I’ve been reading and re-reading this little bit of “journalism” from The Irish Independent and honestly I don’t even know where to begin with this thing. Entitled “Loud and Proud Gays Want to Take Over Rest of Society” (i mean, yeah, duh), this question posits the challenge that “increasingly, it seems as if the homosexual community has forgotten that it is the minority.” Right, of course, because we’re Just That Stupid.
Eamon Delaney, a 49-year-old Irish Journalist, immediately tells us that he used to live in New York’s West Village where he enjoyed “their nightlife and cultural atmosphere.” He in fact claims some of his best friends are gay. (I suspect that has changed within the last few hours since this piece was published.) However, he’s “recently begun to get impatient with the endless trumpeting of gay ‘identity’, and the growing appetite for more and more rights and privileges.”
Ah yes. Our growing appetite for more rights and privileges! I’ve kindly made an image to represent this appetite, since he didn’t include any in his article.
Other highlights from the piece:
+ “…it seems as if the tables have turned and a minority community — the gays — want to increasingly change mainstream culture to suit them.”
+ “…why is civil partnership not enough, and why do gays also want marriage, a surely traditional heterosexual facility, which gays used to see as patriarchal, and ‘straight’?”
+ “Many gays want to have it both ways. Thus gay magazines are full of ads endorsing late-night gyms, sex lines and a freewheeling sexual activity which would be dismissed as sleazy in heterosexual culture. But we also have articles that suggest a yearning for bourgeois respectability.”
+ “It makes many of us uneasy and impatient with the idea that raising a child with homosexual parents is totally equivalent to a child being raised by its natural heterosexual parents. It patently is not, and it is a crazy concession to PC culture to say that it is.”
+ “Bisexual? Isn’t that reminiscent of the loose Seventies sexual experimentation? How many bisexuals are there? And will the plain people of Ireland be happy with legalising rights for, and spending money on, all of this?”
Firstly, I love that he’s basing his entire understanding of homosexuality seemingly on his experiences clubbing in the Gayborhood in Manhattan. What’s he reading gay magazines and gay travel guides for if it upsets him so much, eh?
Secondly, this is so wrong on so many levels that I can hardly believe it was published, and I don’t know where to begin besides to tell you it exists.
FYI, Ireland decriminalized same-sex sexual activity in 1993. Ireland does not allow same-sex marriage, but in 2010 the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the “Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010,” which recognizes civil partnerships between same-sex couples. As of 2008, 84% of Irish people supported civil marriage or civil partnerships for same-sex couples and 58% supported full marriage rights in registry offices — more than the United States.
A breakdown of Ireland’s gay rights issues from Wikipedia:
We’d love to hear how you feel about this, especially if you live in Ireland!
I never said my people didn’t have a huge capacity to embarrass me. Sigh. Though check out this guy: http://www.michaeldhiggins.ie/
Also also this reminds me of Ablow’s (spelling?) screed against trans people. The media loves anything that stirs shit. Given those numbers it’s not how the majority of the Irish feel, which let me tell you is some heartening stuff.
Don’t live in Ireland any more, but the Irish Independent has a longstanding policy of letting its opinion columnists go off on rants which are designed to cause maximum ructions. This is clearly an instance of it. Not that that’s any excuse for printing a bunch of homophobic ignorance, but that is the context.
Why so personal??
Is it just me, or does it sound like his boyfriend just broke up with him? ….or maybe, since I don’t want to claim him for our team, his mother’s pearl necklace was heisted away by a gang of gay men wearing panda suits singing and sea shanties.
I would pay money to witness the look on his face when that happened.
I would pay money to see a heist conducted by singing gay men in panda suits.
‘Bisexual? Isn’t that reminiscent of the loose Seventies sexual experimentation? How many bisexuals are there?’
Damn, for a moment there I thought I was reading the comments on the Krisily Kennedy post.
This article should make my blood boil. It really should. But it’s just so silly that I’m laughing instead.
‘Like, when did the gays and lesbian community become the ‘LGBT’, an acronym that also includes Bisexual and Transgender?’
Like, did your editor actually let your article go to publication with such a gross admission of your ignorance in it? Like, rly?
YES that sentence killed me, too.
“Damn, for a moment there I thought I was reading the comments on the Krisily Kennedy post.”
Oh snap!
I’m Irish and there’s been a whole flurry of conversation about this article on my Facebook wall today. The Sunday Independent is notorious for publishing drivel, but this is bad by even their standards. It’s so uncogently argued as well as being offensive. For what it’s worth, I’ve made a complaint to the Press Ombudsman, saying that it violates Principle 8 of their Code of Practice, to wit:
“Newspapers and magazines shall not publish material intended or likely to cause grave offence or stir up hatred against an individual or group on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, colour, ethnic origin, membership of the travelling community, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, illness or age.”
And yes, agreed on Tiger Gray’s recommendation. Large swathes of Irish society may still be stuck in 1950s bigotry, but the fact that this very weekend we elected Michael D Higgins to President is a clear indication that we are also a nation that believes in civil rights, equality, arts and culture. Watch his rousing 2006 speech on the Civil Unions Bill here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8rYglWSUI8
He got elected? I could cry. That is so awesome.
Yes! President Michael D. A wonderful day for Ireland. Final tally was 1,007,104 votes, which I believe is the highest ever number for an Aras election.
To all non-Irish Autostraddlers, look up Michael D. He’s a true legend.
That is so wonderful. Today is beautiful. Agree that people should look this man up. Even his campaign ads are great.
This guy is so awesome! What a champ.
That speech is amazing.
Great comment, and congratulations on the recent election!
ooooo that is so awesome that you complained to the “Press Ombudsman.” In America Keith Ablow just blows his asshorn and all we can do is write posts about it and pray Glaad notices.
I’m going to complain too, if anyone else wants info about how to make a complaint here’s the link
http://www.presscouncil.ie/making-a-complaint.24.html
On behalf of Irish people, can I please apologize for the independent and the complete catastrophe of a newspaper it is? They regularly go off on rants like this, and worse.
wow. that was so terrible that if I didn’t know better I would have thought it was a parody article mocking the stupidity of anti-gay arguments.
I know, I almost thought Riese was playing a trick on us and it was a satire when I read the headline to the article. I mean, really? He’s serious? Really??
That is just absolutely ridiculous.
“Being gay should be edgy and experimental” Oh yes being denied rights and having people tell you that the way you are is unatural and wrong is sooo edgy and experimental. I mean, I’m not even really gay, I’m just pretending because all the super cool kids are doing it.
Er.. make that “unnatural”. Sorry for the rage induced spelling mistakes.
I know some older gay and lesbian couples that are SO FAR from edgy and experimental, it’s almost funny. They’re like, cute little old ladies. Somehow I don’t see how it’s so…edgy. :)
The one Sunday we don’t buy the paper. The one day.
Holy shit I’m super embarrassed to be of the same nationality as that idiot.
No don’t be! I love the Irish!
if i got embarrassed every time an american person wrote something like this, i would never leave the house.
oh wait.
i never do leave the house, instead i sit here and yell at everyone who embarrasses me.
That’s what it feels like to be an American all the time. :(
WHAT
WHATTTTTT
I can’t even. So much of this is wrong.
in fact, is any part of it right?
no.
it’s not even so wrong it’s right! It’s just plain wrong.
I am so mortified about this. What a prick.
I’m Irish. Delaney is an Idiot.
I’ve just made a complaint to the editor of the Independent.ie and the Irish Press Ombudsman citing Principle 8 of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Magazines.
“Newspapers and magazines shall not publish material intended or likely to cause grave offence or stir up hatred against an individual or group on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, colour, ethnic origin, membership of the travelling community, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, illness or age.”
I strongly encourage you to do the same.
Being Irish the first thing I thought when I saw this was oh lord what utter rubbish has the Independent written this time. They are known to publish rubbish, while pretending to be a serious paper.
The article is ridiculous and is more like a ranty blog article written at 4am.
While this was in a national paper and god knows how it actually passed an editor, I hope you guys don’t take this out of context and believe that what this idiot expresses is what the majority in Ireland believe. I know there is still a LONG ASS way to go especially regarding adoption, but in terms of attitude to the community, the younger generations are not ignorant like this guy. There will always be small minded people like him, young and old, but this is just a clear journalism f*ck up letting this get printed.
I agree with Catherine about Michael D. great man and very proud he was elected. How cool is to be able to say our President is a poet!!
Off to complain to the Ombudsman and the editor ….
Your super awesome president says more about Ireland as a whole than some jerkface writer ever could.
The whole rant was stupid, obviously, but as a parent this particularly pissed me off:
“Also, on the issue of gays adopting, it makes many of us uneasy and impatient with the idea that raising a child with homosexual parents is totally equivalent to a child being raised by its natural heterosexual parents. It patently is not, and it is a crazy concession to PC culture to say that it is.”
My two kids are pretty grown up, one’s at Harvard Law the other going to start grad school next year either at MIT or Johns Hopkins. Yeah, I’m bragging, but they’re awesome well adjusted kids aside from their academic prowess. Why wouldn’t my parenting be every bit as good as that of heterosexual parents???
“…it seems as if the tables have turned and a minority community — the gays — want to increasingly change mainstream culture to suit them.”
Yeah, why can’t all minorities just be okay with how the majority views them? Just be quiet and let the majority treat you however they see fit.
“Increasingly, it seems as if the homosexual community has forgotten that it is the minority”
Damn uppity minorities should stay in their place! Like someone else said, my first reaction to this was that it seems like a rant made on a personal blog, I’m gobsmacked it actually got published in a national newspaper, even the quality of writing is horrible. Hopefully that will contribute to people not taking this idiot seriously. In the meantime, I’ll be glad my parents subscribe to the Irish Times and not the Indo.
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Riese, I feel like that picture of Animal belongs on a billboard somewhere.
Im not surprised that excuse for a newspaper published an “article” like that, ive seen numerous homophobia and also racist articles in that paper over the years, and it mortifies me to say that it’s the most purchased paper in Ireland. Anyway, here’s another lovely tolerant article from another one of their terrible writers-> http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/dogmatic-liberalism-insists-that-tolerance-isnt-enough-1856977.html
As regards this article I feel like he’s basically saying, how dare “the gays” demand their equality, would they not just shut up and be happy with what they have. When the reality of the situation is that civil partnership has 169 less rights than marriage…..so in what way would anyone think we’d be happy we that. I also think idiots like him forget that we do not want religious marriage, what we want is civil marriage that affords the same rights to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. And of course the biphobia in this article is another issue altogether, it’s unacceptable and I know of at least a few people who are in the process of writing and sending in complaints about this….whether or not they have the guts to publish any of these remains to be seen.
Oh Animal. Don’t we all just want WOMAN! WOMAAAAAAAAAN!
The man is a gobshite and the paper a rag. This is our new prez though socking it to Michael Graham. Not very presidential but it makes me laugh with joy every time I hear it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOxKnsT-XZg
I think we should stop calling it Equal Rights and start calling it Mooar Rights, as I see now that “the gays” are a pack of rights hungry homomachines hankering to legally be about to drop trou in church, put their hands on their hips and cry “HEY GRRRRRRRRL” at Jesus H Christ.
Pants off to you, Mr Delaney. Pants. off. to. you.
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Irish, but not living in Ireland (I’m noticing a pattern here..)
I don’t read the Independent, when I’m at home, I’m an ‘Irish Times’ kinda gal – so I’ve missed out on years of the Indie talking crap. This article is in the usual vein of ‘journalism’ from them, and so is clearly completely and utterly rubbish. Despite the old-fashioned views of some of Irish society, I would say primarily the younger generations are pretty gay-friendly, so what universe is this guy living in?
I remember in 1993 when the laws changed to legalise (male) homosexuality. It was a massive cultural shift, and was all part of the changes of the time – the peace process, the economy growing, later that decade divorce was legalised, the Catholic Church began to lose its strangehold on the country. It was a very important decade for us, not just as gay people, but as Irish people.
This guy seems to have missed out on that. How did he manage to live through the past 20 years and completely stay within his protected little sphere of homophobia? I’m not saying there aren’t Irish people that agree with him (there are quite a few), but he’s talking shite that most irish people under the age of 35 disagree with.