I live in a small city of 100000 people. We are fortunate to have mayors and councils who are agreeable and make sound decisions for the city. Most issues at council are settled by concensus.
However, last week an issue came up and the behavior was far from agreeable.
Most towns and cities in this area have passed motions to ban conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is a belief that ones sexual orientation can be changed by therapy. Now the believers of this idea play fast and loose with the term therapy. This therapy in some cases can be very abusive . There isn't evidence that sexual orientation can be changed . If you threaten and scare the hell out of somebody they may say that they change their sexual orientation but it's only words.
Now the intention of towns and cities banning conversion therapy is good but they do not have any way to enforce the issue.
So getting back to our council. They were definitely not on the same page on this issue. One or two of them were very much against a ban on conversion therapy. Things got nasty before they decided to call the thing off.
One of the members of council is LDS (Latter Day Saints (Morman) and they do not have any tolerance toward LGBT issues. Just the other day one of their colleges pushed a ban on same sex activities...holding hands in public.
So a council that prided itself in being inclusive fumbled the ball. I'm not happy with my city council
We are much stronger if we include people in our communities. We are better people if we reach out to others. We have to be able to accept differences from some people but those differences should not demand that everyone conform.
One of the things I spent a few years of my life was teaching aboriginal people. We had the mistaken idea that we could make indigenous people into nice little white people. Look at the disaster we made.
Well stated.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteWell that should make for some interesting meetings:)
ReplyDeleteOur federal Govt. just tabled a motion to ban conversion therapy so the council has lost it's say on the issue.
DeleteI agree with what you are saying here. Conversion therapy is wrong and dangerous. Why can't people just leave others alone and respect them for being a fellow human! Besides, if we were all just alike it would be a very boring world in my opinion!
ReplyDeleteYes, we have to accept individual differences. It's what makes the world go around.
DeleteYay, Red! I agree with you 100% That’s a shame about your city council. We have a long way to go yet.
ReplyDeleteYour last sentence is key. There is so much more to be done.
DeleteBanning COnversion therapy should be a no-brainer. It is cruel and useless.
ReplyDeleteAgreed . Caring people should be able to put this issue behind them.
DeleteThe sooner we accept the simple fact that we cannot make everyone just like us the better. And why would we want to anyway?
ReplyDeleteGood question. This has been tried many times with the same results...failure.
DeleteI agree with you that this is unacceptable. People are free to make their own decisions about their lives and loved ones, so this seems incredibly backward thinking to me.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of sexuality has a long and sad history.
DeleteIt is a disaster. So much harm in the name of religion.
ReplyDeleteNow you've got on to an issue that would need it's own blog.
DeleteI don't know why it surprises me that a city council would take up such an issue. This is the kind of thing that should be banned nationally. Yes, we all need to be inclusive and respect the rights and differences of all people.
ReplyDeleteToday our government introduced a motion to ban the practice for the whole country.
DeleteHere is synchronicity or you, or perhaps my new word, synchrodipity. Shortly after reading your post, I came across this article about the government moving to ban it Canada-Wide. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/09/canada-lgbtq-conversion-therapy-criminalize
ReplyDeleteI noticed that this morning too.
Delete...HORRIBLE!!!
ReplyDeleteI do not believe in conversion therapy but I do believe that teenagers with confused sexual identity should be entitled to kindly professional counselling sessions that explore their feelings and try to get to the the root of things.
ReplyDeleteI think our schools have been involved in this for quite some time. At one time teachers were afraid to say anything because they could be accused of "making" somebody gay.
DeleteRevolting. Conversion therapy is just abuse, and this should be a straight forward decision.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Mormons, I'm pretty sure I'm on a blacklist in Salt Lake City for once suggesting to one of their elders that their so called religion was equivalent to the Mob.
We have many Mormons here and for the most part they are very productive people in the community. However there are some areas in their faith which are over the top on the loony side.
DeleteThat is absolutely crazy. Shouldn't even be up for discussion.
ReplyDeleteCrazy stuff happens .
DeleteYou summed this situation up the best, Red, that people are stronger as a community when they include, rather than exclude others they feel are different than themselves. We are not all the same, yet some cannot accept that. The governor of the state we formerly lived in (VA) recently banned conversion therapy in that state.
ReplyDeleteMy life has benefited from associating with many different people.
DeleteThat is awful! I think that if you can't separate your religion from politics, you shouldn't be in any type of political office.
ReplyDeleteWe look south and see why religion and politics should be separate.
DeleteConversion therapy reflects the kind of "science" that is all to prevalent in the USA right now. It is willful ignorance that is damaging to all.
ReplyDeleteI can't see why people who have a reasonable level of education can so willfully reject science
DeleteI agree! We should be moving forward and be more tolerant and inclusive, love our fellow human beings no matter what their differences are. One day I hope it won't even be an issue. That is an archaic way of thinking which belongs in the stone age.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't that long ago the things were in the very dark ages when it came to sexual orientation. As teachers and councilors we did not deal with sexual orientation .
DeleteOur understanding of gender & sexuality is improving and we need to make sure our individual attitudes match the science. Any other approach is blinkered and arrogant
ReplyDeletethings are improving but there's still a long way to go yet.
DeleteHello, Sounds Awful! I am not one to judge a person. I feel like everyone has their rights, do they want to change a person to be just like them, ignorant. I hope you are having a great day!
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age...unbelievable. The story of Alan Turing breaks my heart.
ReplyDelete"Rights" is a term I haven't come to terms with yet.
ReplyDeletei think it's too late now
ReplyDeleteso we should accept people how they are ,any attempt to stop changes in their natural behavior is waste of time and can cause unrest