Doug PollardShameShame: the Top 25 Influential Gays & Lesbians Who Do Nothing for the GLBTI community
GAYS WHO REFUSE TO BE INFLUENTIAL
On this weeks Freshly Doug I asked the following question.
SameSame.com.au have opened nominations for the Top 25 Most Influential Gays & Lesbians.
Who would you nominate for The ShameShame Top 25 Gays & Lesbians Who Do Nothing for the GLBTI community?
NOMINATE YOUR SELECTIONS BELOW
Listeners sent on the following nominations: please use the Comment field below to add your own.
JOY LISTENERS NOMINATED
Top of the list, listeners chose:
Penny Wong, for being in a strong position in the Labor government yet refusing to use her clout to advocate for gay causes.
Bob Brown, for failing to press for gay rights, and not obstructing government business in order to advance our cause.
Other nominees were:
Alan Jones, for being Alan Jones
Justice Virginia Bell, for being a feeble replacement for Michael Kirby
John Michael Howson got votes both for and against
Molly Meldrum was cited for services to the bar at DTs hotel
In the Overseas category, for being poor role models:
Boy George
George Michael
And a few people asked, why should anyone be expected to support gay causes or speak out on gay issues just because they’re gay?
ADD YOUR NOMINATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
On this weeks Freshly Doug I asked the following question.
SameSame.com.au have opened nominations for the Top 25 Most Influential Gays & Lesbians.
Who would you nominate for The ShameShame Top 25 Gays & Lesbians Who Do Nothing for the GLBTI community?
NOMINATE YOUR SELECTIONS BELOW
Listeners sent on the following nominations: please use the Comment field below to add your own.
JOY LISTENERS NOMINATED
Top of the list, listeners chose:
Not changing the gay climate
Brown, Green, but not Pink enough
Bob Brown, for failing to press for gay rights, and not obstructing government business in order to advance our cause.
Other nominees were:
If only he would lift a finger
Doesn't ring your chimes
Justice Virginia Bell, for being a feeble replacement for Michael Kirby
Some adored him, others, not so much
John Michael Howson got votes both for and against
He may have said something but we didn't catch what it was
Molly Meldrum was cited for services to the bar at DTs hotel
In the Overseas category, for being poor role models:
Cleaner living
Boy George
ZipMeUpB4UGoGo Itsmaculture
George Michael
And a few people asked, why should anyone be expected to support gay causes or speak out on gay issues just because they’re gay?
ADD YOUR NOMINATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
More importantly, Wong is a cabinet member, with a voice and the power to influence policy and yet she has made it quite clear that she doesn't support queer marriage.
This is iresponsible, as we all know that she is queer, and yet she takes on this homophobic stance that only serves to promote the notion that she is a hypocrit. (Perhaps in posession of a pesonality disorder, self loathing and denial) and if that's the case she is more dangerous to our cause than the likes of shock jocks and fading media junkies.
Where is the action by them on our rights in a host of other areas????????? Where's the strategic lobbying??? Where's the lobbying inside the lesbian and gay community to get the Aids Council back doing work that will impact gay men in a way which drops the numbers of HIV infections instead of work directed at apologising for ever increasing numbers of HIV positive men.
Wheres the VGLRL's lobbying to get real and ongoing funding for the ALSO Foundation to continue its great work??????? Where's the VGLRL's lobbying efforts to get the Antiviolence Project real and ongoing funding to continue their great work addressing violence?????
Common Lobby, the ShameSHame list is for you until you pull the finger out and start doing your stuff, or hand the gig over to someone who can.
(...now if you ARE doing this work, why don't we know about it??)
Maybe Anonymous could tell us what he/she does to effect the changes they are bitching about.
BTW....Doug I agree with your article. Penny Wong doesn't deserved to be there, nor Portia. But people like Felicity Marlowe and the like. Who volunteer their time and passion to work towards the greater good of the GLBTI community. They are the real heros and the real people who should be honoured.
My 2 cents worth.
Rodney
Than Doug, in his position, will be canvassing gay rights, doing so whilst balancing his mandate from his electorate and from his party, and ultimately Australians.
Current Affairs
Rainbow Reporter
Re Anton Enus - he did speak at the Outgames Melbourne Conference (as well as take part in the tennis), so he's not entirely silent on gay matters.
Re VGLRL, they seem to have fallen asleep rather since Relationship Recognition was achieved, but their spin-offs - Love Makes a Family and Equal Love - are travelling well. Maybe their role is now as an incubator for issue-based pressure groups, rather than as a grab bag for all GLBTIQ issues.
Though personally I do wish people would not waste time on hate-speech and hate-crime legislation - Orwellian thoughtcrime notions. A crime isn't any worse for being motivated by dumbass opinions, and doesn't deserve differential punishment.
Re VAC - no doubt a very worthy organisation but in need of root-and-branch overhaul imho, perhaps a transformation into an advocacy body for all GBLTI health concerns, which are sadly neglected, underfunded and underserved in all other areas except HIV
Re going into politics, I have already offered myself to any party that will parachute me into a nice safe Senate seat, as I could do with a lucrative profession and large pension in my declining years, but sadly, to date there have been no takers! Perhaps my suggestion that I could be a sort-of socialist Barnaby Joyce puts them off.
There is a significant different in criticising a Gay Politician who is paid by the taxpayer and a voluntary organisation which is not. And anonymous (both of you) knows that.
And politicans, gay or straight, are criticised all the time, it goes with the territory. They have thick skins and they are big enough to stand up for themselves if they find Doug picking on them too much.
Why do I suspect this anonymous is related to the Labor party? Mmmmm......People who don't leave their names.
Anonymous - maybe ask yourself why?
Current Affairs
Rainbow Reporter
Penny Mathew GregAnonymous, you really don't have a sense of humour, do you? I do my job as journalist, opinionator, commentator, activist, whatever - which involves among many other things putting a rocket up the arse of pollies - and they do theirs. I have no ambitions to sell out like Peter Garrett and BECOME one of them.Except on very generous terms (joke).
The missing people from Doug's Shame Shame list are the ones who hear a homophobic or transphobic taunt and walk past saying nothing to challenge the person delivering the taunt. They are the gay or lesbian people who hear a racist comment in their workplace and snigger; they watch the gay barmen serve anyone wanting a drink until all thats left to serve are queers from a culture different to theirs, and say nothing.
Add to these people the ones that are prepared to slag off an individuals volunteering in gay and lesbian groups, and never lift a finger to help another human being, gay or straight.
Says it all really!