Pithy title, couldn't think of anything else.
Saw my Ma-in-law for the first time in two months and she's suddenly very old. She was so pleased to see me that it was worth nearly cracking a fetlock to get there. Now I know why they say to warm up the muscles before walking, I thought walking did that. At least I didn't go down in front of the primary school or the whole lot would have poured out for show and tell. Limp, limp down to the bus stop to watch it sail past, limp to the next stop to keep the muscle working and the freezing teen in freezing hipster pants wanted to know where I bought my wrap because it looked so warm. Yea! taste in a teen but then she was blue with the cold.
My favourite part of moving is sitting, especially in a heated train. I read the ads everywhere but one today was a peach. Picture a huge building painted with clouds, a bow and arrows, a cute child with wings leaning on a mountain of toilet rolls and the heading...I LOVE YOUR BUM. This ad is so wrong on so many levels that if I started to analyze it, I'd have to brand pervert on my own forehead.
Anyway to more serious things. I'm very worried for Brendan Nelson. How many months since the lad took over Defence? I watched him today being terribly ministerial but I was distracted by the bags, uh no, suitcases under his eyes and the worst haircut I've seen in years. I bet Tony Abbott is on his knees thanking his God that he didn't get that portfolio after all.
I've finally watched the Insight programme on same-sex marriage all the way through. It was hard because I kept wanting to strangle Dreadnought but then I've spent years wanting to strangle DN. My suggestion to SBS is to have a follow up show but with people taken straight from the street, not Oxford St or out the front of Pell's Palace but ordinary people. Ask them about same-sex marriage and listen to the silence. I've given up writing to politicians about this issue because they don't reply and you're going to regret that Simon when you ask me to help you come election time. I've found it was better to talk to straight people about it and if 4 or 5 finally get that it is an issue then it's easier than banging my head on a poli's door.
This is the problem, straight people don't know there's a problem. Gays, lesbians, friends of them, activists, old bats like me who think equality is for all, Hillsong, chronic christians, Howard, Pell, all know about it but people in the street don't know and don't care. Until I tell them about Howard's "marriage is between a man and a woman" speech and then it's "What's it got to do with him?"
Now there's talk of the Federal Government overturning the ACT's new civil union law. Senator Guy Barnett wants to lobby for a federal law "preventing any State and Territory from enacting legislation that gives same sex relationships an equivalent or similar level of public recognition or legal status of marriage." To use an expression from Tony Abbott, what a snivelling grub. The world is not going to end because two people of the same sex stand up before their families and friends and declare their love and commitment to each other for life.
Rant over, now I'm going to soak my fetlock.
UPDATE: Gayerasmus always says it better. http://gayerasmus.blogspot.com
29 comments:
I'll get slaughtered for this, but I'm drunk so who cares if the rest of you politically correct drones de-link from my blog. I no longer give a rat's. (Hi Suki...)
So here goes...
Gays shoud keep the f*ck out of the marriage game. It's for hetero's who ostensibly want to f*ck for the prime purpose of making their very own wonderful offspring.
Now... Who's still reading here?
OK...
Gays should unwaveringly lobby for their own equivalent (but differently named) solemnisation ceremony of their commitment to a monogamous and permanent relationship which brings with it the same legal ramifications ensuing from marriage.
Too easy?
The Bear is absolutely right. The only reason for using the word marriage is because of the mind association, marriage = love = life commitment. Give it fifty years and civil union might have the same association.
Now get off the piss dodgy, it's not good for you.
I can't recall ever hearing a gay or lesbian asking for the right to marry in a hetrosexual manner, but I could be mistaken. I do ofter hear gay marriage often mentioned by conservative politicians, religious leaders and the media.
PS I noticed the bags under Minister Nelson's eyes too. It is unlikely, but perhaps he has had some sleepness night? Nah, very unlikely.
Some gays and lesbians do in fact want equal marriage - not something less ie civil unions.
There are plenty that want to get married in the traditional sense of the word.
Plenty that travel to the other side of the world just to do so.
Gerry, I'll take into account that you're on the piss, but marriage isn't just about kids, otherwise we wouldn't allow infertile couples, couples over reproduction age or couples who don't ever want kids to marry, would we?
And again on kids, there are many gays and lesbians who have kids - don't these kids deserve to have their parents married if that's what they want?
Why do we have to create a whole new category of relationship recognition for gays and lesbians when there's already a framework in place that could certainly do with some more committed couples signing up to it?
I disagree with you completely on this topic, Gerry.
To me, nothing short of 99% equality in marriage is acceptable. (Using the words civil unions or marriage - a game of semantics only).
The 1% difference I leave to religious organisations: to those ones that do not want to perform same-sex marriages, so be it.
On religious marriages, I wonder how many people realise that the legality of marriage is a state function. A priest or whoever must be licensed by the state to perform marriages and the only legally-recognised marriage certificate is the one issued by a state govt. The one issued by a church is not a legal document but in really just a piece of commemorative paper.
Sober now. Still go with what I said. perhaps not well understood. Will try again, from a different tack:
Who is opposing gay marriage? Easy! Those who have attached all sorts of moral and religious baggage to the word "marriage". Historically, the word belongs to them, so they have a point.
That's why I reckon the easest way around this dilemma is to find a different word than marriage for this union but ensure it has all of the same legal standing as a marriage. Much less confrontational and more likely to be acceptable to the "moral majority". That might be enough to hope for for now.
Consider this: Move too fast against existing biases and you stand a good chance of getting nothing more than a huge overwhelming backlash. "Slowly slowly catchee monkey..."
But hey, what would a misogynistic hetero numbat like me know anyway...
Have it your way... Care factor zero...
nobody got married till churches came along.
Church and State are supposed to be separate.
HoWARd is mistaking 'marriage' for 'procreation'.
Partners walking together along Oxford St, car mounts footpath and severely injures one, ambo comes and bundles injured in, ambos say to partner of 30 years "only spouses can come to hospital with injured". WTF?
Like everything else, this issue is about MONEY. Superannuation of a gay deceased person cannot legally be inherited the way it would by a straight spouse.
The very people ranting against legalised partners, are the ones who claim all gays are rampantly promiscuous. Ya cant have it both ways you pisshead Papists.
Mrs Patrick Campbell said it for me: '... anything, so long as it doesn't frighten the horses.'
ha ha haaaaaaaa my Word verification is FUQQK
Sorry Gerry I read that as hero numbat and wondered why you thought you were a pointy nosed hairy thing.
Everybody has made the same points here that activists are making every day and they're all sensible but we know this government is short on sensible and long on getting elected.
Andrew, you're a different generation to Sam and Kelly so may I ask a personal question? Did you think 20 years ago that gays wanting to be married would ever be an issue?
GerBear hope the hangover wasn't a bad one.
Brownie, 'pisshead papists' love it. Don't speak to Ron, did you see how many books he bought the other day?
Oh no, here we go again, apostates telling the church what it should and should not preach...
If you like what a church teaches, stay with it, if not, leave. Simple.
By the way, Brownie, the traditional Christian view of marriage was that sex is for the purpose of procreation, and marriage was designed to provide a monogamous life-long union for the purpose of procreation. If you don't like that, don't get married in a church.
I wouldn't go near a church if you paid me, but I'll defend freedom of religion just as much as I'll defend freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, etc.
The purpose of procreation was to get new members of the church.
The purpose of marriage was to keep or get gelt into the family and procreate to keep or get gelt unto the next generation.
So? You can rail against religions all you like, JahTeh. I don't really think you know what you're up against.
I think you're up against homophobia within AND outside of religion. I think it's a mistake to think it's just the ultra religious who have a problem with gay marriage.
I think there's a vast spectruum of homophobia which goes way beyond this or that religion, or indeed religion itself.
As we found out since the Tampa crisis, racism in this country is solidly entrenched and wide spread. Well, I think so is homophobia.
I think the homophobes have been spooked into a stampede by too much talk of adoption and IVF for gay and lesbian couples. I think this has terrified the poor dears. I don't think they're ready for that, and the more people make noise about this issue at this time, the more opposition to gay marriage will harden.
My advice to the gay and lesbian community? Shut the fuck up about adoption and IVF until you've managed to secure all of the other legal rights that married couples have. And even then, test the waters about adoption and IVF. If the community is not ready to accept it, then the more noise you make, the more they will turn against you.
In the meanttime, educate, educate, educate.
If they're not ready to accept it, education is needed rather than verbose, loud and aggressive confrontation. Psychology 101, girls and boys...
As I said earlier, move too fast, push too hard, and what you'll get is an overwhelming backlash.
So just slow down, gain more rights an inch at a time, monitor the public mood, and don't force the public to make too big a leap at any one time.
Cinch by the inch, hard by the yard..
Here endeth the lesson...
Well for better or worse you can't stop people laughing at the idea of two blokes getting married.
Miss Jahteh, I've just had another interesting Saturday at the apa-a-a-artment of Mr Mad Geoff W. It seems the STATE TRUSTEES being in receipt of $156,000 bikkies which he inherited from his mother after knocking her off, have approved my employ in RENOVATING the aforesaid DWELLING!
Well golly, how's that.
Yes, but still I have to fight like mad to squeeze any dough from the lowdown miserly bastard, while mad dames at Brunswick clinic only have to show him their tits to get a tenner! How's that! What a dog. Well maybe I should tell all his sweet talking social workers about the dirty books and videos he's got hidden around the place. Maybe I'll toss them into the living room next time they come to sit side-by-side on his fucking bargain price couch and say, "Yes Geoffrey, you do. Oh yes Geoffrey, you are! Yes Geoffrey, that's very nice."
The dirty lying bullshitting broads! If they ever told him the truth - the dork!- he'd have his hand up their dresses straight away!
Miss Jahteh (if I may) some very bourgeois bloggers may ban me, and they do, but I can also ban others; and I do; stopping myself from further comment on their sites.
But in reflecting upon my career as a blog reply person, what stands out is the general weakness and dependancy of most bloggers, being highly anxious to stay sweet with one another, especially where RH is concerned. Meanwhile I get emails from some of them, wanting me to know that they support me, but terrified of saying it in public.
Funny. Yes. But it's true.
I knew you couldn't stay away RH, even the Beary one can't take your place at LP. It's become a dreary blog without your comment slamming.
You know you're right Gerry and I know you're right but we're straight and I can't blame gays and lesbians for wanting something they've been told they cannot have by enacting a special law just because that little shite in Canberra wants to be re-elected.
You guys... [shakes head}
Don't you get it about democracy yet?
There's a majority, d'oh...
That majority is conservative, white supremacist, racist, homophobic and in utter denial.
Wanna change that demographic? Educate, educate educate. Communicate, communicate, communicate. But don't talk down to them, and don't talk AT them. Don't call them names and above all, DON'T SPOOK THEM INTO A STAMPEDE in the opposite direction.
In a democracy, big changes requiring the erosion of ossified morals can take decades. It's more like water wearing down stone.
But all the good work can be undone by a few loud, aggressive, pushy hotheads mouthing off endlessly, actually causing more entrenchment in the opposition than conversion.
I'll say it again, it's about applying good psychology over a long time. And it may even be generational i.e. this generation might not budge, but the next one might. In the meantime don't rev them up too much or they'll bite back. Too simple for you?
And another thing. How come a ranting, offensive, "misogynistic homophobe" like myself has to explain this to you dudes and dudettes?
Huh?
Huh?
Yeah!!!
Thank you Miss Jahteh. That blog is so dry it just can't survive without constant bickering.
They've even had to bring back Graeme, because without him, and etc, it would collapse.
In boredom.
A couple of its sexually repressed ladies took a severe dislike to me. One of them actually trailed me around, deleting me, suspending me, and finally getting her grasshopper-headed boss to ban me.
And oh!- my goodness gracious golly me!- but wasn't I devastated!- did that mean my career as a blog reply person was over!
ha ha ha!
Well I admit to being fooled by gravatars, where people pose themselves as heroic, or beautiful, or intellectual. But sometimes - especially if they're chasing ROMANCE, they'll also post an actual photo of themselves.
And I'll tell you what, I have never seen an uglier man than that grasshopper-headed bastard Mark Bahnisch.
Good heavens, he's not a man, he's not a woman, he's a fucking centipede! -Or something. Well I don't condemn people on appearance, but this stick of licorice actually writes the way he looks: Boring and constipated. Bloodless and departed. Really. This is a bloke hatched in a dusty old book depository. Or in the cloakroom of some tatty Senior Citizen's foxtrot dance hall.
He's ancient, never been young.
And Miss Jahteh, before forgetting all this, I want to say that when I was flat broke - for somewhere to wipe the floor with that snivelling little hypocrite, Pastor Christ the Lord, you were the only person who'd give me a place to do it.
And thus, you showed a rare thing in blogland - the rarest thing of all, you showed Loyalty.
And for that, I will ever be loyal to you.
Robert.
Oh dear, JahTeh, what have you dragged in here? The smell is awful!!!
My beloved Bear, you will never be deleted here except if you call me a dudette again. Bloody Mary with a stick I hate that word. You may call me anything else and, in time, you probably will but not that. I will even cop 'sheila' or 'fat tart' but not dudette!
You asked if I thought twenty years ago, gays would want to be married? Yes, I suppose I did. I always knew equal rights would be bestowed and we have progressed quite a bit in that area. I really don't care for the idea of gay marriage, but if some want to do it, then let them. But a committment ceremony sounds very nice. Although I am poor, I do have significant superannuation, so that really is an issue for me. But then two seperate pensions are also an issue. Hard one. I would like to think that medical authorities would now act in the best interests of the patient and not by some 'rules'.
Andrew unfortunately some hospitals still go by the rules and some relatives as well. The horror stories I came across when researching AIDS nearly broke my heart. Parents who wouldn't go near a son until he was dead then remove his partner or lover from the hospital room, often forcibly.
I'm glad you like the idea of commitment though.
Dudette dudette dudette
dudettydydette dudette
Dudette dudette dudette
dudettydydette dudette
diddydiddy dididdy dididdy...
Gerry, in WA IVF and adoption for gays and lesbians is legal - has been since 2002. The Labor Govt introduced it and were firmly re-elected 4 years later despite the Libs declaring they would repeal the law reforms.
Our polls in WA showed majority support for parenting and the end of discrimination.
If little redneck WA can do it, surely the rest of Australia can?
Kelly & Sam, you have a good point there. I don't know what is the right rate of social change. But my feeling is that with this issue, as with any controversial issue, if those pushing for change push too hard, a resitance or backlash often occurs. Not being gay, it's not for me to say what the amount of push should be. I can tell you that I don't oppose you.
That's the best I can do for now.
Thanks, Gerry. I think it's fair to say that we won't get equal gay marriage no matter how hard we push. But sometimes if you aim for the moon, you get stars. In this case, the stars would be civil unions or equivalent.
Don't give up. Keep chipping away... I can't say more or I'll be repeating myself and I'm already the king of tautology... :-)
Being as anal as I am, I need to tell you that the deleted comment was merely a repeat of the preceeding one.
Normal programming will now resume..
"I love your bum"
Heh-heh, that's for Quilton toilet paper. Inside the roll at the core are the printed words, Quilton loves your bum.
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