Lynne Featherstone

Iris Robinson – about whom I have blogged before – is at it again. She is revealed in all her bigotry and internal hatreds in her words:

There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children … I cannot think of anything more sickening than a child being abused. It is comparable to the act of homosexuality. I think they are all comparable. I feel totally repulsed by both.

Although she has now clearly been forced to say that this is not what she meant – I doubt there are many people who believe her. And, quite frankly, better we all know what sort of woman this is who represents the DUP. For all the clarifications she has tried to give – to me – she is revealed as not only homophobic – but someone who believes that this is a dog whistle to like-minded people who agree with her.

The whole scenario is genuinely frightening. To see and hear such naked hatred of something that in these days of enlightenment the vast majority of people have moved on from. But this is a stark reminder that it exists – still running strongly beneath the surface in some sectors of our
community.