Rainbow Ghettos

1337Hax0r said :

Wow, all these posts and not a single one managed to aswer the question in the OP.
So I take it not only are there no safe work places for gay people, but lots of the posters here are homophobic.

Another conclusion is that no gay ghettos exist in Canberra because most gay people get on with the job like everyone else and dont carry on like idiots and make an issue of their sexuality in their workplace.

johnboy said :

I think the bigger point is that whoever you are, and wherever you go, you have to meet other people in the middle.

There are very few workplaces where a really cool gay guy, or lesbian girl, can’t be the hit of the party.

On the other hand if you’re a social failure it might be comforting to blame your sexuality.

This is a good point. I worked with a gay guy years ago who everyone hated. He said it was because he was gay. It wasn’t, it was because he was a whining, rude dickhead.

Most of the homosexual people I’ve worked with over the years have been cool. I didn’t even realise some of them were gay, because with cool people it doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Wow, all these posts and not a single one managed to aswer the question in the OP.
So I take it not only are there no safe work places for gay people, but lots of the posters here are homophobic.

Erg0 said :

This should be a rule: the merit of any and all deities shall be determined based on the grammatical correctness of their respective holy texts and disciples.

That kind of gives an unfair advantage to those religions whose holy texts formed the basis of the written language in various societies. By definition, whatever was in those books was grammatically correct.

Erg0 said :

HenryBG said :

Erg0 is giving us some sort of post-modern interpretation of logic and science: logic as a matter of perspective. Pfffft.

I do not have to word my assertion of the negative in any particular way, “there is no evidence to support the existence of God” is a waste of words when I can more clearly and simply state, “there is no God”.

Well, if you think that arguing from ignorance grants you some kind of authority then good luck to you. Where I’m from, an unproveable statement with no supporting evidence is called “opinion” – don’t confuse science with logic.

By calling “there is no god” an unproveable statement, you are asking for me to prove a negative, which is nonsense.

“There is no god” is a true statement until somebody proves it is wrong.

HenryBG said :

Erg0 is giving us some sort of post-modern interpretation of logic and science: logic as a matter of perspective. Pfffft.

I do not have to word my assertion of the negative in any particular way, “there is no evidence to support the existence of God” is a waste of words when I can more clearly and simply state, “there is no God”.

Well, if you think that arguing from ignorance grants you some kind of authority then good luck to you. Where I’m from, an unproveable statement with no supporting evidence is called “opinion” – don’t confuse science with logic.

Baldy said :

But if you cross two heterosexuals you get heterosexual.

Sorry mate but Gay is not a choice as much as you iwsh it to be. You stated there was no gay gene, I just said that that was an opinion and not the absolute you made it out to be.

“That’s just an opinion” is exactly how Homeopaths and anti-vaccine loons defend their idiotic nonsense.
You do not appear to be the full quid.

Would anyone really want a socially specific ghetto near them?

I would not want to have to go from the accordian playing, orthodox jew, Tongan of Scottish decent district to go deal with psuedo upper-class Do-gooding, lefty-socialist, gay Uighur supporting, uni-students who live in the Hipster district that you probably have not heard about just to get some milk and bread.

There will always be some sort of hassassment where ever you go. You will probably get harrassed regardless of sexuality, religion or way of life.

I am sure that you have heard these words before: toughen up and take it on the chin.

Erg0 said :

HenryBG said :

Firstly, me saying “There is no homosexual gene” is not something I have to prove. If *you* understand science, you would understand that I don’t have to prove a negative: if you have contrary evidence, preferably in the form of published science by respected researchers, present it and make your case.

If you’re making a definitive claim, such as “there is no homosexual gene”, you should be able to provide at least some evidence to support it – the burden is not automatically on your opponent to disprove your claim. “There is no evidence to suggest the existence of a homosexual gene” would be a better choice of words if you were going for the safety of the null hypothesis.

devils_advocate said :

Mysteryman said :

Funny how the same argument doesn’t seem to apply to people who say “there is no God”.

Actually the same logic does apply. “there is no God” is the null hypothesis, the clue is in the word “no”. So the people arguing there is a god would need to come up with proof of their hypothesis.

.

Precisely.
Erg0 is giving us some sort of post-modern interpretation of logic and science: logic as a matter of perspective. Pfffft.

I do not have to word my assertion of the negative in any particular way, “there is no evidence to support the existence of God” is a waste of words when I can more clearly and simply state, “there is no God”.

If I’m wrong, present your evidence.

I’m sure they’ve done lots of work with homosexual drosophila you can refer to.

devils_advocate said :

p1 said :

Just like those of the the Invisible Pink Unicorn and the Flying Spaghetti Monster, hence why they should be given equal weight.

Any weight that this argument may have had was lost through the use of “hence why”.

This should be a rule: the merit of any and all deities shall be determined based on the grammatical correctness of their respective holy texts and disciples.

p1 said :

Just like those of the the Invisible Pink Unicorn and the Flying Spaghetti Monster, hence why they should be given equal weight.

Any weight that this argument may have had was lost through the use of “hence why”.

Erg0 said :

Erg0 said :

Mysteryman said :

Funny how the same argument doesn’t seem to apply to people who say “there is no God”.

If this is intended to imply something in my direction then you’re waaayyyyyy off base. As my username would imply, my main allegiance in any argument is to the application of logic.

(Although I would point out that claims of God’s existence are not falsifiable, and thus cannot be scientifically tested)

Just like those of the the Invisible Pink Unicorn and the Flying Spaghetti Monster, hence why they should be given equal weight.

Mysteryman said :

Funny how the same argument doesn’t seem to apply to people who say “there is no God”.

Actually the same logic does apply. “there is no God” is the null hypothesis, the clue is in the word “no”. So the people arguing there is a god would need to come up with proof of their hypothesis.

Erg0 said :

Mysteryman said :

Funny how the same argument doesn’t seem to apply to people who say “there is no God”.

If this is intended to imply something in my direction then you’re waaayyyyyy off base. As my username would imply, my main allegiance in any argument is to the application of logic.

(Although I would point out that claims of God’s existence are not falsifiable, and thus cannot be scientifically tested)

Gay jeans are those really tight ones with the skinny legs, yes?

See below….

devils_advocate said :

Disclaimer: the above was a *joke* based on stereotypes I know not to be true. Thanks.

Mysteryman said :

Funny how the same argument doesn’t seem to apply to people who say “there is no God”.

If this is intended to imply something in my direction then you’re waaayyyyyy off base. As my username would imply, my main allegiance in any argument is to the application of logic.

Erg0 said :

HenryBG said :

Firstly, me saying “There is no homosexual gene” is not something I have to prove. If *you* understand science, you would understand that I don’t have to prove a negative: if you have contrary evidence, preferably in the form of published science by respected researchers, present it and make your case.

If you’re making a definitive claim, such as “there is no homosexual gene”, you should be able to provide at least some evidence to support it – the burden is not automatically on your opponent to disprove your claim. “There is no evidence to suggest the existence of a homosexual gene” would be a better choice of words if you were going for the safety of the null hypothesis.

I’m pretty sure that inheritance of neurological characteristics is a little more nuanced (or less well understood) than inheritance of haemophilia, btw. Autism would be a good example.

Funny how the same argument doesn’t seem to apply to people who say “there is no God”.

HenryBG said :

Firstly, me saying “There is no homosexual gene” is not something I have to prove. If *you* understand science, you would understand that I don’t have to prove a negative: if you have contrary evidence, preferably in the form of published science by respected researchers, present it and make your case.

If you’re making a definitive claim, such as “there is no homosexual gene”, you should be able to provide at least some evidence to support it – the burden is not automatically on your opponent to disprove your claim. “There is no evidence to suggest the existence of a homosexual gene” would be a better choice of words if you were going for the safety of the null hypothesis.

I’m pretty sure that inheritance of neurological characteristics is a little more nuanced (or less well understood) than inheritance of haemophilia, btw. Autism would be a good example.

HenryBG said :

Baldy said :

HenryBG said :

devils_advocate said :

If you cross two homosexuals, you don’t make homosexual offspring.quote]
But if you cross two heterosexuals you get heterosexual.

Sorry mate but Gay is not a choice as much as you iwsh it to be. You stated there was no gay gene, I just said that that was an opinion and not the absolute you made it out to be.

Ben_Dover said :

Baldy said :

Mate, all I can say is your words spek for you and what they say speaks volumes. Deny all you want but what you come across as is another matter altogether.

Quote me. Don’t make up or imagine you know me, quote my words and disagree with them as much as you wish. Don’t think that your fantasising about who I am, or what I think, or what I believe carries any weight. It doesn’t.

If you find something I write disagreeable, say so. You cannot disagree with things I have not written.

Baldy said :

ANd putting me down doesn’t change the fact.

If you do not wish to be put down, don’t start the trend by being the first to put others down. The first unpleasantness in the exchange came from you, by your fantasising over what I have experienced in life.

You know nothing about me, so don’t make up stuff, ok?

Your sheer hypocrisy in whining about me putting you down, when you started the unpleasantness by your crystal ball imaginings is mind boggling!

Not whining, just stating facts. There is a difference mate.

And you can hint all you want, but as I have said your words speak volumes about you.

HenryBG said :

If you cross two homosexuals, you don’t make homosexual offspring.

No, you get a hissy fit and some pouting, then they go away and bitch about you behind your back.

*boom tish*

Disclaimer: the above was a *joke* based on stereotypes I know not to be true. Thanks.

Baldy said :

HenryBG said :

devils_advocate said :

Being gay/bi/trans or whatever is (as far as I know) not a choice.

Well, there’s no such thing as a gene that codes for homosexuality, so it’s more behavioural than genetic, however learned behaviour isn’t necessarily “chosen” anyway.

You know that that isn’t really an argument don’t you. Claiming there isn’t a gay gene without any reference means it is nothing more then your opinion.

And cliaming your right because one hasn’t been found doesn’t prove anything either before you try that. they haven’t found a gene for a lot of known genetic conditions, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Just because they have mapped the human genome doesn’t mean they know all about it.

Here’s a hint, don’t use science to back up your arguement when you don’t actually understand it.

Good grief. Irony overload.

Firstly, me saying “There is no homosexual gene” is not something I have to prove. If *you* understand science, you would understand that I don’t have to prove a negative: if you have contrary evidence, preferably in the form of published science by respected researchers, present it and make your case.

Secondly, you don’t have to “map the human genome”(lol!) to observe the effects of genes and manipulate them, as humans have been doing for almost 8,000 years.

Not sure how much biology you’ve managed to ingest as part of your education, but it would appear to have been quite minimal from the gibberish you’re spouting.

If you cross two homosexuals, you don’t make homosexual offspring.

By contrast, if, for example, you cross two haemophiliacs, you get haemophiliac offspring.

At the most basic level, that’s how genetics works.

Baldy said :

Mate, all I can say is your words spek for you and what they say speaks volumes. Deny all you want but what you come across as is another matter altogether.

Quote me. Don’t make up or imagine you know me, quote my words and disagree with them as much as you wish. Don’t think that your fantasising about who I am, or what I think, or what I believe carries any weight. It doesn’t.

If you find something I write disagreeable, say so. You cannot disagree with things I have not written.

Baldy said :

ANd putting me down doesn’t change the fact.

If you do not wish to be put down, don’t start the trend by being the first to put others down. The first unpleasantness in the exchange came from you, by your fantasising over what I have experienced in life.

You know nothing about me, so don’t make up stuff, ok?

Your sheer hypocrisy in whining about me putting you down, when you started the unpleasantness by your crystal ball imaginings is mind boggling!

I’m currently studying social work and thought the following article might be interesting for (some!) RiotACTers – it is about lesbian mothers and includes discussion of the issue of ‘fitting in’. I found it ironic that lesbians who chose to have children (as opposed to women who realised they were lesbians after having children in a heterosexual relationship) found themselves being excluded from the gay and lesbian community and actually related better to heterosexual parents whose children were of the same age…

The reference is:
Rawsthorne, M. (2009) Just like other families? Supporting lesbian-parented families. Australian Social Work, 62(1) 45-60.

HenryBG said :

devils_advocate said :

Being gay/bi/trans or whatever is (as far as I know) not a choice.

Well, there’s no such thing as a gene that codes for homosexuality, so it’s more behavioural than genetic, however learned behaviour isn’t necessarily “chosen” anyway.

You know that that isn’t really an argument don’t you. Claiming there isn’t a gay gene without any reference means it is nothing more then your opinion.

And cliaming your right because one hasn’t been found doesn’t prove anything either before you try that. they haven’t found a gene for a lot of known genetic conditions, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Just because they have mapped the human genome doesn’t mean they know all about it.

Here’s a hint, don’t use science to back up your arguement when you don’t actually understand it.

Ben_Dover said :

Baldy said :

Reading between the lines doesn’t need a magic ball old chap. Just an understanding of the personalities of people who have and have not been repressed in their lives.

So you admit it is just a fantasy of yours that you know anything about me at all. “Reading between the lines” is just as hokum, and dare I say, as dishonest, as any crystal ball. Don’t do it, either debate what people write, or expose yourself as an cheat, it’s up to you.

Baldy said :

What you write puts you firmly in one of those baxes.

Which “bax” [sic] does it put me in? Which ever one of your made up imaginings you think it puts me in, is not as bad as being downright dishonest as you have been.

Baldy said :

you could cry that you have been repressed but it sounds like you woiuld either be lying or didn’t learn anything from the experience. If it is the latter then I feel sorry for you not being able to feel empathy towards others who have gone through what you have before.

So there you have it. First this numpty claims to know I have never been “repressed”, then, with a scintilla of light breaking through the door of honesty, he admits I may have been, but I didn’t learn “empathy” from it.

Evidence for his supernaturally derived concept of a total stranger’s life? Nil.

Mate, all I can say is your words spek for you and what they say speaks volumes. Deny all you want but what you come across as is another matter altogether.

ANd putting me down doesn’t change the fact.

p1 said :

Baldy said :

Simmerly stay clear of female orientated departments like Health…

Actually, Health seems pretty good at not caring to much whether you have a hoohoodilli or a chacha, and what you like to put it in combination with.

I know several people (up to quite senior levels) who like people with the same parts, and the fact I’m aware of their preference (I don’t tend to notice that about a person) means they must be pretty comfortable in this space.

Nah not what I meant. I more meant if you don’t like being bullied don’t hang around departments that have more of one type of sex then the other. The imbalance tends to lead to either toomuch testosterone or too much eostregen.

devils_advocate said :

Baldy said :

Yeah basically the mincing type tend to stick out more and be targets for bulling then the average everyday type of gay or lesbian. this tends to cause more of a reaction by the type of people who can’t stand others who are different and have no empathy for them.

Being gay/bi/trans or whatever is (as far as I know) not a choice. Being mincing or “overt” is a choice, and probably a bad one. Annoying behaviour, projecting stereotypes and fake affectations is a bad career move, no matter what the person’s other personal characteristics are. If people react badly to such behaviour I don’t neccessarily view that as discrimination. Partly because “mincing” etc does not seem to be restricted to gay people.

I would have to agree with you there. That type of “put on” behaviour is really annoying and doesn’t endear you to anyone. Same as “toppers” (to use a dilbert term). I usually avoid those type of people.

Little_Green_Bag said :

I don’t mind gays but I draw the line at cross dressers or transexuals. You are either male or female, you cannot be both.

Um, not sure why you think that…whoever told you this was the case, you can assure both them and yourself that it isn’t true.

No, really, where did you hear that from? I’m a little worried if that’s a generally held belief around here…

My ex missus used to be in HR for an IT company in Symonston. It took her less than a week to figure out the company owner was homophobic. He refused to hire anyone he thought was gay. He would give a hard time to any staff he found out were gay. He was even worse with transgenders. Some very well qualified people had their applications literally thrown in the bin.
My son, who I love and care for very much, is gay. It took me a while to get used to that. I hurts me to see the stuff he has had to put up with. This included one night I had to go pick him up from Civic because he was thrown out of a bar along with his boy friend because they had been holding hands. He was then set upon by neanderthals while security stood there and did nothing.
The worse thing, is that I used to be like that myself, hassling the gays at work and giving them a hard time to try force them out of the job. It is a harsh wake up when you realise your own kid has to face the sort of shit you used to deal out yourself.
Having seen both sides of this, no one can tell me gay and transgender people don’t face discrimination.
As for Defence, I’ve worked there, and I can assure you, they have a major (no pun intended) issue with homophobia, transphobia and dinosaurs.

devils_advocate said :

Being gay/bi/trans or whatever is (as far as I know) not a choice.

Well, there’s no such thing as a gene that codes for homosexuality, so it’s more behavioural than genetic, however learned behaviour isn’t necessarily “chosen” anyway.

devils_advocate said :

Being mincing or “overt” is a choice, and probably a bad one. Annoying behaviour, projecting stereotypes and fake affectations is a bad career move, no matter what the person’s other personal characteristics are. If people react badly to such behaviour I don’t neccessarily view that as discrimination. Partly because “mincing” etc does not seem to be restricted to gay people.

Yeah.
The above-mentioned homosexual-majority environment I once worked in included mostly blokes happy to refer to themselves and each other as “poofs”, with ALL of them brimming for contempt for what they called “F*******” (Is that word acceptable?), which is what they called lispers and mincers.

There was no pretense, offense, or other nonsense, and they were as politically-incorrect as you could hope for.

One of them died of AIDS (well, kidney failure, technically) and he used to get around carrying a cane – he used to hit people with his cane, saying, “Out of my way! I don’t have much time and I’m not going to waste any of it being held up by you!”. Champion.

Baldy said :

Reading between the lines doesn’t need a magic ball old chap. Just an understanding of the personalities of people who have and have not been repressed in their lives.

So you admit it is just a fantasy of yours that you know anything about me at all. “Reading between the lines” is just as hokum, and dare I say, as dishonest, as any crystal ball. Don’t do it, either debate what people write, or expose yourself as an cheat, it’s up to you.

Baldy said :

What you write puts you firmly in one of those baxes.

Which “bax” [sic] does it put me in? Which ever one of your made up imaginings you think it puts me in, is not as bad as being downright dishonest as you have been.

Baldy said :

you could cry that you have been repressed but it sounds like you woiuld either be lying or didn’t learn anything from the experience. If it is the latter then I feel sorry for you not being able to feel empathy towards others who have gone through what you have before.

So there you have it. First this numpty claims to know I have never been “repressed”, then, with a scintilla of light breaking through the door of honesty, he admits I may have been, but I didn’t learn “empathy” from it.

Evidence for his supernaturally derived concept of a total stranger’s life? Nil.

Baldy said :

Simmerly stay clear of female orientated departments like Health…

Actually, Health seems pretty good at not caring to much whether you have a hoohoodilli or a chacha, and what you like to put it in combination with.

I know several people (up to quite senior levels) who like people with the same parts, and the fact I’m aware of their preference (I don’t tend to notice that about a person) means they must be pretty comfortable in this space.

Baldy said :

Yeah basically the mincing type tend to stick out more and be targets for bulling then the average everyday type of gay or lesbian. this tends to cause more of a reaction by the type of people who can’t stand others who are different and have no empathy for them.

Being gay/bi/trans or whatever is (as far as I know) not a choice. Being mincing or “overt” is a choice, and probably a bad one. Annoying behaviour, projecting stereotypes and fake affectations is a bad career move, no matter what the person’s other personal characteristics are. If people react badly to such behaviour I don’t neccessarily view that as discrimination. Partly because “mincing” etc does not seem to be restricted to gay people.

c_c said :

Baldy said :

My guess would be if you are looking for a PS job look for a job in one of the less “macho” orientated ones like any of the Defence agencies or AFP or Customs where you get a large congregation of males who have to prove they are male by being overbearing and testoerone overdoesed.

Not sure the PC way to say it so I’m just going to throw it out there.

Why not a place like the AFP? Just from my observations there’s no shortage of tom-boyish right through to full on butch female members in ACT Policing.

Are you trying to say some occupations are not ideal if you’re the overt mincing type perhaps?

I wasn’t talk about for women in that instance but men as well. I have no idea what sex the OP is so i covered both.

Yeah basically the mincing type tend to stick out more and be targets for bulling then the average everyday type of gay or lesbian. this tends to cause more of a reaction by the type of people who can’t stand others who are different and have no empathy for them.

devils_advocate said :

poetix said :

This pathetic little incident made me think quite a lot about people whose sexuality or gender identification puts them really outside the norm. It must be quite excruciating when fitting in actually means repressing yourself to the extent that you have to become a different person at work. Or, if you do present yourself honestly, where bullies aren’t pulled in because everyone wants to side with the ‘normal’ people, because they are insecure themselves.

*sigh* welcome to the life of every single person who has ever worked in a professional organisation, ever. The need to present one’s self in a particular way at work is not limited to particular sexual orientations, and not limited to dress codes. Everything we do at work takes on an element of fakeness because that is the professional selves we show our colleagues in order to thrive and excel. It’s not oppression.

I would have to agree with this comment.

However I will also put in that some people have to hide themselves more then others. And I’m not just talking about the GLBTI sector but people from the other side of the spectrum as well.

Baldy said :

My guess would be if you are looking for a PS job look for a job in one of the less “macho” orientated ones like any of the Defence agencies or AFP or Customs where you get a large congregation of males who have to prove they are male by being overbearing and testoerone overdoesed.

Not sure the PC way to say it so I’m just going to throw it out there.

Why not a place like the AFP? Just from my observations there’s no shortage of tom-boyish right through to full on butch female members in ACT Policing.

Are you trying to say some occupations are not ideal if you’re the overt mincing type perhaps?

poetix said :

This pathetic little incident made me think quite a lot about people whose sexuality or gender identification puts them really outside the norm. It must be quite excruciating when fitting in actually means repressing yourself to the extent that you have to become a different person at work. Or, if you do present yourself honestly, where bullies aren’t pulled in because everyone wants to side with the ‘normal’ people, because they are insecure themselves.

*sigh* welcome to the life of every single person who has ever worked in a professional organisation, ever. The need to present one’s self in a particular way at work is not limited to particular sexual orientations, and not limited to dress codes. Everything we do at work takes on an element of fakeness because that is the professional selves we show our colleagues in order to thrive and excel. It’s not oppression.

Little_Green_Bag said :

I don’t mind gays but I draw the line at cross dressers or transexuals. You are either male or female, you cannot be both.

I draw the line at ignorance. People are born and develop the way they are, regardless of where you think some line should be drawn. Further explanation can be found at –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergender

Baldy said :

While I don’t agree with getto’s for anytype of people I can understand why you would be interested in looking for one.

My guess would be if you are looking for a PS job look for a job in one of the less “macho” orientated ones like any of the Defence agencies or AFP or Customs where you get a large congregation of males who have to prove they are male by being overbearing and testoerone overdoesed. Simmerly stay clear of female orientated departments like Health and Office of Women because the same can be said of those departments as well (except the testorone bit of course).

Best guess would be one of the agriculure or environment agencies I would think.

I hate typeing on this so called “Smart Phone”. My fingeres are too big and clumsy.

While I don’t agree with getto’s for anytype of people I can understand why you would be interested in looking for one.

My guess would be if you are looking for a PS job look for a job in one of the less “macho” orientated ones like any of the Defence agencies or AFP or Customs where you get a large congregation of males who have to prove they are male by being overbearing and testoerone overdoesed. Simmerly stay clear of female orientated departments like Health and Office of Women because the same can be said of those departments as well (except the testorone bit of course).

Best guess would be one of the agriculure or environment agencies I would think.

poetix said :

and the coloured font used in the post makes me feel like puking,

That was the only bit I liked about the OP. I thought it was cool.

Just wondering….. Would there be gangs in the said “Rainbow Ghetto”?

Would there be the Sharks’th vs’th the Jets’th?

The white Jets led by Riff in James Dean inspired outfits and the Puerto Rican Sharks led by Bernardo in this years pastels, Their hatred for each other is only surmounted by their love of couples choreographed street fighting.

chewy14 said :

I know that as a white hetero male, I have trouble with my workmates and the organisation when I show up to work wearing a pink frilly dress.

This kind of discrimination must stop.

But seriously, why shouldn’t you be able to wear that? If you really were a man (or a transgender person) who liked to wear such items, why shouldn’t you? (Perhaps less frilly, for work, but pink if you like.)

I was told that it was inappropriate for me to wear trousers at one of the more traditional government departments, because ‘women don’t do that here’, some years back. Needless to say, the next day I wore a borrowed suit with a loud tie. Problem seemingly solved. (By the way, it was a woman who told me about the illegality of trousers, the same sort who probably still dobs in other women for religious infractions in certain other countries and gets a frisson out of the stoning.)

This pathetic little incident made me think quite a lot about people whose sexuality or gender identification puts them really outside the norm. It must be quite excruciating when fitting in actually means repressing yourself to the extent that you have to become a different person at work. Or, if you do present yourself honestly, where bullies aren’t pulled in because everyone wants to side with the ‘normal’ people, because they are insecure themselves.

The word ghetto, as has been pointed out by p1, is totally inappropriate, and the coloured font used in the post makes me feel like puking, but I can understand how some people must be made desperately unhappy by the need to present themselves as someone who they are not. And that’s quite different from being ‘professional’ at work.

Baldy said :

I-filed said :

Without wanting to diminish the OP’s point, there are places where it works the other way. e.g., Good luck trying to get into the fine art industry, or much of the museum sector, if you AREN’T “rainbow”.

really? I know a lot of straight people in teh Fine arts community. Doesn’t seem selective at all.

Just to on my last post, I really wanted to know and wasn’t being narky, though that’s what it looks like from the comment.

I don’t mind gays but I draw the line at cross dressers or transexuals. You are either male or female, you cannot be both.

Ben_Dover said :

Baldy said :

Truly said by someone who has never been repressed in their life. Well done for showing once again that the majority of Australians think that “If it doesn’t happen to me then it’s not important.”

Ah, another member who uses a magic crystal ball for knowing what has happened in other people’s lives. How quaint, can you give me next week’s lottery numbers please?

Reading between the lines doesn’t need a magic ball old chap. Just an understanding of the personalities of people who have and have not been repressed in their lives.

What you write puts you firmly in one of those baxes.

you could cry that you have been repressed but it sounds like you woiuld either be lying or didn’t learn anything from the experience. If it is the latter then I feel sorry for you not being able to feel empathy towards others who have gone through what you have before.

PBO said :

ThatUniStudent said :

VYBerlinaV8_is_back said :

I understand there’s a very friendly employer in town, who manufactures and distributes disposable laptop packaging.

I know where you live you scumbag!

I’m betting its in the grey area of Canberra

Ah. Suddenly I understand that other comment on this post about laptop bags. Makes sense now.

I-filed said :

Without wanting to diminish the OP’s point, there are places where it works the other way. e.g., Good luck trying to get into the fine art industry, or much of the museum sector, if you AREN’T “rainbow”.

really? I know a lot of straight people in teh Fine arts community. Doesn’t seem selective at all.

ThatUniStudent said :

VYBerlinaV8_is_back said :

I understand there’s a very friendly employer in town, who manufactures and distributes disposable laptop packaging.

I know where you live you scumbag!

I’m betting its in the grey area of Canberra

I-filed said :

Without wanting to diminish the OP’s point, there are places where it works the other way. e.g., Good luck trying to get into the fine art industry, or much of the museum sector, if you AREN’T “rainbow”.

Heh, my sister joined one such industry. In her final year of studies, she had to do a unit called something like, “Successful Dealing with Homosexuals”.

Personally, I worked for a couple of years in a workplace where the boss liked his schoolboys in uniform and had recruited a good number of similarly-minded blokes into the fold. They certainly weren’t shy of doing exactly as Devil’s Advocate decries, and giving blow-by-blow descriptions of their dissolute weekends.

On the plus side, their strength in numbers allowed me to call them disgusting perverts without generating any “I’m offended” nonsense.

On a second plus side, turning up to work drunk barely raised an eyebrow.

And on a third plus side, the female minority that worked there didn’t get much action due to the dearth of suitable blokes, so there was almost always one of them up for it.

ThatUniStudent said :

VYBerlinaV8_is_back said :

I understand there’s a very friendly employer in town, who manufactures and distributes disposable laptop packaging.

I know where you live you scumbag!

Bring it AWWWWWN!

🙂

VYBerlinaV8_is_back said :

I understand there’s a very friendly employer in town, who manufactures and distributes disposable laptop packaging.

I know where you live you scumbag!

Without wanting to diminish the OP’s point, there are places where it works the other way. e.g., Good luck trying to get into the fine art industry, or much of the museum sector, if you AREN’T “rainbow”.

Baldy said :

Truly said by someone who has never been repressed in their life. Well done for showing once again that the majority of Australians think that “If it doesn’t happen to me then it’s not important.”

Ah, another member who uses a magic crystal ball for knowing what has happened in other people’s lives. How quaint, can you give me next week’s lottery numbers please?

I don’t get why there needs to be acceptance of anything in the workplace.

The workplace is not for discussing people’s sexual preferences. I don’t come in each morning and regale my coworkers of how many chicks I nailed on the weekend. And I don’t expect people to subject me to their stories.

I may share details of my life with some coworkers, but only those who have become friends as well. By definition, these people are not going to judge me for my lifestyle choices, because if they were judgemental or disapproving I would not have chosen to have some kind of personal relationship with them (they reciprocate by telling me details which include personal information, which I’m happy to hear).

In the past I’ve been oblivious to coworker’s orientations, somtimes due to use of non-gender specific pronouns such as “partner”, but mainly because I don’t care.

Clearly I have an obligation not to actively discriminate on the basis of non-work related matters (which take place out of the workplace anyway). But I’m not sure I have an obligation to be “accepting” (whatever that means) because really it’s irrellevant to work output and if people get the job done I don’t care what else they do.

Is it too much to expect that some areas of life are quarantined from mainsteam work discussions? Or am I missing something?

Rollersk8r said :

Good to see people are shocked and appalled by unsubstatiated rumours

Rumours which I suggest are either false or massively exaggerated.

I am a gay male who has happily been employed in the public service for a number of years. I have never experienced any form of discrimination, nor heard of any happening to any of my many gay/lesbian friends. This includes people who work outside the government in various jobs like hospitality, trades, etc.

Yes, I’m sure it does happen, and some industries are probably much worse than others. But if it were to happen in a professional office environment while employed in the public service, it will be dealt with appropriately as soon as you speak to the right person (ie. manager).

Baldy said :

PBO said :

I dont know much about ghetto’s aside from what elvis taught me through song, but I do know of a white cloth flimsy bag shop located somewhere in Canberra (they keep the location a secret so Apple store employees dont come in and steal their bags). It does not appear on any maps but there are many ways to get there, and they all seem to have a limited number of times they can be used:

1. Through the Closet/Wardrobe.
2. Through blowing Susan’s horn (from Prince Caspian, not a sexual reference)
3. The Magician’s rings (Once again, not a sexual refernce)
4. Being pulled back in through no action of your own – like in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
5. Through a magic door
6. One entrance can be reached on foot by passing through The Leaky Cauldron (a wizarding pub/inn). The inn, which is invisible to Muggles, lies in between a bookshop and a music shop. To enter, one must go through The Leaky Cauldron to a rear courtyard and tap a brick in the wall, found by counting three up and two across, three times. In the film, the tapping of 5 bricks around the hole in the wall opens the doorway. It contains Gringotts Bank which is run by goblins, book shops, Ollivander’s magical white cloth bag shop, broom shops, apothecaries and many others.

Maybe if you are lucky you might run into a leprechaun, Not trying to stereotype, but they spend all their time busily making shoes, sewing white cloth bags and storing away all their coins in hidden pots of gold at the end of said rainbow’s. Thats where i would start looking as the Irish are notorious for making ghetto’s.

WHy do I have a feeling this is a reference to another thread somewhere else on this website?

Because it is?

PBO said :

I dont know much about ghetto’s aside from what elvis taught me through song, but I do know of a white cloth flimsy bag shop located somewhere in Canberra (they keep the location a secret so Apple store employees dont come in and steal their bags). It does not appear on any maps but there are many ways to get there, and they all seem to have a limited number of times they can be used:

1. Through the Closet/Wardrobe.
2. Through blowing Susan’s horn (from Prince Caspian, not a sexual reference)
3. The Magician’s rings (Once again, not a sexual refernce)
4. Being pulled back in through no action of your own – like in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
5. Through a magic door
6. One entrance can be reached on foot by passing through The Leaky Cauldron (a wizarding pub/inn). The inn, which is invisible to Muggles, lies in between a bookshop and a music shop. To enter, one must go through The Leaky Cauldron to a rear courtyard and tap a brick in the wall, found by counting three up and two across, three times. In the film, the tapping of 5 bricks around the hole in the wall opens the doorway. It contains Gringotts Bank which is run by goblins, book shops, Ollivander’s magical white cloth bag shop, broom shops, apothecaries and many others.

Maybe if you are lucky you might run into a leprechaun, Not trying to stereotype, but they spend all their time busily making shoes, sewing white cloth bags and storing away all their coins in hidden pots of gold at the end of said rainbow’s. Thats where i would start looking as the Irish are notorious for making ghetto’s.

WHy do I have a feeling this is a reference to another thread somewhere else on this website?

Ben_Dover said :

“Help! Help! I’m being repressed!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS_1bzaj2fw

Truly said by someone who has never been repressed in their life. Well done for showing once again that the majority of Australians think that “If it doesn’t happen to me then it’s not important.”

Dilandach said :

Self segregation wouldn’t help your cause at all. It discourages acceptance, on both sides.

It would be nice to think that we live in a world where that is true. Unfortunaly sometimes you just get tired of spending everyday trying to fit in and be accepted in a group of people who have no intention of ever seeing you as a person. It wears you down but they don’t get effeted at all.

While the idea of segregating yourself by going to a job that openly welcomes minorities with open arms sounds counter productive, in reality it saves you from a lot of stress put onto you by other people. Who wants to live a shorter life just because other people can’t accept someone different from themselves?

I dont know much about ghetto’s aside from what elvis taught me through song, but I do know of a white cloth flimsy bag shop located somewhere in Canberra (they keep the location a secret so Apple store employees dont come in and steal their bags). It does not appear on any maps but there are many ways to get there, and they all seem to have a limited number of times they can be used:

1. Through the Closet/Wardrobe.
2. Through blowing Susan’s horn (from Prince Caspian, not a sexual reference)
3. The Magician’s rings (Once again, not a sexual refernce)
4. Being pulled back in through no action of your own – like in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
5. Through a magic door
6. One entrance can be reached on foot by passing through The Leaky Cauldron (a wizarding pub/inn). The inn, which is invisible to Muggles, lies in between a bookshop and a music shop. To enter, one must go through The Leaky Cauldron to a rear courtyard and tap a brick in the wall, found by counting three up and two across, three times. In the film, the tapping of 5 bricks around the hole in the wall opens the doorway. It contains Gringotts Bank which is run by goblins, book shops, Ollivander’s magical white cloth bag shop, broom shops, apothecaries and many others.

Maybe if you are lucky you might run into a leprechaun, Not trying to stereotype, but they spend all their time busily making shoes, sewing white cloth bags and storing away all their coins in hidden pots of gold at the end of said rainbow’s. Thats where i would start looking as the Irish are notorious for making ghetto’s.

I understand there’s a very friendly employer in town, who manufactures and distributes disposable laptop packaging.

I know that as a white hetero male, I have trouble with my workmates and the organisation when I show up to work wearing a pink frilly dress.

This kind of discrimination must stop.

HenryBG said :

Solidarity said :

So women get a ghetto, these homosexual/whatever people get a ghetto, wheres my hetereosexual middle class male ghetto?

It’s called, “the real world”. And most “homosexual/whatever people” live here as well.

It’s just a tiny minority of people with emotional problems who raise idiotic issues such as, “My government department didn’t do a review of transgendered people therefore they are discriminating against me so I had to quit”.

There’s a special ward at Woden to take care of ThatUniStudent’s issues, should he care to check him/her/itself in.

Yeah was going to say, I have a gay mate and he doesn’t give a rats arse…

Solidarity said :

So women get a ghetto, these homosexual/whatever people get a ghetto, wheres my hetereosexual middle class male ghetto?

It’s called, “the real world”. And most “homosexual/whatever people” live here as well.

It’s just a tiny minority of people with emotional problems who raise idiotic issues such as, “My government department didn’t do a review of transgendered people therefore they are discriminating against me so I had to quit”.

There’s a special ward at Woden to take care of ThatUniStudent’s issues, should he care to check him/her/itself in.

So women get a ghetto, these homosexual/whatever people get a ghetto, wheres my hetereosexual middle class male ghetto?

Ditto!

I find the term ghetto, used in this way, to have a really negative connotation. Probably because of the way it came into the English language, and certain notable usages in history – and the inclusion of the gender and sexual orientation diverse people in that unpleasantness of mid last century.

You are trying to refer to a area which is good to be in a a LGBTI person yes? Not a overcrowded slum you are forced to inhabit?

Disclaimer: I have tried to craft the above carefully to avoid breaking any of the laws of the interwebz, I apologise if I didn't succeed.

“Help! Help! I’m being repressed!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS_1bzaj2fw

Good to see people are shocked and appalled by unsubstatiated rumours, especially when it involves a minority. I guess that’s what the internet, this post and QANDA tweets are for.

Rainbow ghetto’s? Give. Me. A. F#ck!ng. Break.

Dilandach said :

Self segregation wouldn’t help your cause at all. It discourages acceptance, on both sides.

+100500, very true, short, to the point statement!

Self segregation wouldn’t help your cause at all. It discourages acceptance, on both sides.

If you’re working in Queanbeyan. don’t bother with NSW HREOC (I haven’t had experience with ACT Human rights, they might be better). HREOC is a toothless tiger. They’ll try to massage the situation to a conclusion, then if they fail, they’ll tell you you can always sue but you’ll bear a costs order if you lose. Totally useless. Oh, and they’ll give the corporate entity months to respond and endless accommodation about dates, but then tell you you have to play ball on a certain date a couple of days into the future, no ifs or buts.

AMC (part of ACT Justice) will be a good place for you to work, I hear inmates, whom you’ll be helping to rehabilitate,indeed, are very fond of rainbow people.:) You’ll be getting all the attention that you want, since you’ve always been attention whore, ThatUniStudent. 🙂
Seriously, political correctness has gone maaaaddddddd!!

I work for a small Commonwealth Govt Dept that is accepting of everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender diversity and we have all flavours of the rainbow too. There are good people and employers out there, unfortunately sometimes you have to deal with the bad first though.

daniel said :

I’m very disappointed to read those anecdotes, particularly as government is supposed to be a model employer. That kind of behaviour is unacceptable. I realise it doesn’t necessarily help you right now, but have you (and others who have been discriminated against) considered making a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission or the ACT Human Rights Commission?

+1

I’m appalled that you’d be forced into leaving by discrimination. You should definitely pursue it through the Human Rights Commission. Good luck, and let us know how you go.

I think labelling particularly gay-friendly workplaces as ‘rainbow ghettoes’ would be damaging and counter-productive. I don’t think anyone wants gay people to be ghettoised any more than they want it to be done to women, and adopting that kind of language isn’t useful.

It has been

daniel said :

I’m very disappointed to read those anecdotes, particularly as government is supposed to be a model employer. That kind of behaviour is unacceptable. I realise it doesn’t necessarily help you right now, but have you (and others who have been discriminated against) considered making a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission or the ACT Human Rights Commission?

That has been done, by myself and many more people:
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/human_rights/lgbti/lgbticonsult/report/section5.html
Not much has happened since then.
It is better to focus on fitting in and getting work than what has been done in the past.

Yes, plus-one to that. It’s pretty appalling that a government employer or in fact any employer is doing that.

I’ve good experience with the ACT Human Rights Commission. In the interests of full disclosure, I have heard less than glowing reviews, but they’re usually from people telling each other not to go to them because they can’t/don’t/won’t do anything. I mean, of course they can’t, if no-one goes to them…

I’m very disappointed to read those anecdotes, particularly as government is supposed to be a model employer. That kind of behaviour is unacceptable. I realise it doesn’t necessarily help you right now, but have you (and others who have been discriminated against) considered making a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission or the ACT Human Rights Commission?