Gay marriage:
a case study in conformism
by Brendan O'Neill (11 April 2013)
Anyone who values diversity of thought and tolerance of dissent should find the sweeping consensus on gay marriage terrifying.
I have been doing or writing about political stuff for 20 years, since I was 18 years old, during which time I have got behind some pretty unpopular campaigns and kicked against some stifling consensuses. But I have never encountered an issue like gay marriage, an issue in which the space for dissent has shrunk so rapidly, and in which the consensus is not only stifling but choking. This is the only issue on which, for criticising it from a liberal, secular perspective, I’ve been booed during an after-dinner speech and received death threats (‘If you’re dead, you can’t talk shit about gay marriage’). It’s the only issue on which both hard right-wingers and the wettest leftists have told me to STFU. It’s the only issue on which even friends have said, ‘Stop writing about it. It isn’t worth it.’
Read full article HERE
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See also philosophical essay:
by Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh
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