"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Tuesday 29 January 2013

What's It All About...Georgie

If history was made at  last week's Liberal convention, Toronto media has recorded it as "first openly gay premier" elected ?
The "openly gay" moniker comes first every time.  
Kathleen  tried to set  it straight. In obvious concern, she stated   "I'm not a gay activist"
But she couldn't win on that tack.
Kathleen Wynne won.. But the win had to be attributed to being "openly gay" 
It  keeps being repeated over and over.
Toronto media  does seem to have a hang-up.
When George Smitherman was brought forward, primped and polished, as candidate for Mayor  against Rob Ford and others, much was made of his gayness.(The noun is gaiety but even language has to be changed) 
Mr. Smitherman, a former minister in the former cabinet of the former premier, made a dramatic announcement  to appreciative applause of his marriage to his diminutive partner Timothy.
On one occasion, the couple were photographed by media walking hand- in- hand towards City Hall. 
On another, the candidate confided  difficulty  finding a baby-sitter 
for his newly adopted child, so that he could attend an all-candidate meeting.
The question of attendance at a Gay Pride Parade was slotted into  a political  debate. 
Rob Ford was  harried and harassed about why he did not attend
and would not commit to attend. Red-faced but determined, he stated his preference  to spend  time with his kids at the  family cottage on the parade week-end.
Like he shouldn't be allowed his preference
Now we have our first woman premier.
Her personal life experience is shared by most women.
She has children and grandchildren and obviously had a heterosexual marriage. 
Yet Toronto media  persists in tagging  the  election  as first   "openly gay" Premier
What does the term mean anyway ? 
Doing it in front of the horses?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Openly gay...out of the closet...publicly comfortable with their orientation.

Anonymous said...

2:42... Like no one could tell.

Anonymous said...

The Conservatives have already launched their first ' attack ads ' in which they make no mention of ' gayness'. They are about her being the same as McGinty. Which we don't know yet. But, then they must have had a similar one in hand in case Sandra P had won.