Dave Rattigan is a British-Canadian writer and editor. Now an ordinand in the Church of England and a Franciscan in the Anglican Greyfriars, he has been writing about religion and LGBTQ+ issues for almost 20 years.
And it’s not such a revelation to a child what love is. It’s just a sad state of affairs when the ADULTS we all confront want to teach this child fear and loathing of those who express it.
I think considering how much violence and horrors that children hear about in the news, the pictures of joyous same sex couples getting married could hardly be called something that would traumatize and threaten them.
In fact, I know children would more likely be disgusted at being treated like they were stupid or still babies at the idea that they should freak out at same sex affection.
Remember the words of the song from South Pacific, Regan…
You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
His reaction at the end was priceless:
“I”m going to play ping-pong now.”
That’s the kind of response I wish everyone would have upon discovering someone is gay.
Well, okay, they can go play Xbox or something instead. 😉
This is so precious.
And it’s not such a revelation to a child what love is. It’s just a sad state of affairs when the ADULTS we all confront want to teach this child fear and loathing of those who express it.
I think considering how much violence and horrors that children hear about in the news, the pictures of joyous same sex couples getting married could hardly be called something that would traumatize and threaten them.
In fact, I know children would more likely be disgusted at being treated like they were stupid or still babies at the idea that they should freak out at same sex affection.
It looks like the person who uploaded that video has made it private now. Has anyone been in contact with him or her to find out the reason?
Maybe they boobed and didn’t get the parents’ permission to post the video. Or possibly they were overwhelmed by “haters.”
For those interested, the video is still available here:
https://www.todaysbigthing.com/2010/03/11
Not sure how long that will remain the case, since it’s still not clear why it was made private on youtube.
Remember the words of the song from South Pacific, Regan…
You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
I love that song! Everything about what it says and means.
Thanks, Marlene!
You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught
Babs singing that and “Children Will Listen.”