Equality In The Eye of the Beholder

Sorry my poor neglected readers, I can only pray you will forgive me. Those of you who are in msn and email contact may have some idea why I have been absent, and it is a reason slightly more than being in the pub watching football for the last week. (Although I have spent rather a lot of time there.)

I shall try and catch up with updates if you bear with me over the next few days. Hence if the dates on this post change, you aren’t seeing things. I’m just an obsessive type.

Something which caught my eye on the wonderful PinkNews.co.uk site was new research into Northern Irish views on the LGBT population. Apparently 86% of the population wouldn’t mind having a gay, lesbian or bisexual work colleague or neighbour. I can only imagine part of the remaining 14% who are dusting off their placards in preparation for the summer’s pride event.

Other shocking statistics show that city-dwellers are in generally more open-minded and concerned, as 71% of Belfast respondents think the LGBT community is unfairly treated. This is not the case elsewhere; no wonder many young gays aspire to move to the metropolis that is (not) Belfast and beyond.

I’m generally quite sceptical of statistics, but in this case it only serves to reinforce my views. Many areas of Northern Ireland are backward in their views towards homosexuality, and despite the many leaps and bounds from 30 years – there is still an unwillingness to address the issue of gay equality here.