooses?
No. Like all other bigots, your real fear is that your children will see gay people as just normal people like you or I, and that will make it that much harder to teach your children to shun and despise them. And once your kids wake up and realise you’re full of crap on this issue, they’ll realise the rest of the susperstitious nonsense you’ve been shoving down their throats since birth is a lie as well. That they don’t have to worry about being punished by an imaginary man who lives in the sky if they dare decide for themselves what form their own happiness will take.
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Thank you. I completely agree
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“homosexuality goes against the natural order of things.”
But maybe if you started thinking for a bit and did some research before making bigoted claims, you would realize that homosexuality has been found in thousands of species, including lizards, dogs, penguins, monkeys, birds, fishes, bears, and so on. NATURAL animals, In their NATURAL habitats.
Don’t go around talking about the natural order of things when you haven’t done any research and are only basing your bigoted views in your personal opinion.
In short, see this.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8hfh9Wv8V1r0lw62o1_500.jpg
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I had an open gay teacher in secondary school. he would touch you up whenever he had the chance. Everyone was scared to ask for help because if he came near you you would be touched inappropriately. Perhaps as a Jew you might have read God’s law on homosexuality being a sin? What about the health risks of the homosexual lifestyle?
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I had a heterosexual teacher who would do the same thing. He inappropriately brushed up against pretty much every girl’s chest in the class repeatedly, while “helping” with work. He would very obviously feel our backsides in the corridor too, with just enough plausible deniability to get away with saying it was an accident.
Maybe it was because he was Irish. Yeah, that must be it. Let’s ban all Irish teachers because of my experiences with a sample-size of one.
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Jane, obviously your teacher was in the wrong, what he did was a sin, as documented in the Bible (God’s word to us) same as homosexuality is documented as a sin. Being Irish is not a sin and you don’t chose to be Irish. Your argument makes no sense.
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Steve,
Your argument makes no sense. Homosexuality is not a choice! Did you choose to be straight?
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Mark, Homosexuality is a choice, there is no evidence that it is not. We all have a tendency to sin. If you say Homosexuality is not a choice you then must say pedophilea, beastality, polygamy, etc. are also not choices. Just because you say something does not make it true. A I said my guide is the Bible. Atheist have no basis for their morality so can say anything is right.
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Why would someone choose to be bullied, taunted, denied rights, get beat up at school. How is that a choice? As an openly gay Young adult, i would never have chosen to be gay. It isn’t a chose just like you being straight is not a chose.
To the bible saying that homosexuality is a sin, and if you really go by gods book then you would agree with this statement. You should be able to have slaves, women should have no rights, As a man you hold all the power and can marry whoever you want, and u shouldn’t eat pork, if I’m not mistaken.
I did a project on the bible and it really only says homosexuality is a sin 6 times in the whole bible.
Oh also if you do go by the book of god… what about the 10 commandments you are to follow.. one comes to my mind, You must not give false evidence against your neighbor ” and also can you honestly say you do no work on Sunday, or your wife or daughter or sun or brother, etc. because then you would not be following this on “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”.
Polygamy is a religion just like yours, it is there belief and they follow a god, not everything u do is a choice. If you could chose to be gay then you would be able to choose your skin color, eye color, etc.
One last comment also, Doesn’t it say in the bible that god as made each person his own way and has lead them on his own path? Which to me means that god made me this way and will love me not matter what.
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Steve,
The Bible also tells us that cutting our hair is a sin. And tattoos. And that we can own slaves, but only if they come from the countries neighbouring ours (not our country – that would be so wrong!!!!). And also tells us the price that said slaves should be sold for. And allows us to stone citizens to death. And that a woman who has her period is unclean and should be isolated from society while the dreaded event occurs.
Do you believe that these practices should also be held as relevant in today’s society?
If you want to support something on the basis that it is ‘God’s word’ from the bible, then you have to support the whole book. Otherwise you, my friend, are a hypocrite.
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That man was a pedophile. That’s not the same as having consensual adult relationships with the same sex which is what being gay means. I’m sorry you were touched in appropriately and I hope that person has been reported.
As for unhealthy lifestyle – what are you getting at? AIDS? Wear a condom. Straight people get it too so be careful. Any health risks for lesbians? Oh, yeah. All the problems that stem from being bullied and discriminated against. Stop doing that.
As for the religious aspect – if it’s not their belief then what’s the problem? Since its your belief, count yourself lucky that you’re not gay. Because it wouldn’t have been a conscious choice.
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Emmy, I did reply but it apparently was deleted by the moderator, I will try again.
Have a quick read here
http://carm.org/homosexual-gay-sex-harms-no-one
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“The very lifestyle of homosexuality is highly promiscuous and brimming with disease…”
Unlike heterosexuality? Also, this statement erroneously assumes that there is one, single ‘gay lifestyle’ that all gay people lead. There is as much diversity of lifestyle in the gay community as there is amongst us heterosexuals.
“Homosexuals more likely to suffer from depression…”
If I was constantly being bullied and belittled and blamed for everything that’s wrong with society and told I was going to hell and told I wasn’t good enough to marry and raise a family and told I wasn’t fit to be around children, I’d probably be depressed too.
“Breast Cancer higher among Lesbians”
If you read the entire text they cite here, you’ll find that the evidence is far from conclusive. “One study estimated lesbians to be at higher risk than the comparison group, while the other did not.” Funny how they only cite the one that supports their side of the argument, isn’t it?
“Promiscuity” (again)
They honestly seem to think that this is a phenomenon exclusive to the gay community, and that all gay men are highly promiscuous.
“To ignore the facts means the policies and arguments are not sound when used to promote the homosexual lifestyle.”
Promote the homosexual lifestyle? What does this even mean? Good grief, out of the four words in that phrase, three of them are inaccurate, misleading, and plain incorrect.
Promote: I don’t think anybody is out there saying, “Hey folks, you should give being gay a try! It’s totally awesome!”
The: The incorrect implication that there is one single lifestyle being lived by all gay people. Again, this is utter nonsense.
Lifestyle: The incorrect implication that sexual orientation is a lifestyle (often accompanied by the implication that it is something that is chosen). No. Living in the suburbs rather than the city is a lifestyle. Having lots of dinner parties is a lifestyle. Being sexually and emotionally attracted to members of your own gender is not a lifestyle.
And, getting back to the original topic, even if all of the “health risk” claims above were true, what part of that would make it ok to reject a teacher from the classroom based simply on that person’s sexual orientation?
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You don’t choose to be gay either. Do you think people would choose to be discriminated, brutaly beaten to death or having to live as homeless because their parents kicked them out?
Theres scientifical evidence that demostrates you do not choose to be gay.
As for homosexuality being sinful:
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8hfh9Wv8V1r0lw62o1_500.jpg
It is YOUR argument that makes no sense.
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Firstly, no religious text can be used to create laws. Not everyone is Jewish (or religious at all, for that matter). You take your bible and apply it to your own life – not on anyone else’s.
Secondly, the ‘health risks’ of homosexual sex are the exact same as those of heterosexual sex. It’s called protection. Not only gay people get HIV/Aids/STDs…or is that what the Old Testament says?
Based on the story of your teacher, you could easily have been scared of all men. Or all teachers. Or all adults. Instead of all paedophiles. The reason you chose to fear only gay men is either because you were raised that way and never thought to second-guess the judgment, or worse yet, you made the decision to be a bigot all on your own. ANY group of people will have someone in it that is less great. If your teacher wasn’t gay, would that have made the innapropriate touching OK? No, it wouldn’t. And you know that. So the fact that he is gay means absolutely nothing.
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“Firstly, no religious text can be used to create laws. Not everyone is Jewish (or religious at all, for that matter). You take your bible and apply it to your own life – not on anyone else’s.”
If that “religious text is from the Creator of the Universe” surely we must take it seriously?
“Secondly, the ‘health risks’ of homosexual sex are the exact same as those of heterosexual sex. It’s called protection. Not only gay people get HIV/Aids/STDs…or is that what the Old Testament says?”
The dangers of homosexual sex is well documented. If you put foreign objects into bodily orifices you are asking for trouble. Putting a pen-s into a persons rect-m, where it was not designed to go causes many health problems.
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“Secondly, the ‘health risks’ of homosexual sex are the exact same as those of heterosexual sex. It’s called protection. Not only gay people get HIV/Aids/STDs…or is that what the Old Testament says?:”
Read this report!
http://www.kirby.unsw.edu.au/sites/hiv.cms.med.unsw.edu.au/files/hiv/resources/2012AnnualSurvReport.pdf
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Dear Bernard,
Gay is in your name. Maybe you should consider changing it to better reflect your beliefs?
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Go mia.
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I said something along these lines below, but a quick lesson for all those citing Gaynor’s freedom of speech.
1) Australia does not have a legally enshrined absolute freedom of speech.
2) The notion of freedom of expression is not a pass to say anything you like without critique or counter-argument.
3) Responding to another’s comment or argument with critique is a part of freedom of expression, and is not an act of stifling debate. If the original commenter cannot respond to critique, then that’s their problem.
4) All freedom of expression is limited by it’s capacity to cause harm to another. When a person engages in speech that is characterised by bigotry, special scrutiny must be paid to it to ensure it does not drift into incitement to harm.
It really pisses me off when people say you cannot criticise an opinion because it’s their freedom of speech. Go and learn yo’self some human rights 101.
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In short: you have the right to express your opinion. I have the right to call you a moron. Can’t take the heat? Get outta the kitchen and stop thinking you can cook.
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I agree with your comments Mia, very well said. Although I don’t think he was saying quite as much as he was accused of. His tweet was not acceptable, but I can’t imagine his surname would have been easy to have at school and perhaps he is just still out trying to prove a point?
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My 3 year old today asked if everyone had a mummy and daddy. As 2 high school teachers in the state system, we said no. Some people have 2 mummies and 2 daddies. Some people have just one mum and one dad.
)
He didn’t blink. “Ok”, he said. “That must be fun to have two daddies’. (Because clearly as Mum, I’M NOT THE FUN PARENT!
If only we could all be as mature and accepting as a 3 year old.
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You lot out there who are having a go at Bernard Gaynor are the biggest hypocrites. He merely expressed his view on who he wants and does not want teaching his kids. He certainly has that right. If he had said for example that he would not want a catholic teaching his kids, no one would have a problem with that. You all hate him because he has a different view to you, but this is Australia we are living in, and the last time I checked, it was still a free country. If you mob want to live where we are forced to do, say and think the same things as everyone else, no one is stopping you from moving to a communist country where those in power will be more than happy to stop not just everyone else from having the freedoms we enjoy here, such as having our own opinion, they will be happy to also stop you idiots from having your own opinions as well.
Why don’t you mob rustle up as much brain power and logic between you as you are capable of and realise that all of you on here ripping him to shreds are doing exactly the same thing as him, with one difference. You are expressing your view, as is your right, only in a nasty, malicious, infantile way, which he did not.
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And you are generalising, not everyone, has expressed their view in a nasty way.
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Many have. Apparently I am an “idiot”.
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Of course everyone is entitled to an opinion. However, freedom of expression is not carte blanche to say whatever you want with no fear of repudiation, counter-argument or outright opposition. Responses to Gaynor’s comments that decry his homophobia are also part of freedom of expression. If his ideas are attacked as being bigoted or insensitive, maybe that’s simply because they are. Rather than declare his ideas sacrosanct, and thus off-limits to critique, it is beholden on a society that values free speech to critique them. His views are small-minded, poorly explained and illogical. It does a disservice to the right to free expression to use that right to spout random bits of hateful twaddle
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“He certainly has that right. If he had said for example that he would not want a catholic teaching his kids, no one would have a problem with that.”
Actually, I would. I would never seek to discriminate against a teacher, or to have my child removed from his/her class, simply on the basis of which religion he/she happened to belong to.
If, however, that teacher was trying to teach my children that gay people are bad and unhealthy and child molesters, and that they’re not deserving of being treated equally under the law, then we would have a problem.
So, nice try with the tired old “You’re just as bad!” fallacy, but that ain’t gonna fly here, I’m afraid.
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Isn’t it simply and logistically easier to accept and change ourselves to suit the diverse world we live in rather than to setup a witch-hunt of a system that weeds out people with whom we do not share much other than our humanity? If you deny the humanity of another you deny yourself the right to hold that view.
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So you get to keep your freedom to say anything (no matter how wrong and bigotted it is) without having anyone argue with you (which is not at all what ‘freedom of speech’ means, btw), but gay people aren’t allowed to have the same freedom as you get, being straight (i.e. marry who they want, have any job they want, and not get blamed for society’s problems, etc)? Where’s the sense in that? Becaaaaaause, they don’t get the “same freedoms” you enjoy…hence the ridicoulous discussions on the topic that are still happening.
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I agree with your post mia
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I think he has the right to his opinion
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I think you’re dumb.
Okay, no, I don’t.
Just to be clear, I don’t think you’re dumb.
but see my point?
Just because “it’s his opinion” does not make it right.
If I called you or your daughter “dumb” just because “it’s my personal opinion”, you’d think I’m being rude or nasty, I should not be judging without knowing you, right?
The same goes for Bernard Gaynor.
It might be his opinion, but it’s an ignorant, bigoted opinion, and he might have the right to express it, but it makes him an ignorant, bigoted person, and people have the right to call him out for it.
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This is a country of free speech, he has his right to his opinion
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Actually, hate to break it to you, but the country of free speech is the USA. There is nothing to say we have free speech here, other than people’s misguided beliefs.
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His argument is not based on on the secular ideas of today. his argument is one based on religion and Catholic beliefs. A a catholic, I commend his courage to stand up and say his beliefs and to be honest I am glad to see we finally have a polition who acts in accordance with his beliefs and doesnt allow himself to be pushed around or squaushed into following the crowd. a trait that is highly desirable and rarely found in todays politions. He acts in accordance to what he sees is right. Enough on Bern. As his argument is one based on religious beliefs I think it pointless arguing on the spiritual level when most of the audiance is not going to be catholic. So the points I would like to raise are these.
1. I read that this is a loving and embacing country and that he is a bigot for being so discriminating against the homosexuals. Well, then why has society been so harsh on smokers. If we are spose to be accepting people and their preferences then smokers should be allowed to smoke in public. Drugos should be allowed to take drugs because its what they prefer, hell we should stop going on about cancer because if people want to tan let them tan. But we did do something about these things. Why? look at the reprocusions they cause on society. Homosexuality has serious health implocations. Ask any doctor and they will say so its there blatently evident. Only maybe the reason we don’t care is that it doesn’t affect the majority of the population..because the majority of the population isn’t homosexual. So its not a matter of everyone is happy with it, everyone is happy with it as long as it doesn’t affect them. But when aids starts becoming rampid, because its connection to homosexuality is undeniable then maybe we will start thinking twice about it. So stopping it now rather than later seems a good idea to me.
2. This is a country of free speech. a right granted to all of us freely because we wee lucky enough to be born here. Bernard however, has actually served to protect that right. what have you people done for this country? just think about that…I think he has won the right to have his say because he has sacrifice for it. It is a country of free speech. He has a right to his opinions and the way in which he wants his children to be raised. I
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Homosexuality isn’t a ‘lifestyle’ choice like smoking or drugs. You don’t suddenly wake up one day and ‘decide’ to be gay. And to suggest that being gay has such enormous health implictions is patently absurd. Having worked as a health professional I have never, ever heard a doctor, nurse or midwife say, ‘Careful everyone, this patient is gay, they might have x, y or z disease.’
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Zepgirl, perhaps the health professionals are too scared of being labeled “homophobic” if they speak the truth about the dangers of homosexual sex.
“Transmission of HIV in Australia continues to occur primarily through sexual contact between men” read this report.
http://www.kirby.unsw.edu.au/sites/hiv.cms.med.unsw.edu.au/files/hiv/resources/2012AnnualSurvReport.pdf
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Smoking affects everyone around the person who is smoking. Maybe you need to check out how AIDS is spread. You can’t catch it by sitting next to someone in a pub. If you were sitting next to someone who had AIDS it wouldn’t have any impact on you what so ever. Also, you can refrain from smoking in certain situations you can’t refrain from being homosexual, anymore than being heterosexual, male, female, Asian etc
Yes, he has the right express his opinion and as a person who is running for public office, we, the people he seeks to represent also have the right to say, ‘this is not what we want, these are not what we want you to represent’. Just because you have served in the armed forces doesn’t give you the ‘right’ to say and do whatever you want.
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“I commend his courage to stand up and say his beliefs”
Yes, let’s give him a medal and a parade for standing up in public and letting everybody know what an ignorant bigot he is. Maybe you could join him?
Yes, Bernard has the right to express his opinions. Guess what? SO DO WE. Freedom of speech does not = freedom to never be disagreed with. Actually. Nor does it = freedom to not be called a bigot when one is behaving in a bigoted fashion. As Bernard does, when he tries to claim the right to reject a teacher simply on the basis of his/her sexual orientation.
And what does his military experience have to do with any of this? He served in Iraq. Unless I’m missing something, our right to free speech was never threatened in any way by what was going on over there. So that’s irrelevant at best, and a deliberate distraction at worst.
“Homosexuality has serious health implocations (sic).”
Guess what? So does heterosexuality. Many of which, in either case, are caused by careless promiscuity. So why are the people who swear they’re only thinking of people’s health when they discriminate against and vilify gay people, also the ones bending over backwards to prevent them enjoying any kind of stable, monogamous relationship?
Please, don’t insult our intelligence by hiding your bigotry behind concern for the health of the people you’re determined to keep treating as less than equal. Especially when many of the health concerns faced by the gay community are the deliberate result of bigoted, discriminatory actions directed towards them by people such as Bernard Gaynor.
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Spot on A. None of these people here have lived with AIDS, have ever seen somebody die of it, have never known anybody with this condition. BUT, they all still want to have an opinion on it. They never even met anybody with AIDS.
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You’re making some fairly large generalisations there, ‘The Discriminator’, and some fairly general ones.
‘None of these people here have lived with AIDS, have ever seen somebody die of it, have never known anybody with this condition.’
‘None’? Not a single one of the many, many thousands of people who come to this website? Not one? Pretty big call to make, you must be very confident with this position! Your post is so ridiculous that I’m almost assuming you’re a troll. But on the off chance that you’re not, just to reassure you; I have seen someone die from AIDS. And yes, it was awful as hell. I was young, but old enough to see what he went through.
And in a first world country in recent history, AIDS isn’t something we worry about so much. HIV, yes of course, but, as is my understanding, with the correct anti-virals, it doesn’t tend to reach the stage of AIDS if the person is careful with their medication and health.
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Trolls are threats. Discriminator is not.
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As a catholic I am appalled and offended by this comment. I was always taught to love one another and not to judge others. I also work in a catholic school which has, over the years, employed gay staff, not a problem. Strangely enough,I can not think of any catholics of my acquaintance who are homophobic. Perhaps I am just lucky or maybe most catholics are not as ignorant and judgemental as you seem to think.
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I taught in the state school system in the 1980s and was terrified that my students would find out I was gay and that would be the end of my teaching career.
How ridiculous. I was a good English teacher, I cared about my students, and my sexuality was irrelevant.
Teachers have more urgent things to think about – like planning their next lesson or marking essay papers or preparing school reports – than trying to “convert” kids or promote homosexuality (as if you could).
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I agree, I’m yet to meet a gay person who was bad at their job because they were gay.
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You summed up all of my attitudes into one letter that, despite its controversial content, I did find entertaining, due to the mere incredulity I feel at his comments. I would say I loved this article, if it weren’t for the fact that I’m regretful such an article has to be written.
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“Are you concerned that gay teachers will take their students to Mardi Gras as a school excursion? That they’ll force them to watch Ellen during the day instead of doing Maths? That they’ll make them wave rainbow flags during official school functions? Sing the YMCA instead of the national anthem? Or that they’ll give them detailed accounts of what they do in bed?”
No. What he’s really afraid of is that gay teachers will show his kids that gay people are just people, just like you and me. That they’re not the nasty, child-molesting monsters that people like him would vilify them as. Then how will he be able to teach his kids to hate gay people?
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What always amuses me about homophobic imbeciles is they believe I, or other gay or lesbian people will try to enlist, “convert” and preach our lifestyle.
Perhaps they should look at it as it really is… we defend ourselves against prejudice, ignorance and biogtry.
Now… using the same train of thought that Bernard does….. that means straight men who are teachers….. will be talking about who they “did” over the weekend, last night… on that dirty weekend away…..
and correct me if i am wrong Bernard…. most paedophiles are people who identify as being straight!! so…. please….. grow up, open your mind…. and instead of trying to swim against the current (which is totally exhausting and leads to lots of pain) you could swim with the current!!!!
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Which current? Is there only one? Yours perhaps? Isn’t that a bit autocratic. Why can’t you let people choose their own current?
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What will Mr. Gaynor say if one of his own children is gay?
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“What will Mr. Gaynor say if one of his own children is gay?”
Probably something along the lines of, “Don’t let the door hit your arse on the way out.”
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We can all be grateful that Gaynor is not a teacher influencing young minds and turning them all into budding little Hitlers!
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That’s really offensive Rocket. Just because a bloke has a particular set of beliefs that you don’t agree with doesn’t mean you have the right to call people Hitler, or any other insult.
You’re just as bad as he is.
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Yes, I agree with you Anon.
What’s this got to do with Hitler!
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Hitler was a politician who exploited prejudice against minorities including homosexuals to elevate his own popularity and cement his hold on power. I think the comparison rather apt here, and in some other current contexts like the nastier sorts of politics concerning refugees, Muslims, immigrants and terrorists.
I think the more dangerous idea is that Hitler and his politics were some peculiar sort of evil that could never happen here. That’s a gross caricature, and given the right circumstances and a charismatic politician prepared to exploit our prejudices, I suspect we’d be just as malleable and foolhardy as the Germans.
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I don’t have kids but if and when I do have kids and they go off to school the last thing on my mind would be their teacher’s sexuality… I mean isn’t the most important thing for your kid(s) to have a teacher(s) who enjoy teaching, take a genuine interest in their students and who your kids enjoy going to school for everyday? I’m sure some of my old primary and high school teachers were gay but all I can remember from them (well most of them) is how nice, caring and into us students they were… always willing to listen and do one of the hardest jobs in the world.
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I am a teacher and a lesbian. I am always grateful to be working for an employer who celebrates, promotes and defends the value of who I am….I am proud to work in public education. I am also grateful for the support I read here. So thanks everyone!
At my school most colleagues know about my partner and I am happy to talk about her. Some I avoid the topic with because I fear they may be homophobic… But they are a minority. Some parents know too and don’t care who my partner is, just that I am happy and stable and do a great job teaching their kids.
I think that many lesbians are drawn to working with vulnerable people, maybe a little extra dose of empathy for the marginalized. There are certainly lots of lesbians in my field of special education. Lots of great, caring skilled professionals.
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You know, being gay or lesbian isn’t a choice. I didn’t wake up one morning and think ”oh I can’t in for a facial, I think I’ll be a lesbian”. I spent years celebate struggling with my religious upbringing, until my mother on her deathbed (okay one week before hand) told me that she thought it was okay and when would I sort myself out? I was 22 years old, she was 49, I couldn’t think of anything else but her in that period, but later I did finally come out. I never wanted to be a lesbian, after all who wants to be a pariah and be always fighting for rights and being on the fringe of society. I really wanted to marry a bloke when I was young to try and get rid of these feelings I hated.
After I came out I have come a full circle to acceptance and now have a family with 3 kids and a wonderful partner who I have known 17 years. I teach adults and make sure my sexuality is not part of the teaching
(just as I hope my 7 year old is not learning about the intimate workings of her married teacher’s life!). We have loved our male teachers both straight and gay and love the dimension they add to our children’s life.
Recently one of our children experience prejudice about us at the hands of a 23 year graduate, who was predjudicious against a 7 year old because her parents were not man and woman. Isn’t that a bigger pro
We are who we are, we are not after people’s children, they are paedophiles (who incidently are mainly married men).
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My beautiful daughter is a dedicated teacher of primary school-aged children. Her aim is to encourage a passion for learning & promote the ample abilities of the young students in her care.
She does an incredible job & I am in awe of her rock solid commitment to developing the minds of the most valuable assets of our future.
Oh, and she is also gay.
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It appears nobody is bothered that people with HIV teach their children.
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Śtupid comment. Straight people can carry HIV as well. In fact, globally more straight people are infected.
At you suggesting that HIV can be transmitted to children if the teacher had HIV. Sorry, not possible, and non of your business. Idiot.
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Are you for real? What bearing would this have on teaching, and what business is it of yours? Unless something takes away from a teachers ability to teach, I can’t see how it is an issue. People with HIV deserve a life. And there is no reason why children within the classroom would be at risk from contracting HIV given the safety protocols which schools already follow and staff are trained in.
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I’m struggling with this one- my dinner party hat just won’t stay on. So I’ll just say this: Aren’t you just a charmer. Those pesky people with HIV should just STAY HOME. Goodness me, what’s this having a life business they’re trying to do??
Know what’s worse than HIV? Ignorance.
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I hope with all my heart that your comment is a joke.
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So do people with coldsores, or herpes, or STI’s, or flus, or warts, or went on an o/s holiday and picked up a parasite or TB and don’t know it yet, or have been in the community ever and interacted with someone that could give them a disease..teachers – believe it or not are people and are fallible too..
There are children in schools that have HIV so why couldn’t a teacher be teaching? It would be a far fetched incident where a teacher was seriouly injured or in a situation that could spread HIV to someone at school. I think you need to read up a bit on HIV.
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No. Not especially.
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That’s a joke, right?
And by a joke, I mean a really bad and distasteful joke.
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Thats right, nobody is bothered, and for good reason. All professionals who work with people know to interact safely so that blood borne infections such as HIV or Hepatitis B or C can’t be passed from one person to another. Teachers are always very careful when it comes to blood.
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When I was 17 a friend of my fathers, who was HIV positive, lived with us for a year (my dad, fyi, is not gay). Unless Dad had told me, I wouldn’t have known that he had HIV. He was a straight (LOVED WOMEN!) guy, who contracted HIV during his misspent youth injecting drugs and had spent the previous 15 years just trying to be cope with his illness. Gay DOES NOT equal HIV.
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Faerie54 – you really are an ignorant person! So what if someone with HIV teaches my children? What do you think is going to happen? How do you think HIV is transmitted? I can name myriad diseases that would concern me before a teacher with HIV! Go and Google HIV and learn something!
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The eff? That’s like saying you don’t want your children being taught by someone with cancer. Newsflash, sweetie: HIV isn’t transmitted like the common cold. So unless the teacher is going to be boffing the students, there’s absolutely no danger. What, are you going to vilify someone because they have herpes next (which I do…my ex lied to me about his sexual health and, believing he was clean, we actually went about trying to have a child…when I got symptoms and tested positive, the horror on his face at being found out was…terrifying)? Turn away qualified teachers because they have non-transmittable hepatitis? And do you actually think that intercourse is the only way to catch a bloodborne disease? REALLY? Ever heard of contaminated needles? Someone who lied while donating and let contaminated blood enter the emergency supply? JESUS you’re thick!
Excuse me for laughing at your tiny, tiny little mind. The medical professional in me is howling with glee at your ignorance.
And you know what? My friend’s child was born HIV-positive, because my friend was sexually assaulted by a positive (and most likely straight) man years before she conceived her child with her spouse. Would you DARE make mother or child suffer simply because if their condition? So you can just find a really short cliff to take a long walk off of.
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What a pain.
I just found out one of THE nicest guys I have ever had the pleasure of knowing was and IS gay.
I still think he is the sweetest, friendliest and most thoughtful person in the whole world. That doesn’t go away with knowing he is attracted to boys.
If he chose to be prime minister, a teacher, lawyer, builder WHATEVER, he should have the right to do it and not be discriminated against based on something in his personal life.
It makes me so sad he only just felt comfortable enough to tell people publicly. It’s because of idiots like Bernard that he hid a part of who he was for so long.
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Last time I checked my teachers didn’t wear anything that indicated their sexual preference. To be honest as a kid I would have had no bloody idea. And to be honest most parents wouldn’t have any bloody idea either – so I could have been taught by a gay teacher…. just like Mr Gaynors children now. Unless there is a pre screening I am unaware of these days…
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A friend of mine posted this today, thought i would pass it on.
I can’t even imagine a day in the life of a homophobic.
Imagine not being able to click your fingers to ‘Benny & the Jets’ or scream ‘We are the champions’ at the end of a footy match? Imagine refusing to fall in love with the prose of Shakespeare or Oscar Wilde & never stopping to breathe in a DaVinci or a Warhol? Not knowing that when your baby smiles at you- you go to Rio & that life is a Cabaret? Spitting out a profiterole??? Not listening to mainstream radio in case they pump out some Prince, a bit of Freddy or some early Madonna? Putting your foot down at viewing Prison break, Modern family or How I met your mother? Becoming irate upon realising you have to return your copy of ‘silence of the lambs’ and not being able to find a channel that doesn’t air Ellen? Arrrrrghghgh!
Living in that world seems like a lot of hard work!! I wonder if the same activists that are campaigning against same sex couples to be permitted the first right as humans- to love, to marry, wouldn’t mind the ‘gay’ community taking back all the music, art, inspiration, inventions, literature, genius and joy from THEIR lives?
They better have a big rock to hide under because its wonderful and it’s everywhere.
I’m fairly certain its just easier to let love lift us up wherever it belongs. Rant over, now.. Somebody bring me some water
Amy Young.
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Brilliant letter Mia, you rock!
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Ah, home schooled, that would explain a lot. Moron!
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Yeah, prejudiced people usually expose themselves with words…wait, what?
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I think a lot of these comments are operating on a primary school level.
Crocs as a political issue?
I sincerely hope the parents here aren’t spouting these types of comments in front of there children…but I doubt it. And that knowledge comes from working in schools and other child centred places for a decade.
The difference is Mr Gaynor put it in a public place.
And ‘ladies’, his surname is Gaynor, not Gay, so the irony thing doesn’t really work…apparently you are evolved, feminist, smart parents…and you snigger over someone’s surname?
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Ok seriously?
His comment was operating at primary school level (probably lower) too.
Therefore yes, I will laugh at how ironic his surname is.
I am evolved, a feminist and a smart parent (As you so kindly described) but if he can make childish statements then we are allowed to snigger.
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Wow, I graduated from school 18 years ago…comments like these remind me of those times, though…
And, look, discriminating comments about religion…perfectly okay, as usual.
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Years back, I had a fantastic history teacher. It was one of the best classes I’d ever taken, and I went on to do really well when school finished. I remember one lesson, she apologised for being so tired as her partner had been in hospital all night. As we all liked her, concerned, we asked if he partner was alright. She said ‘Oh, she’s doing better now, she was unable to keep fluids done because of a bug. It’s going around at the moment, she was so sick.’ Nobody batted an eyelid.
After we knew her partner was female, we didn’t all suddenly turn into homosexuals, and all of a sudden start failing. My teacher being gay didn’t change a single thing. Not a single thing.
And no, I didn’t end up being a lesbian (not that it would matter if I was) and have been with my male partner for four years and we have a beautiful daughter. But I am grateful I had the history teacher because she did her job well. For me, school is about LEARNING, which has nothing to do with sexual orientation. Good on all teachers who do their jobs well, gay, straight, bisexual, whatever!
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It is sad that attitudes like this exist. To discriminate against good people for something that is beyond their control is abusive.
Jane Elliott did an experiment ,in the 60′s I think, where she separated people with blue eyes from those with brown eyes as the brown were supposedly superior. The way people reacted was eye opening. It really showed how ridiculous predujices are.
I would love to try this out on the Australia party members. Maybe then they would realise how ridiculous they are being.
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Why give these people any oxygen at all? They’re an extreme minority and at best should be completely ignored.
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GO MIA!!!!
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Just FYI Re Mia’s question – have you ever been to a school? – Bernard Gaynor was home schooled.
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Opinions are the toys of children
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