An LGBT youth group attending a festival in Australia was asked to remove an “offensive” sign that advertised its mission to offer “support services for LGBT, same-sex attracted and gender diverse young people, their families and communities.”
The group Twenty10 had been invited to participate in the January 17 Rediscover the River festival in Parramatta, New South Wales, about ten miles outside Sydney.
But by late morning, the group was notified by a representative of Lord Mayor John Chedid to remove the sign “because it was ‘offensive’,” Twenty10’s said in a statement.
Rather that kowtow to the demeaning demand, Twenty10 packed its bags and left.
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In a statement, the Parramatta City Council claimed the request was only made “in response to numerous complaints made by members of the public.”
Oh that makes it better.
If the presence of an LGBT youth group is so contentious in the affluent, diverse suburbs of Parramatta, then it only makes the need for Twenty10 all the more apparent.
After the dust settled, Chedid sent a letter of apology to the group saying the request wasn’t based on his personal feelings, and that “it is regretful that these actions were taken and it is right to apologise for the angst it has caused.”
h.t.: Autostraddle
erasure25
Why did they even leave? They should have stayed and not do anything to accommodate bigotry.
Kieran
Rosa Parks must be so proud of them for getting up and moving in response to a bigot’s command.
Whatever happened to “Hell No We Won’t Go!” ?
Billysees
@erasure25: 1
@Kieran: 2
Both of you are absolutely correct.
Billysees
The post-event response was professional and becoming of this group.
http://twenty10.org.au/
marc sfe
@Kieran: You do realise this happened in Australia, right? You also must realise, most Aussies don’t know who Rosa Parks is so your reference would have little meaning to them. Realise also, Australia is still very homophobic, even in the greater Sydney area. I live in Queensland and it’s even worse there but do not make snap judgments based upon your American point of view. Aussies do things differently than yanks, and yes I used the lower case on purpose – take it as you will.
gppm1103
They should have stayed and refused to take down the sign. Stand up!
If the “complainants” didn’t like it…then THEY could leave.
Australia – you can do better than this.
Dominickj
@gppm1103: I totally agree with your statement..
multitasker
This incident is great publicity for the organization and will hopefully reach many of the kids who never saw the sign. It’ll also be the last straw for a kid who will give up and commit suicide.
Billysees
@gppm1103: 6
@Dominickj: 7
@multitasker: 8
You’re all very correct.
But still, the group didn’t want to cause a scene.
And so they meekly complied and now they’re more famous and well known than before and that’ll mean more exposure and their ability to help those that need help.
FStratford
Hey, at least the group is fighting back. Next year, the city council will know not to cross them. This year, every pro-LGBT person has been put on notice about homophobia in this suburban town.
!
Not a runaway success, but its a start. Remember, gay marriage is still illegal in Australia. Those descendants of convicts have a lot of improving to go. Yes I went there!
– From someone who strictly speaking, is not a Yankee.