Letters – issue 1040

Letters – issue 1040

BOB’S JUNK
Now that Bob Brown’s left gay marriage out of the Greens’ principle negotiations list with the government, same-sex marriage will be debated in private members’ bills, alongside other secondary issues like bans on junk food (Greens e-letter, ‘The Power of Your Vote’, 03/09/2010).
— Stuart

IMPY MISGIVING
It has finally happened — short of waiting for the Messiah, the re-opening of the Impy was next in the queue.
Great though it is to have an indelible gay mark back in the inner west, I felt an air of misgiving.
The multi-million dollar upgrade certainly was not reflected in the fixtures and fittings, as they seemed to be executed on the cheap.
The front bar is much as before, the cabaret area — although well done — is now devoid of tables and chairs, hence taking away the concept of true cabaret.
The former cellar bar is a wonderful transformation, sound quality and lighting on a par with anywhere in the world.
Finally, will the $20 admission continue, if you just wish to partake of the cabaret area and not downstairs or vice versa?
— Warren

TERRIBLE PUZZLE
I didn’t know Mandy Rollins or any of the people who love her. But I feel deeply for her and for them.
Suicide is not like a death caused by an accident, disease or old age. It is far worse. The shock and pain can’t be explained or soothed. Those left behind must try to deal with an inexpressible ‘why’ that will never be satisfied.
Suicide robs us all of choices, options and relationships, all the rich and wonderful things that life can give. Isn’t there enough sadness in the world already?
It is alright to feel vulnerable or lost or fed up. You’re not less of a person if you have depression or other mental illness.
I wish I had an answer, some clever solution to this terrible puzzle. All I know is that we are all valuable and that every cell of our bodies exists to just live, live, live. Every time there is a suicide our lives, our community, our world is a poorer place.
— Aaron

WRONG PERSON
With the announcement that Australian Marriage Equality (AME) is running a campaign to get our community to vote for Alex Greenwich and his partner to be the first same-sex couple to marry in the sky, I have to say that I am rather appalled.
Considering that there are a number Australian same-sex couples who have entered this competition, why hasn’t AME encouraged our community to vote for all Australian same-sex couples instead of asking us to only vote for the convenor of AME? Is the equal marriage rights campaign best served by people who it seems are using the campaign for their own benefit?
I feel AME should seriously reconsider if Alex Greenwich is the best person to have in the role of convenor because in my view I think they have the wrong person speaking on their behalf.
— Ben

SEXISM?
By the Indonesians’ own admission, the investigation, upon which Schapelle’s Corby’s trial rested, was only 50 percent complete.
So the outcome and complaint of her case has nothing to do with her being an attractive, white woman or perceiving Indonesians to be nasty, brown people (Doug Pollard, ‘Grumpy Old Poof’, SSO #1039).
It’s about insisting that a trial, that carried a heavy sentence, was conducted scrupulously by the Indonesian justice system. It’s about holding the Indonesians accountable as equals. Therefore turning this into a sexist or racial issue actually make your arguments misogynist and racist.
I question the sexism you speak of in relation to Stephanie Rice’s Twitter comment also. There seemed a similar response to this issue as the one Eddie McGuire received after his gay joke at the Winter Olympics. He’s older, has a high public profile and should have known better. He went on the public record to acknowledge that such comments can hurt people and produce an environment where young homosexual people may feel uncomfortable about their sexuality and wish to keep it hidden.
I do think we need to allow high-profile people to feel the consequences of their actions but then separate the person from the action and simply use it as an opportunity to educate the public of the undermining damage derogatory comments can cause in people’s lives.
— Catherine

ADOPTION #1
Gay parents who are compelled to give their children up for adoption should also have the right to select the characteristics of the adopting parents.
Apparently people who have been adopted out have to reconcile the decision of their birth parents to put them up for adoption.
If the children of gay parents are adopted by homophobic people those homophobic people could adversely influence the ability of the adopted person to reconcile the decision of their birth parents.
Parents of gay children who are compelled to give up their children for adoption should also have the right to select the characteristics of the adopting parents.
It would be a horrific experience for a gay child to be adopted by homophobic parents. The situation would be aggravated by the presence of heterosexual children as step-brothers and sisters.
The adopted child would only ever know hatred and persecution.
— Chillisauce

ADOPTION #2
No one, gay or straight, is compelled to give up their children for adoption. The child welfare authority can intervene and seek to place a child into foster care if the child is at risk of his/her parents, but that is different from adoption.
I think this ‘debate’ about so-called rights of the parents giving up their child for adoption is getting rather silly.
The legislation exempts faith-based organisations from facilitating adoption to same-sex couples, which I agree is a cop-out.
But it doesn’t give parents who are giving up their child for adoption any right to choose who can adopt the child. The adoption legislation is based upon the best interests of the child principle.
Both sides of the ‘debate’ are getting distracted by the discrimination argument, and are missing the point.
— Paul

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