Our guest today is the British journalist and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell who is perhaps most well-known for his work with LBGT social movements and advocacy. He’s here to talk to us today about homophobia, its history, causes and what can be done about it.
One thought on “The MWS Podcast 129: Peter Tatchell on Homophobia”
I think it’s good to get into dialogue with such a great campaigner, but it’s a shame he didn’t understand the difference between the Middle Way and compromise. Obviously one kind of absolutisation to be avoided in this issue is homophobia itself, but the other extreme might be the prioritisation of the value of human rights regardless of any other circumstances or values. For example, the record of some African countries like Uganda on LGBT rights is distressingly bad, but it wouldn’t be a proportionate solution to send in troops to correct it, improving LGBT rights but renewing post-colonial antipathy and killing people in the process. The Middle Way basically involves pointing out that no political value is absolute, and it’s for precisely that reason that prejudices, which are clearly based on absolutisations, need to be tackled at source. But positively valuing LGBT concerns and lifestyles isn’t a threat to anybody else or their helpful values, and in many respects the resolution to homophobia can’t be separated from the resolution of other kinds of conflict in people and society.
I think it’s good to get into dialogue with such a great campaigner, but it’s a shame he didn’t understand the difference between the Middle Way and compromise. Obviously one kind of absolutisation to be avoided in this issue is homophobia itself, but the other extreme might be the prioritisation of the value of human rights regardless of any other circumstances or values. For example, the record of some African countries like Uganda on LGBT rights is distressingly bad, but it wouldn’t be a proportionate solution to send in troops to correct it, improving LGBT rights but renewing post-colonial antipathy and killing people in the process. The Middle Way basically involves pointing out that no political value is absolute, and it’s for precisely that reason that prejudices, which are clearly based on absolutisations, need to be tackled at source. But positively valuing LGBT concerns and lifestyles isn’t a threat to anybody else or their helpful values, and in many respects the resolution to homophobia can’t be separated from the resolution of other kinds of conflict in people and society.