The following, frankly quite sickening, piece of direct mail, purportedly from someone against gays getting married, and therefore a ‘No’ supporter you’d have to conclude, has been surfacing on Social Media. Not to put too fine a point on it, they describe homosexuals as murderers, pedophiles (sic), rapists and child abusers. All of us, no less.
I asked Mothers and Fathers Matter (M&FM) @MFM_Ireland main spokesperson @KeithM Keith Mills what he thought on the matter, and would they condemn it. Though categorically denying it had anything to do with M&FM he initially suggested that he needed some evidence the source was in fact a ‘No’ supporter. Which, frankly left me speechless, but to move the conversation along, I asked Keith IF it were from a No supporter would they condemn it. To which he replied ‘Of course!’
He also said both sides of the campaign have ‘crazies’ and why you you give them airtime by publicising them. Despite the fact that @MFM_Ireland Mothers and Fathers Matter have spent much of their recent time publicising what I assume they would class as Yes vote ‘crazies’…their spokesperson @KeithM Keith Mills had nothing to say.
On the subject of showing each other respect and to have an even debate I then asked Keith the M&FM spokesperson @MFM_Ireland why hundreds of people, including myself have been blocked from commenting on the Facebook page. His reply was he didn’t know, he was too busy for such things…didn’t have the ‘bandwidth’.
When further pressed he admitted that while he didn’t moderate the page, he apparently knew that people were blocked and why.
Being one of those banned / blocked from open debate with the main No campaign organisation, and being a person who would never use nasty names or profanity (aside from maybe the odd ‘looney’ or ‘whackadoodle’) I would consider all my comments on their Facebook page, (before I was blocked) to be more than moderate and respectful within the confines of a debate.
So I asked him AGAIN as the main spokesperson for @MFM_Ireland Mothers and Fathers Matter, and a presumed person of influence, would he @KeithM Keith Mills, please go and get some proof from their Facebook page that I had shown anything but a spirit for debate, and the respect that would deserve.
I have, sadly and unsurprisingly heard nothing back. Clearly their call for fair and open debate is about as mythical as their posts that the gardai were investigating No Vote poster vandalism, which I condemn out of hand by the way. Gardai today said they’re investigating nothing of the kind as no one has complained to them.
It’s difficult to have a fair and open debate when the No campaign insists on stuffing one sock in my mouth, and one sock in their own ears.
Dave Wilkins 