While Gregory and Mikey have gone after the publisher (who also publishes articles that are very supportive, some written by me) the real problem is the churches in this country who are exempt from anti discrimination laws and are permitted to refuse employment to gays and lesbians, and they are permitted to fire GLs if their sexual orientation becomes known.

This isn't just the fundamentalists - this is mainstream Anglican and catholic.

In NSW the law allows church schools to expel gay and lesbian students if their sexual orientation becomes known.

Don't go after the publisher who is publishing what is legal here. Nothing in the article or the comments is illegal. Go after the churches and the governments who continue to allow them exemptions, and give them permission to be homophobic and discriminatory.

It's these major religious organisations that both create and foster a climate of anti gay hatred,millions of their followers subscribe to the idea that homosexuality is a "perversion." Shutting down a publisher because he or she exposes their attitudes isn't going to change anything. And that's what OLO did - exposed the attitudes I bet many people don't know are perfectly legal in Australia.

"While Gregory and Mikey have gone after the publisher" -- Briar Rose

You'll find the target has always been the deeply offensive comments that were posted on OLO. If the moderator had removed them via his complaint mechanism there would have been no reason for anyone to write letters to the advertisers, or take any other course of action.

Why are you defending OLO? If the comment was targeted at blacks, Jews or women it would have been removed immediately. You imply gays are fair game.

Michael.

Mikey Bear
It seems to have been my fate this week to be pursued across the blogosphere by you and Mistress Kimbrella.

Mikey, the problems arise not in a publisher exposing homophobic attitudes and contesting them (as does OLO, both in articles and comments threads) but in the religious institutions and organisations that promote and perpetuate those attitudes, and are permitted by law to do so.

Exemptions are not granted for the religious organisations to indulge in racial vilification or employment discrimination on racial or sexist grounds. Only in the case of homosexuals are they legally permitted to do this.

This is why people don't write vilifying comments about other groups anymore. It is no longer culturally acceptable to do so because influential institutions are not allowed to do it. It flows from the top down.

You won't change the culture by silencing OLO, who support you, for crying out loud.
You have to change it at the source. We don't live in a vacuum, If you have millions of religious followers legally allowed to call you a "pervert" then that's going to continue to be the cultural norm until they are prevented from describing you in such a way, by law. And are prosecuted and fined.

And your crowing over having caused OLO and Young's difficulties do you no credit. In my opinion. Apparently you didn't do it on your own either.

"And your crowing over having caused OLO and Young's difficulties do you no credit. In my opinion. Apparently you didn't do it on your own either." -- Briar Rose

OLO published deeply offensive material by allowing a comment appear on the site and then failed to remove it after being requested to do so politely.

I don't care what happens to this site. I really don't. I just don't want to be told my partner and I are perversions.

If On Line Opinion and Graham Young are so insensitive to us as humans, then I hope his site dies in a screaming bankrupt heap. A better one will no doubt pop up somewhere else.

I really don't care what you or anyone else wants us to do. You go fight our fight if you are so motivated to effect change. You aren't the target of the anti-gay haters. Are you?

Michael

briar rose and MikeyBear

While accepting that OLO is the reluctant target of your remarks, your content indicates this is mainly a dispute between your independent blogs including LP. I am at a complete loss as to why the circus should be taking place here.

So what about some respect to others by continuing your two-way or three-way on your own sites? Accepting of course that not all of those sites are particularly welcoming to anyone who is not in lockstep, which is probably why the contest is happening on OLO. However in so doing you are abusing OLO as the host and its policy of freedom of speech.

No wonder other posters appear to be giving the thread the swerve.

Pardon? Which site of mine do you want me to take this discussion, relevant to this topic, over to? This site caused the problem. This site seems to be the best place to have the discussion. If you're not interested in the conversation, you are welcome to unsubscribe from the topic.