It’s the morality, stupid!

Posted on November 18, 2004

Since that terrible morning when the world woke up to the prospect of another four years of George ?Dubya? Bush as President of the USA, various activist friends of mine have been consoling themselves. None have yet taken seriously to drink, but I think some may have been sorely tempted.

It didn?t help of course that there was a brief realignment of the pundits? predictions, with a view emerging that the last-minute deciders were swinging fast to the Democrats. This false hope only made the final blow that much harder to bear.

The second Bush term may be even worse than the first. He now has nothing to lose. He cannot serve a third, so he will feel justified in playing for higher stakes now. With Hilary Clinton as a strong Democratic candidate-in-waiting, some Republicans may even write off their chances of winning the 2008 election, and put their every effort into making these four years a completion of their ?project?.

So how should we in Europe react? We should certainly make sure our own governments know that they will be turned out of office if they give support to any further advancements of the US dream of ?full spectrum dominance?. We should certainly keep working to build a society which can show that the American way isn?t the only way.
But there is another challenge which may face us in the aftermath of the Presidential election.

After all that has happened in Iraq, it would have been believable that the Presidency could have been decided on moral issues. Moral issues like going to war on the strength of a lie; like undermining the very basis of international law; like the brutal treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo; but no. I would call war, poverty and injustice serious moral issues, but when the American right gets moral it ignores these horrors and focuses instead on ?god, guns and gays?.

What should scare us all out of our post-election moping is that Europe?s very own religious right looks like it wants to get in on the act.

Just recently the European Parliament forced a withdrawal of the entire new Commission, rather than accept as Justice Commissioner (the job which includes promoting equality and human rights) the outspoken sexist and homophobe Rocco Buttiglioni. He had defended his statements as having been in keeping with his religion, and since this stand-off there has been talk of a new confidence among the opponents of the progressive, secular society being built this side of the Atlantic.

At the European level, issues such as the absence of god in the draft EU constitution have angered some. While here in Scotland it seems that those who consider themselves as moral spokespeople for the nation seem to be squaring up for a fight on a range of domestic issues. Among their targets are restricting access to emergency contraception, the removal of young people?s right to doctor-patient confidentiality, maintaining (and even increasing) discrimination in law against sexual minorities, the teaching of sexual abstinence, and preventing the sale of sex toys.

What is it with some people? all they seem to think about is sex, sex, sex.

Those of us who want to see Scotland as a secular and inclusive society must be concerned about this ?moral backlash?. But those who want to see a society guided by meaningful moral values should worry too. When we look over the water to the political culture that?s been playing the moral values card so strongly, do we see a society brimming over with peace, love, forgiveness and human kindness?

Do we hell.

NEWS RELEASE – Fluoride

Posted on November 16, 2004

GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MSP CRITICISES EXECUTIVE?S FUNDING OF PRO -FLUORIDE LOBBY

Whilst welcoming the Scottish Executive?s announcement that plans to introduce fluoride into the public water supply in Scotland are set to be abandoned, Green MSP Patrick Harvie said he was puzzled by the grants totalling £18,000 the Executive had given to the British Fluoridation Society [1].

Mr Harvie believes the funding given to the pro-fluoride lobby betrays a remarkable early bias towards fluoridation on behalf of the Executive and proves that they were never neutral on the subject, as Ministers claimed.

The MSP is now calling on Greater Glasgow NHS to categorically rule out introducing fluoride to the city?s water supply. On Wednesday he is holding a public meeting in Glasgow to give opponents of the proposals the opportunity to express their concerns to the Health Board [2].

Mr Harvie said ?Both the Scottish Executive and Greater Glasgow Health Board assured the public that they remained neutral on the issue of fluoridation and were simply inviting public comment in their various consultations. Why then, did the Executive grant the British Fluoridation Society £18,000 over a 2 year period? The society is not a scientific research organisation, it simply exists to promote and disseminate questionable information on fluoride [3].?

Mr Harvie said he was delighted when it emerged on Saturday that the Scottish Executive was to axe plans to fluoridate water supplies in Scotland. He said ?It is now time for us to draw a clear line under any proposals to mass medicate the Scottish public. The Executive have taken the right decision ? Greater Glasgow NHS must now also admit that fluoridation is not the answer to the city?s appalling record on dental health. I want the Health Board to make it clear to Glaswegians that they will not be raising this issue again and that greater effort will be put into alternatives such as maintaining good oral hygiene and tackling poor diet.?

Mr Harvie has today submitted a motion calling on Greater Glasgow Health Board to assure the public that they now have no plans for fluoridation [4].

Ends

Contact Fiona Barnes, Parliamentary Assistant to Patrick Harvie: on 0141 332 6405 or Green MSPs Press Office on 0131 348 6376

Notes to Editor:

[1] S1W-30479 – Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con) : To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was given to the British Fluoridation Society to promote water fluoridation in each of the last three years.

Answered by Malcolm Chisholm (28 October 2002): The Scottish Executive provides grant support to enable the British Fluoridation Society to continue to provide scientific advice to the Scottish Executive and to NHS Scotland on issues of fluoride.

The amounts awarded in the last three years are £8,000 in both 2000-01 and 2001-02, and £10,000 in 2002-03.

[2] Details of public meeting:

Wednesday 17th November, 7:30pm
Renfield St Stephen’s Church, Bath Street, Glasgow
Chair: Patrick Harvie
Speakers: Sheila Gibson, a research physician; Lloyd Jerome, a dentist; and NHS Greater Glasgow representatives. The meeting will cover the oral health agenda, access to dental services, and fluoridation.

[3] See the British Fluoridation Society?s website at: http://www.bfsweb.org/

[4] Text of motion:

That the Parliament congratulates the Scottish Executive on its decision to abandon plans to introduce fluoride into the public water supply, believes that the quality of research into the health impacts of drinking fluoride has been too poor to establish whether it is harmful or not, recognises that the European Convention on Human Rights clearly states that individuals have the right not be medicated without their consent, also acknowledges the appalling state of oral health in Glasgow, welcomes the proposals on proactive dentistry, maintaining good oral hygiene and tackling poor diet contained in Greater Glasgow NHS Oral Health Strategy and urges the Health Board to use the Executive?s announcement on fluoridation as an opportunity to categorically rule out introducing fluoride to Glasgow?s water supply.

Glasgay!

Posted on November 12, 2004

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, I was a youth worker. I supported a group of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Glasgow, the same group which had supported me when I came out years before. For the most part it was an extremely rewarding and fun job, and the young people in the group were helping to create an environment where their sexuality wasn?t something they had to hide from, lie about, deny or be ashamed of.

This was needed ? and is needed still ? not just because overt homophobia exists in our society, but because mainstream institutions and organisations very often fail to challenge it successfully, or just don?t know how.

So I was always pleased when we had the opportunity to work with ?Glasgay!?, the queer arts festival which is held annually in Glasgow. Glasgay! works both to celebrate the diversity of our society through art and performance, and to help our diverse communities to express themselves and be heard. The value of this work goes well beyond ?just the arts? ? this kind of work helps to build a society that sees its diversity as a source of joy and enrichment for all.

Now in its 11th year, Glasgay! is still going strong, and I am one of the volunteers on the board of directors. In practice, pressure of time means that I can rarely do more than attend a meeting once a month, so I take none of the credit for the festival?s organisation. But one small thing I can do is to tell the Big Issue readership about the festival.

Combining serious work with pure entertainment, this year?s programme presents professional acts with an international profile, as well as new names in theatre, music, dance, film, clubs, comedy and visual arts. With everything from saucy ballerinas, popstar puppets and movie premieres, to femmes fatale, Asian drag queens and familiar faces from the Scottish arts scene.

Much of the festival?s content will help audiences to question the meaning of the labels we give ourselves – male, gay, female, trans, straight, or any of the other pre-packaged identities which so many of us accept without thinking for ourselves.
But there?s plenty of frivolous fun to be had too, with comedy, music and cabaret to suit all but the most prudish of tastes.

Glasgay! reached nearly seven thousand people last year, including hundreds who came from outside Scotland just for the festival. It?s a younger audience than many arts festivals too ? last year nearly half of all those attending were first timers, and most were under thirty-five. This year, with performances in nine venues across the city, we?re all hoping that the audiences will be bigger than ever.

Scotland is a less judgemental place these days, when it comes to sexual difference, than even just a few years ago. When I was growing up there were few open discussions about sexuality, whereas nowadays no self-respecting soap opera is without a gay storyline. Tokenistic it might be sometimes, but it?s a hell of a lot better than complete invisibility.

But prejudice, bigotry and ignorance still exist, and still lead to exclusion, discrimination and hate crimes. For as long as that?s true, there will still be a need for creative expression about the experience of living with them. And even if we can cure these diseases for all time, there will still be a need for the kind of vibrant and exciting work which Glasgay! presents, to enrich our lives and challenge our assumptions.

Find out more about the 2004 Glasgay! programme by visiting www.glasgay.org.uk

One to watch!

Posted on

Last night I was almost left speechless when I was given the ?One To Watch? award at the annual Scottish Politician of the Year Awards. It was a little intimidating to be honest, but very flattering.

The work which people tell me has earned me this ?gong? covers issues like the loss of parks and public spaces in Glasgow, the scandalous M74 extension proposals, the nuclear weapons at Faslane, as well as promoting the Civil Partnerships Bill and the sexual health strategy.

I want to thank everyone who has supported this work, and everything else I?ve been doing since becoming an MSP. The staff and volunteers in the Green Party and in the Parliamentary Group are a talented, creative bunch of people, with a great deal of commitment to the work we share.

I think we also share a belief in the capacity of democracy, and of the Scottish Parliament, to bring about the changes in society which are so badly needed.

Ghandi is quoted as saying of his peaceful movement for an independent India “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” I think this applies very well to the Green movement too.

People have stopped ignoring us in Scottish politics. A few are still laughing, but people are starting to take us seriously enough to argue with us. That?s a great step forward, and if Ghandi was right we’ve just got one more step to go.

So I believe that the Green Party is ‘one to watch’ in Scottish politics, and I’m very proud to be a part of it.