Just some news from the
Guardian/Observer that caught my eye today.
"The Tories were embroiled in a furious row over lesbian and gay rightson Saturday after the shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling, was secretly taped suggesting that people who ran bed and breakfasts in their homes should "have the right" to turn away homosexual couples.
The comments, made by Grayling last week to a leading centre-right thinktank, drew an angry response from gay groups and other parties, which said they were evidence that senior figures in David Cameron's party still tolerate prejudice"
At the heart of this issue lies the most fundamental and precious principle we have and that is the right of association. To tamper with this right, to force people together is the most grotesque and stupid attack on the very fabric of what makes a society tolerable at all. The Conservative Party, especially as we approach an election, should be championing that right and being open about protecting it.
No one should be
forced to associate with people they don't want to. It needs no explanation, no annotation. No apology. It's a given.
Who is this 'modern' multicultural society actually for ? Is it bringing dignity to anyone, or is it making a ridiculous mockery of everyone ? While we all watch this elephant in the living room no one is supposed to talk about.
Presumably The Guardian/Observer think they have 'discovered' some way to attack the Tories in the lead up to the election but actually have done is shone the light on a slice of reality.
And this problem of creating a kind of ethno-sexual smog of 'tolerance' and 'diversity' is something at some point that, I'm sorry to say, is going to have to be sharply corrected into the reality it needs to be in, rather than the completely grotesque and painfully stupid one it is today.
Labels: Conservative Party, gay issues, Guardian