Interesting reading from The Australian, 2006.

I have empathy for the public figures who never found the courage to take a stand and be openly gay (male or female). But I don't have empathy for the abuse of young children who grow up to be traumatized and dysfunctional adults if they don't find the courage to seek help to heal.

Vicious cycle.

Here is an excerpt from the article entitled:

What's disturbing is the dark side of Alan Jones: The Right's campaign against Chris Masters is hypocritical, given its history of homophobia, writes Phillip Adams

"Gay men in public life are perennial targets of right-wing attack. I urged Don Dunstan to publicly profess his homosexuality, so as to spike the guns of gossiping conservatives seeking to destroy his premiership. And the Bill Heffernan-led crusade against the publicly gay judge Michael Kirby remains fresh in the memory.

Thus the Right's campaign against Masters reeks of hypocrisy. Let the record show that homophobia is, by definition, symptomatic of the worst brand of conservatism in political, religious and cultural life. It is not progressives who oppose gays (or women) in the clergy or the armed forces, let alone homosexual marriage. Left-wing support for homosexual law reform brands us anti-family, with John Howard using it as a wedge issue.

Alan's sexuality was never an issue for the Left but it was a huge issue for Alan. My conversations with him made it clear he dreaded the prim disapproval of friends on the Right. So he stayed in the closet."


http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/....news/2000s/2006/octo