Dear Editor,
There has been so much misinformation and fear-mongering about the so-called "gay agenda". Shame on the media and the church for perpetuating it.
All gay people (not homos as the media uses to dehumanise them) want is tolerance and respect, to be left alone, to live in peace. Why can't we understand and respect that?
Two consenting adults want the basic right to love and be loved. Leave the judgement to God (though I seriously doubt that the crime of love weighs as heavily as child abuse and murder, which are the real causes we should be rallying against).
With regard to Dr Brendan Bain, this isn't an issue of free speech. As an educator in the field of early childhood development, if I said something to alienate the parents, teachers and children I serve, I would be fired immediately because they would have no confidence in me. It's as simple as that.
Re the Jamaicans For Justice training course, the horror stories basic school teachers tell me about what their little ones are already exposed to and witness being done by and/or to relatives are appalling.
Our children need us to stop burying our heads in the sand and rallying for the wrong reasons. Has anyone spoken to the children and staff members who attended and conducted the training? If the content was not delivered in an age-appropriate and sensitive manner then let's investigate that, but let's stop throwing the baby out with the bath water.
I know these issues are complex, but let's take the time to listen and think before jumping on the 'fight 'gainst' bandwagon. If you substitute the word 'black' or 'child' or 'disabled' or 'Jamaican' for 'gay', would you feel the same way?
We're all fighting for the same thing; we're all the same, one people, and we all have the right to tolerance and respect.
Cathryn O'Sullivan
cathrynosullivan@gmail.com
We all have the right to tolerance and respect
-->
There has been so much misinformation and fear-mongering about the so-called "gay agenda". Shame on the media and the church for perpetuating it.
All gay people (not homos as the media uses to dehumanise them) want is tolerance and respect, to be left alone, to live in peace. Why can't we understand and respect that?
Two consenting adults want the basic right to love and be loved. Leave the judgement to God (though I seriously doubt that the crime of love weighs as heavily as child abuse and murder, which are the real causes we should be rallying against).
With regard to Dr Brendan Bain, this isn't an issue of free speech. As an educator in the field of early childhood development, if I said something to alienate the parents, teachers and children I serve, I would be fired immediately because they would have no confidence in me. It's as simple as that.
Re the Jamaicans For Justice training course, the horror stories basic school teachers tell me about what their little ones are already exposed to and witness being done by and/or to relatives are appalling.
Our children need us to stop burying our heads in the sand and rallying for the wrong reasons. Has anyone spoken to the children and staff members who attended and conducted the training? If the content was not delivered in an age-appropriate and sensitive manner then let's investigate that, but let's stop throwing the baby out with the bath water.
I know these issues are complex, but let's take the time to listen and think before jumping on the 'fight 'gainst' bandwagon. If you substitute the word 'black' or 'child' or 'disabled' or 'Jamaican' for 'gay', would you feel the same way?
We're all fighting for the same thing; we're all the same, one people, and we all have the right to tolerance and respect.
Cathryn O'Sullivan
cathrynosullivan@gmail.com
We all have the right to tolerance and respect
-->