So Who Is Erroll Naidoo?

Over a number of days recently, I was engaged in an email debate with Errol Naidoo of the so-called "Family Policy Institute", based in Cape Town. 

 

The reason for the debate? 

 

Mr. Naidoo is leading an attack on Cape Town Tourism over its support for the Mother City Queer Project, and the use of a catch-phrase advertising Cape Town as "the Gay Capital of South Africa". He also issued another call to fellow Christian fundamentalists and homophobes to target entities which he frequently accuses of "promoting the homosexual agenda".

In the course of this debate, Mr Naidoo played the card which has become expected of him - that is, he pretends to be nothing more than a "concerned citizen", a "pastor" and "faithful Christian" who is nobly "standing" for "Christian biblical values" while "doing the Lord's work". In addition, he said he "doesn't hate gay people" (despite the proof that he actually said the complete opposite only last year), in fact he says he has a "good relationship" with one gay man who has been his barber for 30 years, and whom he invites to family celebrations.

 

Yeah, right.

At the same time, he has been using his own religious views to fight against the equality and civil rights of our community since the early 1990's, and is probably the most outspoken and visceral opponent of our human and civil rights in South Africa. Well, aside from that other guy on Facebook last year who claimed to be calling for the return of the death penalty because he was a Christian and believed gay people should die for their "sin". Wow, seri-haas. 

 

Not exactly good PR material, that one.

WDJD (What Did Jesus Do) ?

Happening upon another debate on a religious political party Facebook group hate wall, I noticed somebody posted the following in a debate about GLBT and their party's dicriminatory policies:

"God gave us freedom of choice so if you want to be bisexual, be bisexual; if you want to be a pedophile, that is your choice;"

So who's a hypocrite now?

COPE Lied To Us!

Late last year I was part of a group that lobbied the new party COPE to include GLBT rights in its policies and manifesto. COPE was then making all the right human rights noises and astonishingly even invited GLBT to the table. It seems in hindsight, that it may well have been just another ploy to win as much support as they could, at almost any cost. Almost.

WARNING - Sense Of Humor Failure Imminent!

"Comedian Rowan Atkinson has criticised hate speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in a homophobic hatred offence.

The Blackadder actor, addressing a meeting of Lords on Tuesday, warned of creating a culture of "censoriousness" by removing free speech." - Pink News UK

I used to be, right up until this moment, a fan of Atkinson, be it for Mr Bean, Black Adder or Keeping Mum - but that is IT.

How is discrimination against sexual orientation in the form of HATE speech in any way different from racism? Is sexual orientation and gender identity not also an inborn trait like race? Hate is hate and I think Mr Atkinson has lost sight of that small detail.