Ever since
Aunty- the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation came under sustained attack from right wing zealots in the '90s over it's perceived 'left wing' bias , it's bent over backwards to apologise to just about everyone with a gripe while at the same time attempting to emulate the vacuous commercial TV networks.
 |
| Christopher Pine MP |
Watching the excellent
Q &A program on Monday evening the
Shuttle noticed one tweet-they run across the bottom of the screen while various politicians and public figures get grilled in front of a studio audience.
The Manager of Opposition Business Christopher Pine MP had responded to a question and the tweet said :
"Does Pyne really light up when he's talking about men in uniform?".
We hadn't really noticed if the rather effete Liberal Party member Pine did 'light up' nor is it of much interest despite the persistent rumours.
Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby co-convener Sarah Rogan has said "It is a cheap shot," and that the ABC should know better and that the comment was "playing on the stereotyping of gay men". Aunty jumped to attention and apologised for running the tweet.
 |
| Bear |
It's an odd comment coming from an organisation that joined in the
Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras just 3 weeks ago where 10,000 participants pretty well ran through the gamut of every 'sterotype' possible from the chubby
Harbour City Bears-awash with tattoos, chains and studs, every variant of drag queen the mind can imagine, Thai Lady Boys by the dozen and Bondi lifesavers by the truckload-buffed and bronzed to a ridiculous level not to mention the leaders of the parade-
Dykes On Bikes who once went topless much to
Reverend Fed Nile's chagrin but since several gay lobby groups have criticised them now wear the most unattractive brassieres
 |
| man in uniform |
Nor were most of those participating sterotyping various groups-they were deadly serious. That's what they like and whose business would it be for anyone to imply that if a chap fancied other chaps in fatigues with a chest full of medals, that it's a "stereotypjng gay people" ?. The fact is that the gay world is full of mincers and a lot of other different types.
There are times when Gay lobby groups dictate to the masses just what it's all about. When the closet door was left open, some very boring and pedantic people came out.
If Pine-who the Prime Minster Julia Gillard once called The Mincing Poodle in Parliament was into men in uniform (and we have no idea if he is) why would it be homophobic to point it out ?.
Lobby groups should remember that achieving equality does not mean conformity.
More worrying was Pine's comment when dishing a former
Kevin Rudd staffer that
Saddam Hussein had operated 'human shredding machines', a claim since dismissed as a fallacy yet one used to invade Iraq and kill tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens. Including probably many gays and lesbians.
 |
| Village People fan |
For a reminder of a time when the closet door was still firmly shut and the Gay Fun Police hadn't been invented, and when things weren't so complicated-here is the group that the
Shuttle encountered twice-once at the infamous downtown New York club
The Mineshaft and again years later in the Houses of Parliament in London at a party hosted by a British MP
Norman St John-Stevas (above)-
The Village People and their homage to men in uniforms:
