This is not the first time
that tradition has been used to debase marriage. Down the decades, and even to
this day, there have been those who advocate that in a traditional marriage a
husband should be able to physically punish his wife; that a husband should
control his wife’s property; that a husband can use as he sees fit. And
whilst there have been those who would have it that all these thing are
perfectly normal and proper and traditional, any right thinking person would
describe such behaviour as brutality, theft and rape.
So what about those who
oppose gay marriage? The problem with their view point is it defines marriage as
a negative, as an act whose primary function is to deny and exclude the
humanity and love of others. But worse, far worse, is that the act of lessening
another person’s right to love and how to express that love is in fact an act
of questioning whether that person is fully human. Our blood and tears soaked history has shown
us precisely what results when a group of people are defined as lesser ‘Others’.
But what is particularly
toxic about the recent debate over marriage is that gay people, the very people
who traditionalist would seek to exclude and diminish, can no longer use the
word that any right thinking person would use and that word is ‘Homophobia’.
On the plus side there is
another marriage tradition that has no place for brutality, theft, rape or homophobia.
It is a tradition that defines marriage as a primarily positive act – the selfless
meeting and conjoining of two hearts. It is a tradition that many people strive
to adhere to, including those who do not go through a formal marriage. It is a tradition that believes that love begets
love and that is all – it should never be used to justify the lessening, the degrading
and dehumanising of anyone else.
Anyway, that’s enough from
me. Here’s what Panti Bliss so powerfully had to say about homophobia…
You might also want to check
out this article:
For more on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people inIreland
To keep up to date follow Risky Bizzness on @RBizzness
To keep up to date follow Risky Bizzness on @RBizzness
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