Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Scotland was named Bigot of the Year at the annual Stonewall Awards tonight, hosted by the UK gay-rights nonprofit of the same name.
O’Brien’s opposition to same-sex marriage and the Scottish politicians endorsing it is practically legendary: In August, he ordered for National Marriage Sunday, when all 500 of Scotland’s Catholic parishes were to “place a special emphasis on the role of the family founded on marriage.”
And O’Brien expressed “deep disappointment” that the Scottish government was considering marriage equality. “The Church’s teaching on marriage is unequivocal, it is uniquely, the union of a man and a woman and it is wrong that Governments, politicians or Parliaments should seek to alter or destroy that reality,” he said. “We promise to continue to do everything we can to convince them that redefining marriage would be wrong for society.”
Gok Wan, host of the dating game show Baggage, emceed the awards, which honor (mostly) organizations and individuals who have made a positive contribution to Britain’s LGBT community. Held at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, the gala event also saw comedian Sue Perkins named Entertainer of the year.
A panel of judges–including rugby pro Ben Cohen–picked most of the winners, but Bigot of the Year is voted on by Stonewall members and supporters. It’s gotten some negative press in recent years, as Britain becomes familiar with American-style political correctness. (Barclays Bank has threatened to cut its support of the ceremony if the category isn’t dropped next year.)
Even one legitimate Stonewall honoree spoke out against the dubious distinction: “Where I disagree with Stonewall in these awards is the need to call people names like ‘bigot’,” said lesbian Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson, who won Politician of the Year. “It is simply wrong. The case for equality is far better made by demonstrating the sort of generosity, tolerance and love we would wish to see more of in this world.”
How far would the queens at Stonewall—you know, the place the group takes its name from—have gotten if they just demonstrated “love” to the bigots who tried to throw them on the trash heap?
How far would AIDS activism have gone?
We have to be careful not to revel in the kind of demonization the fundamentalist right does when attacking us, but shouldn’t we at least be able to call out the haters?
“Bigot” is actually pretty tame compared to what we’d really like to call them.
2eo
I’m glad a tit like him is able to win the award for bigot of the year. We are a populace of 55 million [ish] and only about 20% are actually religious, which is brilliant.
Their relevance is fading, these halfwits have ruined century upon century of progress and we’re taking control year after year.
Also he looks like a paedophile.
MK Ultra
what a hard job, choosing who will be dishonored with “bigot of the year”. After all, there are so many and they all try to outdo each other. I Cant agree with the sensitivity to the word “bigot” though. Call a spade a “spade”. NIceness becomes weakness when you allow the competition to set the rules and define the terms. If we don’t call bigots out on their hate, if we allow them to mask it as “just a different opinion”, then thats what the public, whose opinion matters very much in these matters, will think.
Taliaferro
So the Church’s stand on marriage is clear. I was under the impression that the Church did not run Scotland but its government did. Perhaps it is time to remind the Church of that fact.
sozei
If conservatives and Christians are “bigots” for opposing homosexual behavior, then why aren’t homosexual activists bigots for opposing Christian behavior
2eo
I love how people like Sozei ask these questions and genuinely think it is a checkmate. The fact he even asks [or believes in what he says] shows he is incapable of understanding the word or the principles behind it.
In other words, I’m saying you are too stupid to be at the big boys table, here’s a bible, go and stone some young girls.
dazzer
@sozei: Cardinal O’Brien won the Bigot of the Year award because he behaved in a bigoted fashion. At no point has he acted according to the Catholic tenet of ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’. Instead, he has done whatever is within his power to denigrate and oppress gay people.
When he uses £150,000 taken from the collection plates of Catholic churches in Scotland to oppose civil marriage, he is not acting from deeply held religious convictions. Had he used that money to alleviate the suffering of children or feeding the poor or even allowing married Catholic couples access to counselling to strengthen their marriages, then he would be acting according to deeply held religious principles of both Catholicism and wider Christianity.
However, by using intemperate language to demonise gay people and their wishes for a place in a civil society, and by wasting his church’s money on a cause that he knows he won’t win – especially when that money (taken from hard-pressed people in his congregation) could be used for something tangibly good – O’Brien is not only displaying his bigotry, he is revelling in it.
I am not going to bother dealing with the overall context of 2,000 years in which the Catholic church has abused, maimed, attacked and killed gay people. Or compare that to the past 40 years of gay people asserting an equal place in society. On balance, sozei, I think gays have another 1,600 years of opposing the forces represented by Cardinal O’Brien before we can be accused of being bigots.
Daniel-Reader
“Generosity, tolerance, and love” didn’t stop the Nazis, who claimed to be Christians, from bombing London or murdering millions of people. You cannot rationalize with crazy people who think their religion places them above other people’s human rights. It doesn’t work with the Taliban, and it doesn’t work with anyone else who makes their living and political existence off violating other people’s right to have their own religion free from human rights violations (look at Iran – its government violates so many human rights it should be wiped out on sight if religious freedom really rules in the world; the Vatican violates the human rights of millions of people and also uses religion as an excuse. Well what about the religious freedom of the people the Vatican and its branches are harming?!).
Daniel-Reader
Why is Sozei cut-and-pasting things written by homophobic heterosexuals?
dazzer
@sozei: Jusat to clarify, this was an article about Britain in which a Scottish cleric is named a bigot by an English and Welsh organisation. America isn’t mentioned in the report.
I know it’s sometimes difficult to keep on-topic here, but let’s give it the old college try, shall we?
2eo
@dazzer: I don’t think Geography, History, Maths, Science, RE, English, Critical Thinking, IT, Business Studies, Literature, Personal Hygiene, Life and countless others.
Are strong points for Sozei. He can copy and paste, which puts him about the right level for someone who visits that site willingly. Somewhere between worthlessly comatose and clinically worthless.
Scott Johansen
LOL ever notice all religious people do in any comments section is copy/paste?
It’s the brain washing effect. They literally can’t think or talk for themselves. Really creepy.