LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
IT has pained me to watch the community I love and have been a part of for more than 30 years deeply divided based on one very wrong assumption.
The advertisement opposing same sex marriage (Gippsland Times 22/8) adhered to advertising standards.
It didn’t vilify anybody or incite hatred; and although some people didn’t like it, there was no reasonable justification for the newspaper to refuse it or to legally require the author’s name to be printed on it.
However, some people in our community assumed the newspaper was being biased because someone dared to print an unpopular opinion.
As the newspaper’s advertising manager Julian McIvor happens to be well-known as an assistant pastor, all fingers pointed to him and to City Builders Church.
What followed was severe and widespread online bullying, defamation and incitement of violence that targeted Julian, his family, our church and its leaders.
I have never witnessed anything like it before.
There were personal attacks, threats, the comparison of City Builders to the Nazis and ISIS, and even the suggestion of burning churches.
The incredible thing is that despite all of this hysteria, City Builders actually had nothing to do with the advertisement at all.
It didn’t originate from our church or a member of our congregation.
The manager who approved the ad wasn’t Julian, but the newspaper’s general manager Bruce Ellen.
But the keyboard bullies didn’t seem interested in these facts.
Even a week later, they continued to lobby for some kind of punishment for Julian, a gag order for our church and anyone opposed to same sex marriage, as well as restrictions that would prevent an ad like this ever running again.
To me the concern is less about same sex marriage and more about freedom, civility and maturity.
We are always going to have differences of opinion in a democracy.
The right to disagree and to be able to voice this should be highly prized.
What we need to learn to do is debate ideas, not attack people.
When we personally attack or intimidate, we are crossing into dangerous territory where people can begin to fight ideas with fists instead of words.
I don’t want to see anyone bullied gay or straight but the idea that an institution as foundational as marriage and family must be redefined without challenge to prevent hurt feelings does nothing to help manage the expectations of young Australians.
America’s famous civil rights campaigner and pastor Martin Luther King famously said, “You cannot drive out hate with more hate, only love can do that. Because love is greater than hate.”
When someone disagrees with you, the answer is not to hate or interpret it as hate.
Nor is it to suppress free speech in order to prevent disagreement.
The answer is to maintain a level of respect for people and show grace, even if they don’t share your views.
This is the trademark of a mature society.
As the postal survey on same sex marriage is carried out in the coming weeks, Australia will face potentially one of its most divisive issues in history.
Let’s not allow this community to descend into division or rumour again.
If we can disagree and still maintain respect for one another, that truly is when love wins.
