Afraid to speak out.

Alegrias1, your post last night at 20.57 was very interesting & makes a very good point.

I totaly agree with you ExD.

Baggs

I think the idea is to get people who think homosexual relationships are sinful to get used to the idea that such relationships are 'natural'. This doesn't mean that the majority won't stick with heterosexual relationships which are, after all, still the best way to reproduce.

It's not homophobic to think heterosexual relationships are normal and that homosexual relationships, while natural to some people and not harmful to everyone else, are not "the norm". You only have to look at the rest of the sexual animal world to see that that is true.

Not quite. The neutered male cat of a friend was raped by a tom cat. Apparently it's quite common - they will go for anything in sight.

The OP is right - soon we won't be able to speak our minds about anything. I keep my mouth shut more often than I used to. I'd love to write my opinions on here on all sorts of topics but I know I'd either get my posts removed or I'd get shouted down. This isn't a free country any more.

Well the OP has changed her mind on some of what she wrote, so if ever there was a reason for reading the whole thread....

As I said above, if you think this isn't a free country, take a look at China.

Freedom of speech does not include the right not to be disagreed with.

Your free speech is not in any way impeded by the right of other people to use their right of free speech to disagree with you.

Alegrias1 and Flossiebo A bit late in the day but China is not the only country to attempt conversion therapy. I believe that in the States, the extreme churches also off such therapies.

PinkCakes

ExD I agree. I haven't watched any of the soaps for years now, as I felt they were all too "politically correct" with their stories of gays, domestic abuse, drugs, rapes, etc. I want to be entertained by programmes, not subject to the misery that happens in life.

How is it Gay Pride lasts for a whole month, yet Remembrance Day gets a couple of minutes' silence once a year?

There are church services you know.

Skydancer

The OP is right - soon we won't be able to speak our minds about anything. I keep my mouth shut more often than I used to. I'd love to write my opinions on here on all sorts of topics but I know I'd either get my posts removed or I'd get shouted down. This isn't a free country any more.

If you believe in what you (want to) say, then if anyone 'shouts you down', you can disagree. That's the good thing about living in a free country - as muffinthemoo points out, free speech works both ways.

When you say 'we' won't be able to speak our minds about anything', who do you mean by 'we'?

Re Corrie: I suppose that at the moment the members of the cast that we are seeing the most of are those who are least vulnerable to the virus. So the strongest will be younger men and women, who are the gay characters.

I don't watch soaps and haven't heard the Archers for 12 years. But, I am aware of the stronger stories because they are often mentioned in the news. The soaps have, I gather, dealt with not only gay relationships, but fertility, cot deaths, Alzheimers, other life threatening illnesses and suicide. If just one person watching a soap gets a degree of comfort from finding out that they are not alone in this world then that is a good thing.

It's not always easy to tell if someone is gay. I remember back in the early seventies I worked for a few weeks in a dry cleaners in Kensington. Shortly after I joined the business was taken over by a gay couple. After that, lots of good looking men came into the shop and my only thoughts were that they were a loss to women kind.

I do not feel uncomfortable , but I do feel that scriptwriters are under pressure to include every diversity , a bit tough for them to achieve this given the size of the population of Emmerdale & Coronation Street.

When a couple of friends of mine made a similar comment recently about the breakfast cereal families 'ticking boxes' with a black parent, a white parent, possible a gay couple and maybe squeeze in someone with a wheelchair if the kitchen is big enough (sorry). I said that maybe this was necessary until it wasn't commented on anymore, until we just didn't notice.

We have either a very vain or very lonesome dove in our garden, spends hours preening and admiring himself in front of the garden mirror.

The biggest fakery in East Enders ( don't watch it) is how they afford the rent. What a load of cobblers! They live in a house in the East End of London, and pay for it through a series of part time jobs down the market or the pub or the mini mart??? At in excess of £2k per month rent for a two bedroom flat in the real world, they must pay very well.

In answer to the question how many gays can live on one street , it's about as plausible as everyone working within spitting distance of where the live and eating out at every meal either in the pub/cafe/bistro. I have stopped watching Corrie and Emmerdale because the storylines are so stupid.

This isn't a free country any more. I am curious, who do you think is stopping you from saying what you want, when you want? Do you think there are spies in Sainsbury's? Are your next door neighbours reporting you to the Stasi? I am not being goady, but unless you are shouting on street corners about wanting blacks, foreigners, and gays to go home then frankly, nobody cares what we say or think, we are all entitled to express opinions as long as they do not offend.

Lots of things offend me, there is no 'right' not to be offended.

as long as they do not offend

I think people should be allowed to say things that offend other people; none of us have the right not to be offended. I don't know what you might get offended by and vice versa. We all get to argue our corner.

But people shouldn't be allowed to say things that cause division and sow hatred.

cross post Galaxy

Good point Alegrias1, that is more what I meant really. I am entitled to my opinions about, for example this 'sexually incontinent' Tory administration, it does not cause division or sow hatred. Apart from on GN of course

Exd Yes I agree with you. However, it is not just soaps now. Ethnic minorities make up just under 4% of the population in the UK. Ethnic minorities are therefore greatly over represented in many settings now.

Here we go.....

In the 2011 census, 13% of the population of the UK were from an ethnic minority.

Oh dear Alegrias1 Here you go.... ha ha

I think if someone from another planet was watching our TV programmes they would get the impression that the majority of people in the UK were from ethnic minorities, gay/lesbian or trans! I think advertising, soap operas, any panel shows including sports panels are afraid of being labelled racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic that they have to find representatives to cover all bases. What’s wrong with having a panel of all black or all white people or women if the occasion demands especially if they have a vast amount of experience to contribute.

There was me thinking how great it is that adverts are featuring mixed families - whether race or sex. I thought it showed what a tolerant nation we'd become.