(Above: it being Sunday, time for a few songs. This one is dedicated to Sophie Mirabella, and her concern for the poor and the vulnerable).
No, it's long suffering conservatives and Christians.
For this profoundly topsy turvy insight, we can thank Miranda the Devine, as she indulges in one of her standard rants in Call off the thought police.
There's poor old Jeff Kennett copping a pounding for proposing that happy heterosexual marriages are the best environment for the mental health of children.
It seems the fact that Kennett is chairman of beyondblue, and that on its pages the organisation felt the need to issue a disclaimer to the Kennett line is neither here nor there:
The KidsMatter program also supports the position that it is the quality of the parenting that makes a difference not the gender of the parents.
Uh huh. Of course depression tends to come about from persecution, which makes Jeff Kennett a likely source of customers for beyondblue - what we used to call a virtuous circle when looking for blather to fill up a report. Tell the clientele they're hopeless and useless and ruin children, and then treat them for depression. (Come to think of it, just thinking about Jeff Kennett is as likely a source of depression as can be imagined). Hence the new inclusive line:
... it's important that everyone understands beyondblue celebrates diversity and addresses social inclusion and equal opportunity in its programs, research, resources - and in the workplace.
beyondblue's work with the GLBTI community is already well underway.
Yes, when you're in a growth business like depression, there's plenty to be depressed about:
We know depression and anxiety resulting from discrimination is preventable. Strategies to try to limit the impact include:
Policies which promote social inclusion for GLBTI people
Programs in schools to address bullying and homophobic/ transphobic language
Community education about sex, sexuality and gender diversity
Families, friends and communities supporting individuals during the time they are coming to terms with their sexuality, gender questioning or sex diversity (beyond blue doing it for Jeff)
Talk about stifling the debate with all that caring do gooder nonsense! Especially all that stuff about bullying, and Jeff still in the room!
But back to the Devine's list of long suffering persecuted people. Why there's poor old Jim Wallace copping the slings and arrows of gay misfortune, and all he did was suggest that on Anzac day it was timely to remember that servicemen and women weren't fighting for gay marriage and the Islamics (Jim Wallace and the ANZAC tweet firestorm).
Oh that, and rage day in and day out against the deviant perverted homosexual lobby and their fiendish agenda.
You can rely on the ACL to stand up for anyone prepared to stand up against the global gay Gestapo, especially given the role that gays played during the great Gestapo era (Abuse and demonisation of gay marriage opponents must stop).
The way that members of the gay Gestapo rounded up Christians and sent them off to concentration camps in Nazi Germany will long haunt the memories of ACL supporters, what with the Gestapo's particular concern for and interest in rassenschande cases ...
Yes, even the gays in the regular army weren't fighting for gays, they were fighting for the rights of heterosexuals to keep them in the never land of don't ask and we certainly won't tell, now just go off to die for your country and the right to remain invisible ...
Speaking of stifling identify and humanity, naturally that's a cue for Jim (and the Devine) to talk about stifling public debate:
"It stifles public debate because good people will not go out to get their reputation trashed," he (Wallace) said. "Senior people in the Church can't afford to be lambasted with the language and abuse which is put on anyone who stands up for marriage."
When Wallace appeared on the ABC's Q&A recently, offensive comments on the program website included that "Jim Wallace is a c...".
"Why is it Christians or anyone who stands up for marriage can be attacked in this way and we're not supposed to take offence?" he asked.
Well Jim can take all the fences he likes, but truth to tell, if you think talking about a gay Gestapo is a way to mend fences, please join the pond at the Mad Hatter's tea party.
And if want to stand up for marriage, why you'd let anyone and everyone try the dang thing. Then see how much they like it! The pond likes marriage so well it believes everybody should try it two or three times (enough of this 'til death do you part nonsense).
Of course if you're standing up for a peculiar particular Christian theological construction of marriage, you're just a tad out of touch with the rest of the world, including the world of Christians doing the divorce thing. Strange, do they have marriage in China and Japan? Oh well just a bunch of heathen orientals, destined to fry in hell because Jesus picked the middle east as the place to land ...
And without marriage, what's the chance of having a wild, heart-stopping, particularly salacious extra-marital fling? (And let's not start listing the Christians who can't seem to understand or commit to a Christian concept of marriage in preference to flinging the fling).
Back to the Devine, as she lists plenty more victims, including hapless Toowoomba physician David van Gend, a victim of the thought police, and IBM and ANZ Bank, victims of Bill Muehlenberg's victimisation, and cowardly custards for backing down to boot.
Naturally van Gend can turn to Senator Ron Boswell for support, and naturally the Devine is also standing by, vigilant and raring to go:
Whatever your view on gay marriage, the debate's illiberal nature should offend all civilised people. Intolerance does not beget tolerance.
All it does is allow bigotry to fester underground, unmoderated by the disapproval of the reasonable majority.
Yep, the reasonable majority, which presumably includes the Devine, Jim Wallace, van Gend, Bill Muehlenberg, and Jeff Kennett, who are being persecuted by the bigotry of homosexuals, who presumably constitute a most unreasonable minority, because after all they've been treated so well these past few thousand years, especially by bible-bashing Xians.
What next? Well there's always a good sound argument that Australian indigenous folk are responsible for any racism in the country, because after all, they provoke it with their lazy, shifty ways ... rorting the public purse and turning themselves into welfare millionaires, as they routinely do ...
Blacks, gays, touters of women's rights. They're all bigots, festering away underground, and intolerant, utterly unlike Miranda "hang that greenie from the lamp post" "roger that gerbil" Devine, who is the very model of tolerance, especially for anyone who disagrees with her views. She's so tolerant she rabidly rants about intolerance in a most intolerant way ...
Yep, it's just another day in cloud cuckoo land, where you can marvel at the wonder of a line like:
Whatever your view on gay marriage, the debate's illiberal nature should offend all civilised people. Intolerance does not beget tolerance.
You see, whatever your view on Miranda the Devine, her argument's illiberal nature will likely enough offend all civilised people, because her routine intolerance - column after column, year after year - will certainly not beget tolerance.
But it will beget hits and a handsome pay packet for the Devine, and surely that's enough ...
* folk and Tamworth bush lore remedy Epsom salts certified as good for any mental and physical constipation likely to occur after reading Miranda the Devine. Go here for further medical advice, for which the pond naturally accepts no liability.
That Everlast tune cost me at iTunes! Payback time, DP, cop this - unofficial Tintin titles http://vimeo.com/30402976
ReplyDeleteAnyway, since Roop has swallowed his ire at Apple, he loves iPad and its promise of benefits ... for education, and, oh, Roop, of course.