Stephen Berry on discrimination

ACT candidate Stephen Berry blogs:

I was an audience member at Auckland's LGBTI meeting last night. …

Unfortunately it was a poorly attended and largely dreary affair. In 21st century New Zealand politics, homosexuality is so acceptable as to hardly be an issue at all. We watched politicians from across the political spectrum largely agree with each other and Jamie set a new record for being in full agreement with Kevin Hague.

I'm not surprised.

Jamie's message was spot on when he said that there should be no discrimination whatsoever by the state for any reason. I was glad when he bravely pointed out that this shouldn't be applied to the sphere of individual's private lives. Everyone, every day, discriminates against others for a host of minor reasons. If you're approached by a man in a bar who you find physically unattractive you'd be likely to reject their advances based on that. I would hope nobody would suggest that you're obligated to accept someone's physical advances. The Human Rights Act could not possibly list all the different reasons private discrimination should be banned and it shouldn't even begin to start. Freedom of association is far more important than hurt feelings at your company being rejected.

The difference between state discrimination and private discrimination is crucial.

I'm a proudly gay man at number 6 on the ACT Party list. I don't know if being gay in itself is anything to be proud of, but I'm very good at it.

Heh.

Assessing some of the answers that were given at the LGBTI forum, I think the biggest danger to the “Rainbow Community” in terms of future discrimination is from itself.

Labour's Kelly Ellis not only wants discrimination against transgender people banned under the Human Rights Act but the impression I got from her address is that she considers jokes about transgender people to be a form of discrimination in itself. I have to ask, how much does she want to eliminate in order to spare her feelings?

Beware candidates that think removing rights is how you protect rights.

Internet Mana's Miriam Pierard suggested Parliament have a special representative from the “Rainbow Community” in Parliament (like a Gay Statutory Board?) and said she wanted feedback from others about the idea. I retorted it was a terrible idea and she said, “Well you don't want a Ministry of 's either.” Exactly Miriam! 

ACT are consistent!

What the aforementioned politicians fail to grasp is the total invalidity of collectivism. I encountered it myself when I took part in a debate at AUT earlier in the day. The pro-compulsory student group politicians were complaining that have lost their voice under voluntary student membership. I pointed at individual students watching in the quad and said that there is no way that student, and this student, and this other student all have one voice. They are individuals with their own hopes, dreams and visions for their own lives. They are not a blind block of drones standing in formation waiting for their leader to tell them what to say and think.

“We've all individuals.” … “I'm not!”

On a private social level, Government can never and should never try to eliminate discrimination. The only moral way to tackle discrimination at a private level is through social pressure and sanction. It is an approach I take myself. It will never be one hundred percent successful, but no measure ever taken by the state ever will be either. It is the moral way to deal with discrimination and leaves our right to decide who we choose to interact with intact.

Discrimination in employment and business services I view differently to discrimination by individuals.

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