“ To prejudge other men's notions before we have looked into them is not to show their darkness but to put out our own eyes.”John Locke
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Quote of the day
Some imagine, some are more equal than others - but whom?
The Guardian today carries an article indicating that gay people feel that they are discriminated against because they are gay with the headline “Homophobia rife in British society”, one presumes it is a genuine report and not prompted by the date.
Schools seem to particularly come in for criticism as do the NHS - and the main political parties are mentioned.
All this, not on the basis of any actual quantifiable discrimination, but what homosexual people imagine might happen if they were, for instance apply to run as a Conservative, or New Labour MP. Talk about a story based on nothing but vapours and imaginings. Apparently 61% expected discrimination from the Conservatives and 47% from New Labour – ‘expected’, it says it all. This is based on prejudice alright, prejudice amongst what may be described as the Gay ‘Community’.
One should not forget that people do treat other people badly specifically because of their race, sexuality, etc. and this should not detract from that – but this report is more a problem with how people are imagining they will be treated, not with how they are actually being treated..
One should also keep in mind that someone can dislike someone else who is also male, or female, gay, or straight, black, or white, just because they are objectionable, unpleasant, or difficult, etc.
Apparently there was a perception that gay people might not get as good a service as presumably heterosexual people might when accessing emergency NHS care. I don’t personally recall my sexuality ever being relevant, or even being mentioned on any of the occasions I have needed to use casualty. I don’t understand why anyone else should feel it would.
One thing I have noticed - anecdotal evidence suggests, employees of some public bodies and companies sometimes feel their particular race and sexual orientation can detrimentally impact on their prospects. Male heterosexuals for instance are often concerned they are less likely to succeed in a job application. Gay men suspect they may be correct. None will risk speaking openly about it. Many now refuse details of sexual orientation, or even go so far as to misrepresent them in the ‘equality’ section of job applications. This has the potential to foster resentment.
Perceptions cut both ways.
Schools seem to particularly come in for criticism as do the NHS - and the main political parties are mentioned.
All this, not on the basis of any actual quantifiable discrimination, but what homosexual people imagine might happen if they were, for instance apply to run as a Conservative, or New Labour MP. Talk about a story based on nothing but vapours and imaginings. Apparently 61% expected discrimination from the Conservatives and 47% from New Labour – ‘expected’, it says it all. This is based on prejudice alright, prejudice amongst what may be described as the Gay ‘Community’.
One should not forget that people do treat other people badly specifically because of their race, sexuality, etc. and this should not detract from that – but this report is more a problem with how people are imagining they will be treated, not with how they are actually being treated..
One should also keep in mind that someone can dislike someone else who is also male, or female, gay, or straight, black, or white, just because they are objectionable, unpleasant, or difficult, etc.
Apparently there was a perception that gay people might not get as good a service as presumably heterosexual people might when accessing emergency NHS care. I don’t personally recall my sexuality ever being relevant, or even being mentioned on any of the occasions I have needed to use casualty. I don’t understand why anyone else should feel it would.
One thing I have noticed - anecdotal evidence suggests, employees of some public bodies and companies sometimes feel their particular race and sexual orientation can detrimentally impact on their prospects. Male heterosexuals for instance are often concerned they are less likely to succeed in a job application. Gay men suspect they may be correct. None will risk speaking openly about it. Many now refuse details of sexual orientation, or even go so far as to misrepresent them in the ‘equality’ section of job applications. This has the potential to foster resentment.
Perceptions cut both ways.
Gordon Brown to introduce death penalty for SPAMing
Today, in an eye catching new initiative, designed to ’reconnect’ with the ordinary citizen, UK PM Gordon Brown announced that; if re elected, New Labour would seek to re-introduce the death penalty, specifically for spamming.
A New labor think tank has produced a report recommending a graded series of offences. The most serious being sending out, or causing to be sent out, more than 100,000 SPAM emails, faxes, letters, or text messages.
A YouGov poll commissioned by the think tank showed levels of support for the initiative at over 96%. The reports authors believe support was only that low because some respondents didn’t feel the proposal went far enough.
Dr Frank N. Steen representing the the BMC accused the government of being short sighted, as they appeared to be missing the opportunity to harvest the organs of those found guilty, for transplant.
Government spokesperson Paul-Edward Legg said: “The key part of the legislation is that this should only target unsolicited communications. We are working on a definitive definition of SPAM”.
“We foresee potential problems with this proposed legislation, if it is not carefully framed, as we carry large amounts of unwanted junk mail.”, stated Post Office representative, Aprille Jape.
A New labor think tank has produced a report recommending a graded series of offences. The most serious being sending out, or causing to be sent out, more than 100,000 SPAM emails, faxes, letters, or text messages.
A YouGov poll commissioned by the think tank showed levels of support for the initiative at over 96%. The reports authors believe support was only that low because some respondents didn’t feel the proposal went far enough.
Dr Frank N. Steen representing the the BMC accused the government of being short sighted, as they appeared to be missing the opportunity to harvest the organs of those found guilty, for transplant.
Government spokesperson Paul-Edward Legg said: “The key part of the legislation is that this should only target unsolicited communications. We are working on a definitive definition of SPAM”.
“We foresee potential problems with this proposed legislation, if it is not carefully framed, as we carry large amounts of unwanted junk mail.”, stated Post Office representative, Aprille Jape.
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