The other side of politics I've been discussing tonight (see last entry)was The Equality Bill and the Tories. A brief discussion with @lawandsexuality through the medium of Facebook comments about where the Tories would likely go with Equality.

I believe that Cameron has put a veneer on the party. It looks very pretty, very reasonable, very positive, but I't still the same old Tories at the core. There is hope that a newer bunch of Tory MPs will flip the balance from the homophobic, anti-equality, brigade to a more enlightened heart. However enlightened the heart is, I still believe that equality will be affected. The official Tory party stance on the second reading of the Equality Bill was to put forward an amendment to scrap it.

I don't believe this is necessarily down to homophobia, racism, etc. but is instead a result of a fundamental difference of thinking. Whenever I've discussed this with Tories, the impression I get has not been that they're against people being treated equally - they're against the idea that we need laws to do so. I disagree. However, I do like their optimism. I want society to be at a place where the Tories are right and we don't need the equality laws.

I believe that equality is not an end in itself, but a tool to be used in Liberation. Equality legislation is not about giving queer/black/jewish/muslim/disabled/etc. people more chances. It's about giving us the chance to be good at our jobs AND be queer. To contribute to society AND be disabled.

That is why equality laws are important. To give those normally discriminated against the chance to say "look, I'm good at what I do, I contribute, I'm a part of the rich and diverse society we all exist in". To help us to liberate ourselves.

I believe that, ultimately, anti-discrimination laws should be self-obseleting. I want to be part of a society where people look at these laws and go "why would anyone treat someone like that in the first place?" I want them to be the answers to Balderdash's "Complete this law..." questions. But I don't believe we're there yet.

Nor do I believe we'll get there if (Manchester) Pride continues down the commercialisation slope it's on. Pride is our chance to be big, to be bold and to shout out that we can be great AND queer. Instead we show that we can be shallow, party obsessed, sex fiends who go then and wall ourselves off in the gay village away from the rest of society.

Pride is a celebration. Pride is a protest. Pride is a show of who we are, what we do and that the equality we fight for is valued and respected. Equality is not the hard part - Liberation is the hard part and it's the part we forget too soon.

Alex
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