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Being Clear About Stuff
One particular response, on a blog, to that podcast interview I just did made me realise that I hadn't been as precise as I could be. It hurt a great deal to be misunderstood to the extent of someone thinking I believed the exact opposite of what I do. It was my own fault for a poor choice of words. Having contacted the chap who thought I was a bigot (and I still don't know his reaction), I realised that I wanted to say this out loud. I don't think I'm a liberal any more, though I still sit, awkwardly, with the left. But I'm still a very liberal Anglican Christian. I think being gay is exactly the same ethical condition as being straight. I don't think it's wrong, sinful, a crime, bad, in any way shape or form, no way, no how, at no time, in no sense, ever. As I said in the podcast (but I'm not sure said blogger was listening by that point), I'd like to see full on gay marriage, performed by a priest, available in churches, and exact equality in every other sense too. I think sexual preference will one day be regarded as being as ethically neutral as whether or not one likes tomatoes. And I hope that day is soon.
Phew. Just for once I'm looking forward to facing protests from the right. I haven't had those for such a long time. Getting old.
Oh, and there is no reliable definition of what makes a character a Doctor Who companion. Just thought I'd slip that in. Nobody's going to pay any attention to that uncontroversial opinion. Cheerio.
Phew. Just for once I'm looking forward to facing protests from the right. I haven't had those for such a long time. Getting old.
Oh, and there is no reliable definition of what makes a character a Doctor Who companion. Just thought I'd slip that in. Nobody's going to pay any attention to that uncontroversial opinion. Cheerio.
Labels:
Doctor Who,
Gay marriage,
Paul Chooses Words Badly
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Bad luck Paul. It's horrible when misunderstanding means others *think* that you think badly of them, it's a total nightmare. I'll never forget being in a playpark with my little boy when he was about 2 and a little girl came over and said she wanted to marry him. He said he couldn't marry her 'cos she was black. I nearly died - it must have looked like I'd been counselling him at home, "U must only marry white girls when you grow up, etc etc" when in actual fact skin colour had never once been mentioned. I can only imagine he had been matching up colours in his head - and don't we encourage kids to do that with shape sorters and card games? Red to red, green to green, etc etc - but it STILL feels uncomfortable talking about this, as if I'm worried people will think I'm a latent racist and am denying it to myself! Argh. But yeah. Know exactly what you're going through.
'Ah dude I know you aint no bigot,' we all know you are a total sweetheart - and I remember many a DWB article you did, especially the banished 'the third Doctor to Earth to be a Tory.' That made me laugh out loud at the time. Keep it up Cornell - you're a foooooking star mate!
Thanks, Paul.
P.S. I was still listening and did hear all that.
[OBLIGINGLY TAKE TWO STEPS TO THE RIGHT]
[SHOUTS:] "You suck!"
[STEPS BACK TO USUAL PLACE IN THE MIDDLE]
[AFTER 2 SECONDS, GETS BORED AND STARTS AIMLESSLY WANDERING UP AND DOWN THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM...]
More seriously: Loved the podcast interview. Very rare to get something so relaxed and free-ranging in a published interview.
Just wanted to slip in that the Google ad for this post is now advertising gay marriage in Scotland!
I thought you were perfectly clear in the interview. Once again proves that people will hear what they want to hear, I guess.
Thank you, all. Lucy, it happens to all parents, I gather! Steven, I knew that at some point in this conversation, someone was bound to use the word 'dude'. Jae is the blogger in question, and I note you actually say that in your blog. I was just too freaked out to stay and read carefully. Thank you for your understanding. Paul B: I hope you find somewhere to sit. Stuart: one day I shall compile a list of what Google ads think I'm talking about at any particular point. Garpu: now hold on (why do I feel like I'm in Conan suddenly? Back, Garpu, back!), it was a genuine mistake on my part, and I can see why someone was upset.
Really sorry that happened, Paul. Anyone who knows you or your work even slightly knows you're not a bigot. Sheer crazy talk. Keep your chin up, man.
You know, I used to think that gay marriage was a weird idea, so I wasn't really for it. But in more recent years, I have decided that if something isn't going to change my life for the worse, I am not going to be concerned about it. If two gay people get married, it won't change my life at all, so why worry about it? If they want to marry, let them!
John, this was all worth it just to hear you use a Britishism like 'keep your chin up'! Thank you! And Smith, the chap being murdered on the other side of the road doesn't change your life either, so whether or not something is your problem isn't really the basis of a working morality.
Commiserations. As Mr Fork says, people hear what they want to hear. There's no defence against a thick audience, whether readers or listeners.
So it's probably just a reflection on my thought processes that I can't help thinking "I'd like to see full on gay marriage, performed by a priest" could have been phrased differently ...
I certainly never called Paul "a bigot". And I confirmed his support for gay marriage. That was not my issue.
My post was more an ill conceived "rant" made due to various circumstances that had built up over the course of a week which Paul was sadly the focus of (straw that breaks the camels back etc.).
Paul has made clear he didn't mean anything by what he said and I certainly meant no ill will beyond a rant to get my feelings off my chest on my little blog.
Oh come on... how can you say that liking or not liking tomatoes is ethically neutral? Tomatoes are evil! :-)
Here's another controversial "Doctor Who" opinion: it's not at all important that some episodes were "episodes" and others were "parts".
Yeah, Paul, after I posted that last comment, I thought I had chosen the words badly. Of course that shouldn't be someone's morality! I should have meant that *in that case*, I shouldn't worry about two gay people getting married because it wouldn't change my life in any way. I wish that fundamentalist Christians could see it like that. They think that if gay marriage happens, the world will end or something. It won't. Life goes on.
Here's another controversial "Doctor Who" opinion: it's not at all important that some episodes were "episodes" and others were "parts".
Blasphemer!! ;)
Well, there we are, it was a misunderstanding, and nobody's fault but my own. And thank you, Jae. I, for one, don't care about whether they're 'episodes' or 'parts'. Smith, we keep choosing words badly in this thread! You poor chap, it's like 'don't mention the war'. Sorry! And stay back, Garpu, back!
Paul,
I am a Christian who would probably sit on the other side of the fence from you over gay marriage but I want to say thank you for talking about your beliefs on the issue in such an honest way. I though it was very brave of you to stick your neck out for what you believe in and to express your Christianity in such a frank way.
I want you to know that even as someone who would disagree I respect what you said and the depth of your faith from which you said it.
I thought your comments on ecumenicalism were great too.
Peace bro
As the great sage Father Ted said, 'that would be an ecumenical matter'. (And let me gently add: 'you're wrong there, Ted'.) I'm feeling a little more comfortable with expressing myself these days, but was still only really motivated to do it by misunderstanding. About ninety per cent of my colleagues and fan friends are atheists, so it feels weird not to be that. And I'm rather itching now to get back to talking about Doctor Who and comics and stuff, and will post something shortly!
I regularly check out a lot of news sites that cover a wide spectrum of views, and Doctor Who was given a very good review from the centre-conservative National Review, and the review mentions you by name in a positive manner.
You're going to have to try harder if you want to get the right to protest you.
I was rather pleased to read that, in that he's an intelligent blogger who likes Doctor Who for good reasons. And he's absolutely right. I'm never surprised that the right enjoy Doctor Who, because, let's face it, our hero talks liberal but acts libertarian.
I often find that my words come out all of a muddle .. it must be a 'Paul' thing....
But kudos to you Mr C for going to such lengths to make yourself clear. That shows what a great chap you truly are, if you ask me.
*tips virtual hat*
Aww, thanks very much!
Ooh er, foot in mouth syndrome. I know that well. Must be a Cancerian thing.
*sympathetic pat on shoulder*
Its not long til you're up here in Manch isn't it? I'll be there waving from the back or something.
Oh, you're coming to the Literature Festival? Cool!
Yes, with a couple of OGers in tow. Don't worry, they won't bite.
Much. :)
Well, with all the biting, that sounds like a fun evening.
There's an almost delicious irony in this after you pulled me up last year for suggesting Jonas Armstrong and his merry me looked they'd fallen out of an Attitude photoshoot and where I perceived you might have been suggested I was a tad homophobic.
Obviously that was another misunderstanding whcih was easily cleared up and the two - almost a year apart - are a good reminder of the need to be very clear in what we write as intent isn't always clear.
Martin, goodness, I'd forgotten about that completely.
I may be wrong, but I've been thinking recently that people tend to fall into one of two camps: (1) those who regard sex as a pleasurable leisure activity with the germ-line aspect being a side-effect*, and (2) those who regard sex as the means of propogation which is thankfully enjoyable. Naturally, those are two sides of an axis with hedonists and puritans at the extremes, but my hypothesis is that homophobes are firmly on the propogation side.
Oh, and when it comes to tomatoes, I love those little plum ones in salads!
I love how people pop up on old threads! Good for you, Brax.