Dennis Kavanagh today

[porridgecake]

Can I just draw your attention to his piece on rainbow lanyards? He sets his thoughts out so clearly, I think this piece clarifies the current situation very well.

https://substack.com/@dennisnoelkavanagh?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

'The demand for homophobia seems to outstrip supply'.

Nailed it.

Interesting and thought provoking.

I am straight and have a rainbow lanyard for my work pass. I was given it by a junior lesbian colleague who said it was a nice way to indicate to juniors in particular that I am an ally. I accepted it happily and have used it ever since but that was about 8 years ago and a lot has changed since then.

I may well now quietly change it for something non rainbow.

A rainbow anything to me, now, indicates homophobia and misogyny. It is a gut reaction and makes me feel both angry and sad. I find Dennis extremely articulate and easy to follow. As he points out, many of the people wearing these things have absolutely no idea of what has gone before in terms of gay rights.

He is very interesting. I have just read several of his articles. Thank you for posting.

Dennis is well worth a follow on Twitter/X if you're on that platform.

I agree. Rainbows are ruined for me now and when I saw someone wearing a rainbow lanyard at a recent hospital appointment it put me off speaking to the wearer.

TDEs (trans demands extremists) have essentially taken a great big steaming dump all over what the rainbow used to stand for.

Thank you OP. Dennis is well worth following (and has even been known to pop up on here)!

I won't touch anything rainbow now, it just signals misogyny and trampling all over women and safeguarding of children to me.

..and worse still, the rainbow wasn't good enough, they had to 'improve' it by adding colours, clearly Alhazen/Dietrich of Freiburg/Isaac Newton got it all wrong😠
Before somebody pulls me up on it: I believe the adding of colours to the rainbow flag predates the gender IDs movement, but I don't care who did it first, it's a misunderstanding of what the rainbow actually is.

the rainbow lanyards are useful to this extent-it saves time identifying who the twats are around here.

I have just realised there is a petition mentioned on the recent Queens Speech (Clive and Dennis) regarding private hormone treatment prescribed by gender doctors abroad. I will have a look on the petitions board and if it is not there I will add a link. (A fifteen year old girl was prescribed a massive dose of testosterone that could have killed her).

Yeah, they're right up there with pronouns in bio/email footer, as a reliable idiot marker.

I don't know. I respect his right to his opinion based on his experience. But I can't get up in arms about lanyards often worn by well meaning people. If I do I run the risk of perpetuating the whole microagressions mindset of seeking to be offended.
Rainbow washing bothers me more. Virtue signalling without significant constructive action. But even then, what am I going to do about any of it? I suppose gather my energy to take the actions I can and support those being constructive.

I think in general political and cause lanyards and such at work are annoying. I went for a massage once and the woman who did it for me has a big BLM badge on the back of her pants, as well as one for a smaller more local to me issue.

She is obviously allowed to support whatever causes she wants, but I didn't really need to know her politics.

I also think it can lead to weird scenarios where people think if you don't do these displays, it means you are against x, y, or z.

Link here.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/661751

I just don't think emblems or symbols of political or ideological beliefs should be displayed in the workplace or on the person of anyone working in a public service.

"Gay Rights should be more than a petulant gesture to Esther McVey."
^
Yes, exactly - how awful for gay people that their colleagues and healthcare workers didn't care enough to show visible "support" for gay rights until it became about enforcing their own rights ** to be allowed to show support for gay people.^

Our local library (Clifton Village, Bristol) has a bloody enormous rainbow flag, with the triangle in it for all the extra stuff, hanging over the reception area.
I hate it. Why is it always the LGBTplus crowd that have to be made to feel especially welcome?
But then I guess it's my fault for living in Bristol. (F**kwit capital of the UK)

But then I guess it's my fault for living in Bristol. (Fkwit capital of the UK)

Twinned with Brighton 😀

In all seriousness, what do they think a GP who isn’t wearing a rainbow lanyard is going to do/say? GP appointments don’t tend to start with the GP saying “What are you here for? By the way I don’t like gay people.” And if they do you should complain about them and they’d soon be out of work. I appreciate if the issue is related to your sexuality then it might make you feel more comfortable to know that you’d be supported but otherwise I don’t see how it is helpful.

I completely agree. If I am dealing with someone in their professional capacity I just want that, their professional self. I don't need to know what they think of gender ID, nor what football team they support, nor their political affiliation, nor whether they are pro-Gaza or pro-Israel; it's inappropriate and tribal.

I don't know if it's even that meaningful then. I have a family member who is a GP, he has lots of gay patients, and friends, who I guess he is "supportive" of, whatever that means. He also over the years had some weirdo gay (and straight) patients who were into sexual stuff he thought was bad/dangerous/creepy. They were quite happy to come to him as a doctor with the resultant problems, if he'd has a supportive rainbow lanyard I suspect that wouldn't have changed his view of the creepy sex habits some people had.

In any case, he didn't tell them he thought they were weird, he just treated their problems.

In general, I'd rather wear a plain lanyard at work and if I was going to be displaying a political affiliation it would be the colours of women's suffrage.

Unfortunately, it has been made very clear to be that to not wear a rainbow lanyard is to be viewed as a bigot. So it's easier to wear it than put an arrow over my head. We're not all idiots, just trying to avoid more trouble. I'm pondering if I have the guts to attach a dinosaur pin with the excuse that my youngest DC have given it to me. When the right people will know it's to demonstrate how much I love hoarding rights.

@PangolinPan if you have to wear it - or are coerced into doing so - then it has no meaning anyway, does it? So what's the point of it?