Lock & Load

Another tabloid homophobe emerges

Lowri Turner, a writer for The Western Mail – which declares itself rather grandly 'The National Newspaper of Wales' has stated rather bizarrely that “there is indeed a great deal of homophobia in this country”.

No shit!

I’m not going to argue with that. It is not her statement itself that is bizarre – it’s the context. The headline of her article is:

“However much I love my gay friends, I don't want them running the country”

What the hell is this? Tough love? It’s fine to love your gay friends, Lowri, but do you need to patronise them too?

Do you think that because you “love” your “gay friends” you’re not a bigoted homophobe?

Taylor clearly hasn’t worked out the the “B” in “LGBT” stands for bisexual either. Bisexuals apparently don’t exist in Lowri-world:

“Frankly, I don't trust a man who says he swings both ways, unless he is a spotty teenager who hasn't sorted himself out yet. Oaten is 41 and Hughes is 54. If they think they are old enough to run the country then surely they are old enough to work out which gender they fancy?”

Or if they do, they’re not to be trusted!

Indeed, Turner continues:

“Personally, I have to say that I don't think gay men make good party leaders or Prime Ministers. This has nothing to do with what they do in bed but everything to do with their lives in general.”

What? All gay people lead similar lives? Is this not the very basis of prejudice? But before you can get to splutter an objection, Turner counters defensively:

“Before I am accused of prejudice, I should say that not only are some of my best friends gay, but probably most of them are.”

Like we haven’t heard that old chestnut before!

Yes, apparently, we gayers are “different”. Presumably we don’t have the same concerns as “normal” folk. We’re “divorced”, apparently, from the reality of “normal” people’s lives and experiences.

“It is precisely because I know such a lot of gay men that I can say that I don't think many of them are capable of representing the interests of the vast majority of people.
Their lifestyles are too divorced from the norm. They are not better or worse, but they are different.

People, this is raw homophobia. Plain and simple.

It gets worse.

“Gay men face challenges of their own, but they do not face those associated with having children which is the way most of us live. I have gay friends whose biggest headache is whether to have a black sofa or a cream one. If they have a child it is a dog.”

I’m sure the members of Pink Parents, a support group for gay people with children, will be surprised that Turner thinks their kids are dogs.

“Without these experiences at the sharp end of our public services, they do not know how they function. This makes them completely out of their depth in administering them,” she pontificates.

“I think gay men are ill-suited to representing the interests of the population in general. However much I love my gay friends, I don't want them running the country.”

Does Lowri Turner really think that having children gives a person some special insight into running a country? Perhaps this is what people mean by “the nanny state”.

Has she ever stopped to wonder why many gay MPs get re-elected time and again? Does she really think their constituents share her views? Indeed, is there the slightest bit of evidence to suggest that gay town councillors or members of parliament have let their heterosexual constituents down? Have even Simon Hughes’s constituents suffered because he has no children. Has he neglected the schools and clinics in Bermondsey? Where are the facts to back up this claptrap?

I hope that Turner’s gay friends tell her where to put her sanctimonious patronage. Bring back Littlejohn-style antigay rants. I’ll take frothing-at-the-mouth homophobia any day over this pathetic apologia for prejudice.

posted by Brett Lock @ 3:47 pm