Banner day for Rodney
IRECALL speaking with Rodney Croome when he was a young man living on the North-West Coast of Tasmania.
I was working as a reporter in Launceston and had called him on the phone for a comment on a story about discrimination and homosexuality.
Rodney, the son of an Ulverstone dairy farmer, was starting out on his crusade for gay rights; a journey that now spans four decades.
His home town had been the centre of a series of ugly anti-gay rallies that I had attended as a reporter.
The hatred and revulsion expressed at these gatherings, which drew hundreds of people, was palpable. Rally speakers promoted a militant sense of meanness and riled up their audiences with graphic, heartless descriptions of sex acts.
I had not before felt such anger at a public gathering. It was scary. Most in the audiences were elderly, gentle-looking folk, and there were no pitchforks, but there was a volatility under the surface that felt manifestly dangerous.
Whatever the reasons for this intemperate mood — religious, cultural or ideological — the angry mob was quick to judgment and appeared far removed from anything good, right, peaceful or loving.
It seemed to me at the time that Rodney would be better off turning his back on the bitterness and the exclusion he faced in his home town to go somewhere he would be accepted as a gay man.
But young Rodney refused to run away.
Interviewing him on the phone all those years ago, he told me that as a child he had always felt different and, as a teenager, came to realise he was gay.
He told me of struggles, conflict, personal battles and blatant discrimination.
At that time in Tasmania, homosexual acts were illegal.
Rodney was not only an outsider — ridiculed, abused and discriminated against — he was a criminal in the eyes of the law.
His was a human story. And it moved me. I was astounded by his candour and his courage.
Imagine how many others have endured this discrimination; how many people through the generations have lived in fear and felt marginalised, outcast, pilloried and shamed.
Fast forward 30 years and not only have Tasmania’s antigay laws been ditched, but there is every chance Rodney will be free to marry next year, if he so wishes, with the blessing of a vast majority of Australians and the official sanction of the nation.
It is a remarkable change. OSTENSIBLY,
the samesex marriage debate that raged for the past few months has been about marriage, love and equality. Some argue it has been about religious freedom, free speech and the building blocks of civilisation. It has been many things to many people.
To my mind, however, this debate has been about acceptance and the removal of a socially debilitating stigma that has hounded too many people for far too long.
The same-sex marriage survey result is symbolic of a widespread desire held by the people of this nation to put an end to the shaming, oppression, abuse and officially sanctioned discrimination.
This debate has also highlighted a contradiction in some Christian faiths that should be addressed.
Some have cited biblical references and religious teachings to make the case that homosexuality is morally wrong, but the crux of the teachings of Jesus is, as I understand it, about love, empathy and acceptance.
Jesus apparently met, talked and dined with tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners and all manner of folk, without judgment and without recrimination.
His example stands in stark contrast with the opinions expressed in the past few months by some who have been quick to judge and eager to impose their beliefs on others.
I fear judgment and recrimination for daring to point out this contradiction, but it is so glaring I cannot ignore it.
I am no Christian scholar. I am flawed and far less than godly. I am of no special intelli- gence. But even I can see that the example set by Jesus contrasts sharply with some ideas put before the public in recent months.
WATCHING two men kiss, or two women walk hand-in-hand, or two grooms at a wedding can be confronting for those who have not seen it before. But, as the writings about the life of Jesus demonstrate vividly, doing what is right is not always the easiest path; in fact, doing the right thing often challenges us.
I am sure, as a society, we are mature and kind enough to accept others as they are, without judgment or recrimination.
The eruption of happiness, laughter and tears of joy after the survey results were announced this week spoke for itself. Love, acceptance and understanding had won the day, and our communities will be stronger, fairer and happier because of it.