Kyle Rae mentioned that "he has no problem with a group supportive of gay Palestinians. But 'it’s my personal opinion that the Pride event is about fighting homophobia, and the group was not doing that. What they were doing is bringing in another issue into a queer community event.'(G&M)" I have no problem with Rae's opinion. I do wonder if Pride Toronto is going to ban QuAIA because it is not advocating for gay rights or against homophobia, should it do the same for those who support Israel but don't really mention gay Israelis?
Here is a photo of last year's marchers from Kulanu which is affiliated with Hillel. I see a few rainbow flags, some Canadian ones, and lots of Israeli flags. I wonder if this parade group was supporting Israel or gays in Israel. If it is mainly supporting Israel, then aren't these marchers just adding the "gay" tag to their group like others question about QuAIA? Bernie Farber marched with Kulanu/Hillel.
Update: Dr. Dawg writes his comments: http://drdawgsblawg.blogspot.com/2010/05/discrimination-that-must-not-speak-its.html
2 comments:
Toronto city council threatened to cut off funding to Gay Pride ($125,000) if they didn't ban the group. This was led by Giorgio Mammoliti, a mayoral candidate and no stranger to "hate speech" himself as he was the subject of a complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Commission for ant-gay comments.
This is all tied in with the religious right flexing its newfound muscle and the blindly pro-Israel agenda. Simply critiquing Israel's policy with regard to the Palestinians is apparently enough to make you guilty of "spreading hate."
Yes folks, The Armageddon Factor just gets more relevant every day.
Thanks for the comment, Fillibluster.
I have emailed QuAIA and have given the group some advice. I do hope that the group will continue to participate.
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