When asked by Mr Watkins what he thought of homosexuals, Mr Butler, 68, a retired butcher, replied:
"We have not got much time for them."
He continued: "Well, I think probably it is a suspicion of the mainstream that they perhaps will interfere with young people and so on and that has historically been the case.
"That is the danger. Paedophiles, not necessarily but they do, don't they, that is the reality."
A complaint was filed against Mr. Butler for his remarks. However he resigned during the proceedings, and his resignation was accepted. Mr. Butler had been a magistrate for 30 years.
So yeah, he deserved it, right? The man shouldn't be judging other people if he can't be impartial. That makes sense. But at the same time I'm thinking the guy is what? 68? He's close to my father's age. His opinions are going to be difficult to change. Some leniency is probably in order.
More importantly, I'm not sure if I like the idea of the government policing people's opinions. What if the government mood of the day were against homosexuality? Would they get me fired for catching some cute guy's eye in a bar? Such things have happened.
Then I start to think about Mr. Butler's actual opinions. They're not altogether uncommon. In way too many people's minds homosexuality and pedophilia and very firmly connected. I imagine that connection comes from earlier times when the only male to male sex you ever heard about was when the local preacher got caught diddling the altar boys. The ministry, like the priesthood before it has long been a refuge for queers and pedophiles alike trying to escape their desires by repressing them. But I think modern people should realize that homosexuality and pedophilia are two very different things.
Hey, even among my own family I sense a certain distrust among the parents of male children. During a recent visit my nephew wanted to walk around my parents' pond. I volunteered to lead the expedition since he's not allowed to go down there without an adult. Both of my children were going as well as a great-nephew. The great-nephew's dad said he couldn't go because they were about to leave. The nephew's dad followed us the whole way even though he didn't originally want to go. We walked around the pond. We threw pine cones into the pollen-coated water. We pretended we were going to throw children into the pollen-coated water. We visited the big rock that had been my childhood fortress. We found a mysterious deflated basketball. We returned to my parents' house. The great-nephew and his family were still there.
Hey, no big deal. My family has a long tradition of being over-protective. And for some of them the idea of having an out homo in the family is still new. They need time to get used to the knowledge that I like men and yet mysteriously do not also like little boys too. Also, I suppose the youth-worshiping nature of the gay culture doesn't help. Far too many gay men like to pretend they're still young and find the pretense of youth to be attractive in others.
Not me. I've always been attracted to men. Even when I was a young boy I found adult masculinity extraordinarily intriguing. I was never really into guys my own age.
But like my family the general public (especially the old and the conservative) is going to need time. As more and more LGBT people become more and more visible in their everyday lives, the average Joes and Janes out there will hopefully start to understand that we lead perfectly normal lives free of child-molesting tendencies. And to be perfectly blunt, individuals with such calcitrant bigoted ideas are going to eventually die off.
Good Riddance.
