Letters to the Editor

foot in mouth
Justice Kirby’s attack against Channel 7 recently was very appropriate. Good on him!
Disgraceful of Channel 7 to claim that MP David Campbell’s gay lifestyle was a public interest story. AFL’s Akermanis seems to be suffering foot in mouth disease also.
Let’s also hope that our governments and sporting bodies may wake up now and give more support for young gays and the wider community in coping with coming out in a still biased society where bullying and shame for non-heterosexuals is still very much in the picture.
— Stella

FREE BEACHES
First it was Reef Beach then La Perouse being shut to nudists. Now Lady Jane, Obelisk and Cobblers Beaches are being targeted for closure by these anti-gay, anti-nudist citizens.
Unless we start collectively to fight these actions, we will lose these beaches and there will be no free beaches left in Sydney. Is this just another homophobic exercise in disguise? I am sure it is.
The anti-nudist movement closed Reef Beach to nudity several decades ago. La Perouse has been the subject of many recent police raids and the authorities have made it abundantly clear that nudism is now no longer to be tolerated at that beach.
On January 15 Cr Anthony Boskovitz was widely reported in the eastern suburbs Street Corner paper that he would be actively campaigning to have nudism banned at Lady Jane.
More recently, The Mosman Daily ran their ongoing campaign for nudists to be banned from Obelisk. Then they ran a poll on their website where they reported that 59 percent of respondents want both Obelisk and Cobblers banned for nudism.
The reasons are always the same: we want to protect our children from having to confront nudism and we do not like loiterers in the area. What they really say is that they are homophobic — the gay community are frequent users of these locations — and they do not want outsiders to share their beaches.
Inaction will see the demise of all these great free beaches.
— Neil

parade overhaul
So New Mardi Gras is going to put the parade and dance party on the same night … HOORAY.
What they should be doing is getting the parade back on track. Without the floats, there is no parade.
What they did this year is a joke. Fancy putting us in the laneways — should have put us back in the closet. That’s what it felt like.

I think they need to do the following and it can work.
Keep Elizabeth St open to normal traffic.
Close Wentworth Ave, Liverpool and College Sts for the floats and start the parade from float 1 from Liverpool St, up Oxford then Wentworth, then College, up Oxford St to the end.
Start Dykes on Bikes in Oxford St, up to the showground then back to the start.
Then everyone will see the parade. The people doing the floats this year did not see Dykes on Bikes.
— Richard

Channel 7 Boycott #1
Meakin has vilified our community. Gays cannot have family values according to what he is saying.
Write to those who advertise on 7, be polite and request a response. Tell them you cannot support their brand due to the vilification of members of our community.
— Dave

Channel 7 Boycott #2
I have two concerns with Channel 7’s behaviour:
1. They called it a Gay Sex Scandal — being gay is not scandalous nor something to be ashamed of. These words not only slander the gay community but also send a message to young people that being gay is not OK. Channel 7 should have legal action taken against them by the gay community for slander and should be forced to inject money into anti-homophobia campaigns and into organisations who deal with young people who fall victim to such homophobia. They should also apologise to David Campbell and to the gay community for what they have done.
2. The editors and journo should be fired or at least forced to do a training course around homophobia, acceptance and how to work with the gay community.
That’s my two cents worth. I would support anyone in the gay community who would like to take legal action against the station to make some good come out this scandalous bit of journalism!
— Johnathan

Channel 7 Boycott #3
We should not only boycott Channel 7 but also the companies that advertise on Channel 7 and we should write to those companies and tell them why. If they withdraw advertising, then Channel 7 will need to act and do something to try to admit a wrong here.
­— Phill

Channel 7 Boycott #4
This is an appalling invasion of privacy.
A friend said something to me which made me wonder though. She said she believed politicians with a public profile have a certain public responsibility, and — at the very least — he [David Campbell] should have exercised a little discretion.
I don’t know whether I agree or not. But the witch-hunt manoeuvres of Channel 7 are highly questionable. Unfortunately, they cast a shadow of ill-repute and tend to tar all media — good or bad — with the same brush.
For shame, Channel 7.
— Damien

Channel 7 Boycott #5
Boycotting Channel 7 entirely is asking too much. But I will be boycotting their news and current affairs shows while Walters and Meakin are still employed.
The 7 network does have double standards, employing Kyle Sandilands and Matty Johns after they were sacked from their previous networks for their indiscretions.
— Wal

Kowalski
Kowalksi’s comments are insightful. In my work as a counsellor and therapist, I’ve spoken with many gay or bisexual men who are or have been in the public eye from a relatively young age in sports, theatre, music & television and even politics. The pressure of their work can lead them to ‘bury’ their sexuality and when they come out they often feel quite immature and realise they have a lot to learn.
But it is inspiring to hear that when those in influential positions choose to go public, it encourages others to do the same. Congratulations Mr Kowalski and I wish you much happiness as an out gay man.
— Ash