Editor:
Re: “Two-gender-only signs cause a stir” by John Gleeson (Views, Feb. 26).
Mr. Gleeson seems to advocate a more laissez- faire reaction to the public denigration of sexual orientation we witnessed this week in Gibsons.
The sign carriers specifically said they were protesting the “OUT IN SCHOOLS” assembly held at Elphinstone last Friday. In other words, they were specifically denigrating some students. I wonder how the editorial would have read if Muslims or Jews, indigenous people, people of colour, or people with disabilities were being disparagingly singled out?
Ironically, this very week, The Globe and Mail quoted a federal government statement: “As Canadians we know that protecting and promoting fundamental human rights must be an imperative for governments and individuals alike …” The statement was made in the context of a story about how in the 1960s people in Canada were thrown into prison solely as a consequence of their sexual orientation.
Some 250 years ago, Edmund Burke got it absolutely right: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Rick Cloherty, Gibsons
