Re: The Greens - The New Radical Socialists
What you don't realise is that the world has moved on since your pink shirt, eyebrow raising dabble into the gay world. Gays are fully capable of looking after their own interests, and the idea of do-gooders like you and craft trying to cocoon them from the nasty homophobic world is very condescending.
The entire purpose of a public political rally or meeting of that sort is to (1) produce a show of strength for the media etc and (2) bring like minds together for the "real" meeting (for the 1 - 2% who will be interested) which takes place sometime later.
I chose not to encourage or be part of a show of strength against homosexuality when the issue in question was unrelated. I could have easily ignored it as most would, but chose to encourage people to question their prejudices and leave anyone's private life right out of it.
My decision to do so came from having been to quite a few development versus conservation type meetings previously, as well as other discussion, and becoming fed up with hearing the "gay" argument raised. I was, to be blunt, simply fed up with people assuming that because I was expressing a pro-development view, that I would also be morally conservative.
I'm very sure that Bob, or gays in general, don't need protecting from homophobia. I do however have a right to express support for one cause, without also expressing support for an unrelated issue that many chose to attach to it by virtue of their own prejudices.
As for the pink shirts, well that's a pretty tame way of dropping the hint I thought. It's not as though all, or even most, people who dress like that are gay. But in a room full of blokes arguing the virtues of logging and/or damming the lot it was sufficient.
The same could be said of those who simply went bush walking during some of these debates. Someone sees someone dressed like that, and automatically assumes they hold a certain view. Not a particularly good situation if you find that just about everyone else in a small town disagrees. This situation was well known at the time.
In short, just because I am of the opinion that hydro is a more sustainable power source than coal and that building with timber is environmentally better than building with steel does not mean that I am also against gays, abortion or the opening of shops after 12 o'clock on Saturday (all of which were issues around the same time).
Anyway, I think the Green side does see the humor in the 40 year environment versus development debate better than their opponents. Gotta love TWS putting up Christmas lights in the Styx a few years ago - I know they saw the irony but I suspect the other side missed it completely and probably still does.