Now, before anyone reads this and the title and thinks “Oh, she condones sending death threats and cancer wishes”, I don’t – I strongly oppose any type of bullying and threats, even those made over the internet, because they are damn scary. However, when you read this story, I’m pretty sure you’ll feel as angry as I do.
For those of you who don’t have time to read the article, a newlywed couple are moaning because after they dressed up in wedding clothes, declared gay marriage to be an abomination and delivered a gift-wrapped package of a petition against gay marriage to 10 Downing Street – basically a wedding-themed smack in the face to gay people everywhere – people, amazingly, aren’t too pleased with them and have been expressing this over the internet – some of the vitriol justified, some of it inexcusably abusive, but it seems that they thought their openly provocative actions would just rouse a lively debate.
If they’d gone and respectfully delivered their petition, fine. Why gift-wrap it? Why dress up in wedding clothes? Where was the need for them to flaunt it in the faces of homosexual people, and those who, like me, are straight but respect that gay people should have just as much of a right to marry as everyone else, “We can get married but you can’t and should never be able to”? There was no need, and thus I think some of the vitriol they’ve received has been justified.
Obviously death threats and “I hope you get cancer” aren’t acceptable, whoever it is coming from and aimed at. I’m on the fence regarding “I hope you burn in hell” – I mean, they are religious, so they believe in Hell, right? And it’s not exactly hoping that they die, it’s just hoping that when they die, they’ll suffer for having such backwards, offensive ways of getting their views across, so I suppose that one’s alright. However, the article also mentions that there has been a Facebook campaign set up describing the couple as “homophobic”, and it is mentioned in a way that suggests the Facebook campaign is just as offensive as the hate mail. Sorry, but I believe that it’s merely stating a fact – the couple ARE homophobic, there is no doubting that, and so is anyone else who signed that petition. And as for the ones saying that they need to be punched in the face… well, as little as I like to condone violence, from seeing the pictures of them grinning like idiots in front of 10 Downing Street as though they’re somehow doing society a favour with their small-minded, intolerant petition, I’d be inclined to agree.
If they wanted a debate, all they needed to do was deliver the petition to Downing Street. Nothing fancy, no big spiteful shows – just a simple hand over – and they could have had their debate, and chances are that with a few exceptions it would have been amicable and well-reasoned. However, when they made this massive show of it – imagine how they’d feel if gay people presented a petition FOR gay marriage in the form of a march filled with same-sex couples wearing wedding outfits, bearing a crucifix with a model of Jesus on it holding the petition – they opened theirselves up to a certain level of hatred, and I personally have no sympathy with them – you reap what you sow.
the life of a moomin 