How Very Australian

In the wake of the government’s decision to ban gay marriage, two things stand out. One is the attitude of parliamentarians – that we don’t really care, because we’re not demonstrating, we’re not writing letters, we’re not speaking, we’re not constantly lobbying them. They therefore feel safe in discounting the views put to them by those of us who make our opposition known: we are seen as “unrepresentative” of the community.

The other is the attitude of many of our own community. They don’t want to get married, they don’t see what the fuss is about, and they call themselves “non-political”. As the owner of DTs said when he tried to shout down Rodney Croome at the Pride Bakeoff – this is not a political meeting, Pride is not a political event, we are here to enjoy ourselves, buy cakes and raise money for Pride.

He’s wrong. There is no such thing as being “non-political’. If you live under a government that treats you as a second class citizen, and you refuse to speak, write, vote or act to change that, that is a political position. You are taking the position that you accept things the way they are and you will do nothing to change them. By doing nothing, you are voting for the status quo. By saying nothing to our politicians, you give them permission to ignore us and discriminate against us.

DTs cannot be non-political – it’s very existence as a gay community venue in a predominantly heterosexual society is a political statement. Pride, likewise, is a political event, that says gays and lesbians exist, we are just the same as everyone else, and we are proud of who we are. It refutes the statements that come from moralists and pseudo-Christians, who label us as immoral or even evil. It says we’re a normal part of the human family. That is a political statement.

Raising funds for such an event is therefore a political event, and the venue where that takes place is automatically a political supporter making a political statement.

The statement that “I am not political” should actually read, “I am politically passive. I am a political bottom. I prefer to let other people make decisions affecting my rights and my life, and then whinge if I don’t like them.”

It is the statement of a child, leaving everything up to Mum and Dad; it is the statement of the colonist, happy to leave decisions to the Crown; it is the statement of the convict, leaving everything up to the prison governor.

How very Australian!