In the wake of Israel Folau’s homophobic comments on social media, and his possible sacking, I cannot place all the blame on his shoulders. He grew up withing a religiously conservative Pacific island community, where the views he holds is the norm. The question should be how should we respond to the dissemination such beliefs? Here is Bill Peddie’s take on the question.
IZZY’S LITTLE LIST A few days ago a congregation member of a local Pentecostal-type mega church told me that their whole congregation had recently prayed for my salvation. Their leaders had discovered that I had a liberal approach to the Bible and they were understandably concerned I might be leading others in the town down […]
via Izzy’s Little List — Bill Peddie’s website
14 April, 2019 at 12:04 pm
I don’t know much about him, but surely just as we wouldn’t tolerate racism or mysogyny in the public domain, we can’t tolerate homophobia. It doesn’t matter where it comes from (religion, culture, upbringing, personal opinion), the problem is the potential impact that spreading hateful attitudes will have on who follow sports and regard these people as role models or even heroes e.g. utter devastation for young people who realise they are gay, or validation to discriminate from people who already think homosexuality is undesirable.
14 April, 2019 at 12:44 pm
I agree there is no place for homophobia in this day and age, but by targeting someone who expresses such ideas without tackling the source is a little like targeting a drug addict for reselling drugs to finance his habit, while ignoring organised crime which is the source of almost all illicit drug distribution.
14 April, 2019 at 12:58 pm
I agree in theory, but can’t think where you start. Homophobia is rife throughout many religions and denominations of Christianity. How do you tackle such a huge source? And in the meantime, individuals who publicly express such opinions can’t have public roles.
14 April, 2019 at 1:47 pm
I don’t claim there’s an easy answer, but going after just those who express such views is in many ways similar to playing whack-a-mole.