ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

Archives for May 2022

What is a journalist?

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What is a journalist? To my mind, a journalist is someone interested in finding out about a story.  A person who collects, gathers and sifts through the information and then formulates it into an article either for print, TV or radio – or these days social media channels. 

So what started me down this rabbit hole?  Over the last number of years, I have undertaken courses in journalism, and they were all good at teaching you the theory of journalism, and the law, but what was missing was talk about that spark that draws a journalist to put his or her life at risk for a story or fact.

Two separate articles, both from the Belfast Telegraph have made me take a step back and review what I have been doing.

The first was TV presenter Gavin Esker:  “Botched Brexit has shattered the idea of a ‘United Kingdom'” and the second, “There’s an easy way for BBC NI to defend its broadcaster against toxic sectarian slurs”.

 

What is a journalist?

Northern Ireland adrift

Gavin rightly highlights what is a common thread for so many in Unionism, that yet again Unionists in N Ireland have been treated as not even 2nd class citizens in the United Kingdom.  Yes, Boris (Johnson) and his like had a mandate to negotiate for the United Kingdon, but not to the extent of putting Northern Ireland under the ‘gravy train’.

…’ Unionists feel abandoned…NI came nowhere in Boris’s priorities.  He just wanted to say that he could get Brexit done’…

 

 

 

What is a journalist?

Has the BBC got lost down the rabbit hole?

 

In the second article, Gail Walker writes about journalists having their reputations being maligned by 30-seconds of the tap-tap-tap keyboard.  The article speaks about how the BBC is one of the great platforms for truth and justice, with exceptional journalists and reporters; however, it then leads to how the BBC needs to be more clear about how it chooses interviewees or topics.  What is their bias, and as she says

…are shows biased, are they balanced, are sections of the community under-respected…

But though some would say we should make more demands of the BBC as we are paying for it with our licence fee, the question has to be asked, can you just leave it at the BBC’s doorstep;   shou

ldn’t we be equally clear that all media including the ITV Hub, private radio stations, and social media have a duty of care as to be balanced with their reporting?

 

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Where Have All The Lesbians Gone

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Where Have All the Lesbians Gone is this excellent documentary is still on More 4 from its broadcast date and time (Thu 28 Apr, 10.30 pm).  It is an in-your-face documentary, exploring what a lesbian is, is the term ‘lesbian’ is right for today and is it an old dated term that carries connotations from the past.  As a documentary, it shows a wide range of wonderful women who are not frightened talking about themselves, their love and sex life, and the expectations of society – inclusive of which is how the media treats lesbians in movies, and soap operas, books etc.

The documentary explores the opportunities of lesbians to have children, indeed have and live a wonderfully fulfilling life.  Where Have All The Lesbians Gone premiered in the middle of ‘Lesbian Visibility Week’, and it brought to the screen with sometimes hilarious anecdotes about the real lives of lesbians. It didn’t shy from using swear words when appropriate to a story; it wasn’t done with gratification, it was done in normal speech.

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Where Have All the Lesbians Gone Where Have All the Lesbians Gone

 

 

 

 

 

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022

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police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-act-2022    This article was published in Openly, Reuters:

OPINION: Time to wipe the slate clean: New UK government measures address historical convictions under homophobic laws 

by Paul Johnson, Michael Cashman and Alistair Lexden
Thursday, 28 April 2022 12:30 GMT

The passing of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 means that disregards and pardons are available to any person who was convicted of sexual activity between persons of the same sex, subject to certain conditions

Professor Paul Johnson is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Leeds; Michael Cashman is a former Labour MEP and currently a Labour peer of the House of Lords; Alistair Lexden is a Conservative peer and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords.

Martin Luther King Jr said, “We are not makers of history; we are made by history.”  

Dr King’s words have particular resonance for LGBTQ+ people in the UK who lived through the final years of a very long history of homophobic laws that damaged and, in many cases, destroyed lives.

Although the laws that for centuries prevented gay people living full and happy lives have been progressively repealed, such laws continue to have consequences for some people today.

Among the significant consequences are the official records that endure for those convicted of, or cautioned for, offences involving same-sex sexual conduct that would today be entirely lawful. Such records have continued to harm the lives of people who are still living today and are an insult to the memory of those who have died.

Since 2012, the legislatures of the UK have taken action to address the painful history of the persecution of gay people and have introduced “disregard” and “pardon” schemes.

Although there are some differences in the schemes operating in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland their overall effect is to provide a mechanism for those living with a caution or conviction, for same-sex sexual conduct that would today be lawful, to have a caution or conviction disregarded and to be pardoned. In addition, posthumous pardons have been granted to those cautioned or convicted under laws extending back to the 16th century.  

Having a caution or conviction disregarded can be life changing. It means, for example, that a person will be treated for all purposes in law as if that person has not committed the offence. Moreover, the granting of pardons, aside from their legal status, is a strong, symbolic apology to each and every person who has been wronged.

The disregard and pardon schemes are therefore very important. They address individual suffering, and they also send a clear message to people in the UK, and in the wider world, that we have confronted our shameful history and said “never again”. This is particularly important at a time when, around the world, fanatical legislation is being proposed by those who wish to harm LGBTQ+ people.

However, until the passage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the disregard and pardon schemes in England and Wales were significantly flawed because they encompassed only a small fraction of the offences that, over the decades and centuries, ruined the lives of gay people. Crucially, the schemes did not include the wide range of service discipline offences that allowed members of the UK armed forces to be convicted for same-sex sexual acts long after such acts became legal for civilians – offences that often ruined the careers and lives of service personnel.

For the past six years, the three of us have worked together, with supportive government ministers – particularly Baroness Goldie and Baroness Williams of Trafford – as well as dedicated civil servants, to address the limitations of the disregard and pardon schemes and bring justice to all those who need and deserve it.

We were responsible, for instance, for ensuring that posthumous pardons for Royal Navy personnel were appropriately provided for in the Policing and Crime Act 2017, and we were responsible for provisions in the Armed Forces Act 2021 that extended posthumous pardons to Army and Royal Marines personnel.

Most recently, we worked with the UK government to include provisions in the 2022 Act that change the disregard and pardon schemes in England and Wales to encompass the wide range of repealed criminal and service discipline offences that once regulated same-sex sexual activity that would be lawful today.

The changes made by the 2022 Act to the schemes in England and Wales mean that disregards and pardons are available to any person who was convicted of, or cautioned for, an offence in circumstances where the conduct constituting the offence was sexual activity between persons of the same sex, subject to certain conditions. The key conditions are that: any other person involved in the sexual activity was aged 16 or over; the offence has been repealed or abolished; and the sexual activity would not, if occurring in the same circumstances now, constitute an offence.

To return to Dr King’s wise words, it is the history of generations past that made us want to work to bring about justice for all those mistreated by English law solely because of their sexual orientation. The provisions in the 2022 Act wipe away a terrible stain from our history and, crucially, tender a deep and profound symbolic apology to those who have suffered.

We continue to work towards ensuring that the disregard and pardon schemes in Northern Ireland encompass all the offences that once criminalised same-sex sexual conduct that is lawful today.

Openly is an initiative of the Thomson Reuters Foundation dedicated to impartial coverage of LGBT+ issues from around the world.

 

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An Openly Gay Man

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An Openly Gay ManDerek Byrne

Academic & Journalist

Irish Times.

Thu, Apr 14, 2022.

As an openly gay man, I am, of course, appalled at the idea that someone like me can be violently attacked on the street as an expression of vicious homophobia.

The recent horrific attack on a young gay man leaving the George bar in Dublin during the early hours of last Sunday morning left me wondering if it is indicative of a growing sense of resentment among some heterosexual men in Irish society towards their homosexual counterparts.

While there is admittedly a dearth of empirical evidence to support my thesis, even Tánaiste Leo Varadkar recently pointed to a growing sense of worry among the gay community in relation to a perceived increase in homophobic verbal abuse and physical assaults on our streets.

Research carried out by the Rainbow Project in Belfast between 2017 and 2019 highlighted a significant rise in homophobic attacks in Northern Ireland during this period from 163 to 281. However, it is understood that most homophobic attacks are not reported to the PSNI and, as a result, these figures are lower than actual incidents.

The research also showed that 150 of the attacks during 2019 were violent in nature. While it would not be wise to compare the attitudes towards the LGBT community in Northern Ireland, which had marriage equality thrust upon it by the Westminster government rather than by popular consent, it would be wise to acknowledge that homophobia remains a significant public health concern on this island.

An article published in the Journal of Homosexuality in January 2010, which explored heterosexual men’s anger towards male homosexuality, suggests that sexual prejudice most likely facilitates anti-gay aggression in men who are exposed to intimate or sexual interactions between two men. The article suggests that this supposition is consistent with the view that sexual prejudice and anti-gay aggression function to enforce gender and societal norms.

This would support the view that some heterosexual men in Irish society are feeling resentful at the increased visibility of openly gay men on the streets, in the media, online and occupying traditionally heterosexual normative roles; the office of the taoiseach and now Tánaiste by Leo Varadkar being a case in point.

It is clear that what we need is a greater understanding of how heterosexual men are responding to the liberation in recent years of homosexual lifestyles in Ireland. It is foolish to think that legislation alone changes attitudes, it doesn’t, it merely sets a standard for the kind of society we aspire to be. Changing attitudes can take much longer – generations in fact – and I would argue that what we are witnessing at the moment is evidence of the conflict that emerges as a result in the gap between legislation and the adjustment of attitudes regarding LGBT issues.

While advances in sexual tolerance have been hard won in Ireland, it could be argued that many of those who were not in favour of marriage equality, for example, may be feeling marginalised in a diverse modern Ireland. Far from ignoring and condemning these people, we would do well to understand them and to listen to their concerns so that we can respond to them with authority and, yes, compassion. This, I would argue, is equality in action.

Tolerance is a funny thing in that it has its limits. When we ask people to grant us equality it can come with a price tag. This price is an understanding that we will ultimately assimilate, not stand out in the crowd, not rock the boat too hard and not challenge gender and societal norms too much.

If the LGBT community are guilty of one thing, it is complacency and a false sense of security that the war has been won.

It is clear from the recent spate of horrific violence towards gay men that while we have come so far in Irish society, we are a long way from Kansas yet.Violence in all its forms must be vilified at every turn. Homophobic violence in particular assaults the very nature of our society in Ireland which in recent years has striven to be a beacon of inclusivity and diversity.

However, espousing these principles can also mean that we must constantly evaluate our values and, at times, hear those who may not agree with us and listen to those who may even wish us harm.

A truly equal society will address violence not only through condemnation but with an understanding that we may all be equal but we are definitely not the same.

Derek Byrne’s  article was triggered by two recent unrelated events in Dublin and Sligo on both of which the (Irish) & (London) Times report today…

 
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Miss Saigon (School Edition)

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Miss SaigonMiss Saigon (The School Edition) was produced last year in the Opera House, Belfast in July in the evening and  I was entertained by a superb cast of young people ranging, in age from Sam at 3 years of age, to others all the way up to 18 years of age.  The singing from all the principles was superb, with Nimh McAuley, Nathan Johnston, Louis Fitzpatrick and Conor O’Price providing outstanding performances that more than did justice to the story.

Miss Saigon is set during the time of the last days of America’s time in Vietnam, the relationship of GI’s with local girls, and the fallout when the USA’s government decide to leave Vietnam and in so doing leave so many local wives and children behind!  These children (commonly known as “children of the dust”) were not accepted within Vietnamese society, and for a long time, the USA didn’t want to know about them also!

Nathan Johnston’s performance as Chris and his relationship with Niamh McAuley as Kim is faultless, moving you along the central rollercoaster of their love, with the relationship brought to the abrupt end with America’s abrupt withdrawal from Vietnam.  Louis Fitzpatrick as John provides a lovely acting exercise from being the soldier who does to being the leader of the charity trying to provide support for the children left behind.

In this wonderful mix comes Conor O’Brien the Engineer.  He reminds me in some ways of George Cole as spiv “Flash Harry” in St Trinians.  The manipulator and entrepreneur who doesn’t quite have the class of girls to win out.

The supporting cast was equally wonderful, with all the set changes carried off flawlessly and as were their numbers.

In mentioning the set changes, I must also mention the sets, lighting and music which provided the perfect ensemble for the production.

I know the production is long finished, but I wish everyone all success in their futures, and if that is in the theatre or movies I look forward to seeing them in whatever role they have taken on.

 

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The State of Our Library

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Books

The library provides books which provide a backdrop to our psyche and normal identity, in 868 A.D. The Diamond Sutra became the first printed book to come out of the press and it is no surprise it was a book about belief (The text challenges the common belief that inside each and every one of us is an immovable core, or soul—in favour of a more fluid and relational view of existence.).  However, as the whole population gained access to education and thus the ability to read, and slowly over time ‘leisure time’ became accessible by the majority and not just the limited echelons of the very rich, so reading became a national past-time, and people started writing stories down for posterity, which had previously been verbatim and fireplaces or bedtime for children

 

 

 

Sion Coin, The Guardian Booklist editor, said:

Library

“You can tell a lot about a country from how it treats its libraries and its authors…”

Across the UK, we see libraries being closed, hours reduced for those left operating, and full-time staff cut or replaced by volunteers under the guise ‘if you want a library in your community, then volunteer and run it!’

Libraries for so many have provided a refuge for people with limited access to resources and the ability to attend schools, colleges, and universities during COVID, and other times.  The Workers’ Educational Association (WEA)  facilities (in both town and rural areas) have been decimated, indeed we no longer have a WEA in Northern Ireland.

 The question is ‘How do we want to be remembered in our future?’  The generation who not only destroyed the economy, but the planet and its resources, and also the one that forgot about its people and the need for our libraries.

 

 

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