Off Topic Politics Thread

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Beefy. How many people do you think know that the minister is lesbian?

I would imagine not many.

I hold my hands up, I didn't until this election.

My point is simply that I, and I am sure many others reading this agree with you 100%, . but it is amazing how many people are not aware of facts like that..

Or is it just me?

It's not just you, I didn't know either. I know now and still couldn't care less one way or the other, and this highlights for me how difficult a process it is to try and eliminate discrimination by gender identity or sexual preference. By constantly putting emphasis on it, and mentioning people's sexual preferences as an identifying feature, it just puts into focus the fact that there are differences.
I long for a time when somebody's sexual preferences don't matter at all, to the extent that it doesn't need to be mentioned when describing a person. Heterosexual people are never referred to by their sexuality so it kind of irks me that anybody else is...it doesn't ****ing matter who somebody sleeps with, or identifies with and it is completely unnecessary to label someone because of their preference. Until we stop doing it, we constantly reinforce the existing prejudices by talking about it as though it is an important characteristic, which of course it isn't.
I'm just a simple soul, and I'm sure things like positive reinforcement and positive discrimination do have their value in trying to make society more inclusive and accepting I just can't see what the value is as it perpetuates difference.

 

[Puck]

It's not just you, I didn't know either. I know now and still couldn't care less one way or the other, and this highlights for me how difficult a process it is to try and eliminate discrimination by gender identity or sexual preference. By constantly putting emphasis on it, and mentioning people's sexual preferences as an identifying feature, it just puts into focus the fact that there are differences.
I long for a time when somebody's sexual preferences don't matter at all, to the extent that it doesn't need to be mentioned when describing a person. Heterosexual people are never referred to by their sexuality so it kind of irks me that anybody else is...it doesn't ****ing matter who somebody sleeps with, or identifies with and it is completely unnecessary to label someone because of their preference. Until we stop doing it, we constantly reinforce the existing prejudices by talking about it as though it is an important characteristic, which of course it isn't.
I'm just a simple soul, and I'm sure things like positive reinforcement and positive discrimination do have their value in trying to make society more inclusive and accepting I just can't see what the value is as it perpetuates difference.

Completely agree. I did know but didn't and don't care. By highlighting this stuff you just highlight differences and separate people. The idea applies to all sorts of things. Morgan Freeman agrees too.

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[fatletiss]

Imagine the headlines in The Mail, Express and Sun if Corbyn had formed a coalition with Sinn Fein.

For the record, this is not the Ulster Unionist Party, a sectarian but legitimate political organisation with historic links to the Conservative and Unionist Party; this is the DUP - an extremist organisation with historic links to loyalist terrorists.

Yes I realise that now... been a bad day. 2am to bed, up at 5am, Cancelled flights, landing at wrong airport and unwittingly upsetting scousers in a terrible subject.

Not my day.

 

[fatletiss]

Beefy. How many people do you think know that the minister is lesbian?

I would imagine not many.

I hold my hands up, I didn't until this election.

My point is simply that I, and I am sure many others reading this agree with you 100%, . but it is amazing how many people are not aware of facts like that..

Or is it just me?

I wasn't aware either.

 

[fatletiss]

She doesn't have to form an alliance with anyone. She should have had the guts to run as a minority Government or had the wisdom of Merkel and sit down with the major opposition to work a program for the next 5 years for the benefit of the country. But no, our politicians are too stupid for that.

I am really looking forward to Brexit hitting the buffers with hours of the negotiations beginning and our EU partners making full use of the fiesta days and not bother turning up. Time to stuff May and her cronies.

Thanks Ides.... it will be all of us stuffed, not just May and her cronies.

 

[The Ides of March]

Thanks Ides.... it will be all of us stuffed, not just May and her cronies.

If the negotiations fall flat, we continue being members of the EU.

 

[fatletiss]

If the negotiations fall flat, we continue being members of the EU.

Not quite as simple as that Ides.

 

[The Ides of March]

Not quite as simple as that Ides.

It is unsettling for businesses at the moment at many levels, exchange rates being one of the prime concerns, trade deals being another and retaining access to market inside the EU. Tricky for all concerned but these negotiations cannot really begin until October, once the German elections are done and dusted.

 

[Beef]

It's not just you, I didn't know either. I know now and still couldn't care less one way or the other, and this highlights for me how difficult a process it is to try and eliminate discrimination by gender identity or sexual preference. By constantly putting emphasis on it, and mentioning people's sexual preferences as an identifying feature, it just puts into focus the fact that there are differences.
I long for a time when somebody's sexual preferences don't matter at all, to the extent that it doesn't need to be mentioned when describing a person. Heterosexual people are never referred to by their sexuality so it kind of irks me that anybody else is...it doesn't ****ing matter who somebody sleeps with, or identifies with and it is completely unnecessary to label someone because of their preference. Until we stop doing it, we constantly reinforce the existing prejudices by talking about it as though it is an important characteristic, which of course it isn't.
I'm just a simple soul, and I'm sure things like positive reinforcement and positive discrimination do have their value in trying to make society more inclusive and accepting I just can't see what the value is as it perpetuates difference.

Problem is,with people like the DUP it very much matters. You may not care if a person is LGBT+, but while so many LGBT+ are treated like subhumans by so many it is important for many who aren't to celebrate who they are.

You see it as LGBT+ person being labeled as such as wrong. But in many cases with the people I talk to in the community they see it as a way to finally be able to identify who they truly are.


To cut it short form many LGBT+ or LGBTQIA+ don't care if you don't care. Them "coming out" is seen as a two finger salute to all the bigots out there.


(Obviously some people do not wish to make it public news and some people don't want a spotlight on their sexuality, but many want to be loud and proud and celebrate being a person)

 

[TheSecondStain]

Problem is,with people like the DUP it very much matters. You may not care if a person is LGBT+, but while so many LGBT+ are treated like subhumans by so many it is important for many who aren't to celebrate who they are.

You see it as LGBT+ person being labeled as such as wrong. But in many cases with the people I talk to in the community they see it as a way to finally be able to identify who they truly are.


To cut it short form many LGBT+ or LGBTQIA+ don't care if you don't care. Them "coming out" as a two finger salute to all the bigots out there.


(Obviously some people do not wish to make it public news and some people don't want a spotlight on their sexuality, but many want to be loud and proud and celebrate being a person)

Agreed. When there is no more implicit bias then we can stop with emphasis of personal preferences. But stereotypes, fears and preferences are implicit in our personal make-up. I once wrote on here that I realised that I was racist to a tiny degree, and I explained why and how it had occurred and how I try to eliminate it in my reasoning. I was roundly supported here and advised that I wasn't racist because I was aware of it [thanks, but it's not really true]. It doesn't take from the fact that every day, people are biased with and/or without even being aware of it. What it means is that the forgotten or actively denied minorities, whoever or whatever they are, need to stand up and fight for their recognition. It's also why cultural globalisation is something that needs to be embraced, whilst retaining and celebrating our differences. Pulling out of the EU doesn't help this situation one little bit. Thankfully, the backward step that the world has taken over the last year or so is a mere hiccup. Cultural globalisation will eventually occur. It just needs the prejudiced to die off. I just hope I'm young enough to still be around when we get back on track.

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

Problem is,with people like the DUP it very much matters. You may not care if a person is LGBT+, but while so many LGBT+ are treated like subhumans by so many it is important for many who aren't to celebrate who they are.

You see it as LGBT+ person being labeled as such as wrong. But in many cases with the people I talk to in the community they see it as a way to finally be able to identify who they truly are.


To cut it short form many LGBT+ or LGBTQIA+ don't care if you don't care. Them "coming out" is seen as a two finger salute to all the bigots out there.


(Obviously some people do not wish to make it public news and some people don't want a spotlight on their sexuality, but many want to be loud and proud and celebrate being a person)

I take your point 100%.

I am just saying that, to me, being gay is not an issue at all.

I truly feel sorry for those that are treated like subhumans, this is after all 2017, not 1817 ffs!

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

As a conversation on another board went.

' Well thank goodness that's all cleared up ". ' confused? You will be. Tune in next week, for the next episode of UK politics '.

 

[Beddy]

I take your point 100%.

I am just saying that, to me, being gay is not an issue at all.

I truly feel sorry for those that are treated like subhumans, this is after all 2017, not 1817 ffs!

People "coming out" for being gay or Lesbian only irritates some people. Why do they have to announce it like they do.....? Their sexuality should be a private thing. Other people are more likely to accept things if they didn't announce it as if they were something special.
In this day and age do we really have to declare our sexuality? Does it really matter?
The Scottish MP has a right not to have her sexuality mocked or mentioned at all.
As others have said this is after all the 21st century not the 19th!!!!!!!

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

People "coming out" for being gay or Lesbian only irritates some people. Why do they have to announce it like they do.....? Their sexuality should be a private thing. Other people are more likely to accept things if they didn't announce it as if they were something special.
In this day and age do we really have to declare our sexuality? Does it really matter?
The Scottish MP has a right not to have her sexuality mocked or mentioned at all.
As others have said this is after all the 21st century not the 19th!!!!!!!

I could not agree more. Don't even get me started on Peter Tatchell!

 

[greensaint]

I take your point 100%.

I am just saying that, to me, being gay is not an issue at all.

I truly feel sorry for those that are treated like subhumans, this is after all 2017, not 1817 ffs!

Or 1971 for example. I still remember The Old Thatch pub in Maybush having the 'No Blacks, No Travellers' sign in it's window then. It was not alone.
I look back with a mixture of embarressment and puzzlement on some of the cultural norms during my teens and twenties. We have come a long way but need to remember how easy it is that such behaviours and attitudes become established and a part of everyday life.

The DUP are dangerous. Because they believe absolutely they are right.

 

[AberdeenSaint]

Watching Scottish soon-to-be-married-lesbian Tory leader Ruth Davidson trying to support May`s desperate alliance with the DUP is really cringe-worthy.

 

[Velcro Roy]

It's not just you, I didn't know either. I know now and still couldn't care less one way or the other, and this highlights for me how difficult a process it is to try and eliminate discrimination by gender identity or sexual preference. By constantly putting emphasis on it, and mentioning people's sexual preferences as an identifying feature, it just puts into focus the fact that there are differences.
I long for a time when somebody's sexual preferences don't matter at all, to the extent that it doesn't need to be mentioned when describing a person. Heterosexual people are never referred to by their sexuality so it kind of irks me that anybody else is...it doesn't ****ing matter who somebody sleeps with, or identifies with and it is completely unnecessary to label someone because of their preference. Until we stop doing it, we constantly reinforce the existing prejudices by talking about it as though it is an important characteristic, which of course it isn't.
I'm just a simple soul, and I'm sure things like positive reinforcement and positive discrimination do have their value in trying to make society more inclusive and accepting I just can't see what the value is as it perpetuates difference.

This post is bang on,it is two way though RJ,many of the folk who like to call themselves Gay or whatever have always said they don't want recognition but then go out of their way to tell us all.

 

[Velcro Roy]

Watching Scottish soon-to-be-married-lesbian Tory leader Ruth Davidson trying to support May`s desperate alliance with the DUP is really cringe-worthy.

Why watch?

 

[tomw24]

If the negotiations fall flat, we continue being members of the EU.

No, Article 50 was triggered therefore Brexit will happen within 2 years. If negotiations fall flat it will be bad for everyone all round. We will still leave, but we won't have any say on the terms of Brexit.

 

[tomw24]

It is unsettling for businesses at the moment at many levels, exchange rates being one of the prime concerns, trade deals being another and retaining access to market inside the EU. Tricky for all concerned but these negotiations cannot really begin until October, once the German elections are done and dusted.

Why? Germany is only one country within the EU. We all know you hate Brexit but I think you do need to accept it is happening and stop deluding yourself. The negotiations won't be delayed until October - there is only a 2 year window, and if they fall flat, Brexit won't just go away.