GoodLife's straight members only competion -2-

I have since received a written reply from GoodLife in response to my complaint.

Tara McLain from the chain's marketing department sends this in her response:

Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention. We were not aware that this legislation exists in Jamaica.

 

A part of the rules and regulations for this contest include the ability to substitute, modify etc. trips for any reason. Should you win this trip, we would be happy to award you with a trip of equal value to another destination.

 

We have connected with Tourism Jamaica and they provided us with the following information:

Jamaica welcomes visitors from all over the world and from all segments of society equally with the warmth and courtesy they expect and deserve. We recognize that there are diverse communities and cultures interested in Jamaica as a travel destination, and we embrace that diversity with respect.

 

In Jamaica, we are committed to the safety of all travelers. We respect the right of all visitors to Jamaica to express their own beliefs and to satisfy their own vacation experiences while staying with us.

 

We respect the choices of adults and responsible adult activities. In keeping with travel to any destination in the world, we encourage visitors to respect Jamaican laws and community standards, and to take reasonable  measures to enhance their travel experience. 

 

Please know that we welcome everyone with open arms and look forward to sharing the beauty that is Jamaica with them.

 

Thank you,

Tara

 

 

 

Tara McLain
Public Relations Specialist
Marketing & Public Relations Department

My response:

Dear Tara,

thanks for your prompt response. I trust that you appreciate that the Jamaican marketing person essentially confirmed what I said on my blog. Gay male winners of your competition who might innocently hold hands or show affection in public in Jamaica will likely be attacked in public places and face up to ten years in jail should they engage in sexual intercourse. 

Nowhere on your posters do you warn your gay members of your gym of this risk, nowhere on your posters do you even mention that gay people who might win this competition would be able to choose an alternative location. Do you plan to issue warnings to your winners, just in case they happen to be gay?

I am a bit surprised that you think this should be the end of it!

A colleague of mine has since written about this issue here: http://fitisafeministissue.com/2015/04/06/goodlife-competition-for-straights-only/

May I suggest that you should take the concerns expressed in my blog a little bit more seriously and take action to address the concerns raised.

Sincerely,

udo Schuklenk

I am also delighted that fellow fitness friend, philosophy professor and blogger Samantha Brennan has taken up the issue on her own blog.

Benedictus is @ it again

Ex Hitler Youth Catholic head honcho Pope Benedict, fresh from revoking the ex-communication of a holocaust denying bishop, is at it again. He just appointed as new archbishop of Linz Mr Gerhard Wagner. Wagner's main claim to fame is that he declared the Harry Potter books to be satanic, and, for good measure, that hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for a city that was 'sinful'. Archbishop Wagner found evidence for his Katrina related claim in the fact (if it is one) that five reproductive health clinics and several nights clubs were destroyed in New Orleans. He also saw God's miraculous hand in the timing of the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia. He told his flock that definitely it wasn't coincidental that the catastrophe happened around Christmas, just when rich Westerners go to poor Thailand to escape winter (no doubt that's bad, sinful and all). I like this old man, his penchant for going in drag (including red Prada shoes), his clearly pathological hatred of homosexuals, and now his hard work on remaking the organisation that he's running into a small right-wing and somewhat nuttish sect. Good on ya Benedictus. I can't wait for your next move, Sir!

Why give famous jerks a platform?

James Watson (Jim to his mates, I presume) is a famous man. Jointly with Francis Crick he discovered the structure of the DNA. That's pretty cool as far as their contribution to scientific progress goes. The thing is, Watson was always kind of known to be a jerk, but people went out of their way to pretend that he wasn't, because of his contribution etc. Why a jerk? Well, Watson has the habit of using his fame to speak out on other issues outside his area of expertise, such as arguing that if a test capable of forecasting the sexual orientation of people came about, pregnant women should be permitted to abort fetuses likely to evolve into homosexuals. This comment, he says, was designed to demonstrate his support for women's right to choose to have abortions for any reasons and none. The question remains, tho, why did he pick 'gay' fetuses to make his point? He also made quite clear that he thinks the reasons for the problems in Africa have kinda to do with the lower intelligence of African peoples. It goes without saying that he since came to realise that he actually has been misunderstood. It's always a misunderstanding, of course it is. Here is the wording of the quote in the context of the interview. Your guess is as good as mine how there could be a misunderstanding... - So, the question is why one should give famous ageing jerks (he's 78 at the time of writing) a public platform to express their prejudices, particularly so when these prejudices are not even in areas of their scientific expertise.

So, I am very pleased that the British Science Museum recently withdrew an invitation to Dr Watson to speak there, on the grounds that 'Dr Watson has gone beyond the point of acceptable debate and we are, as a result, cancelling his talk'. Thumbs up to the Brits for not caving into Jim-co-discoverer-of-the-DNA fame, and for asking him to take a hike, and take his prejudices with him. What a shame that he lost the opportunity to promote his latest book to a British audience...

Addendum 19 Oct 2007: More good news. Cold Spring Harbor Labs, the international temple of genetics research has announced that it has suspended Dr Watson. Makes me wonder what they're going to do about the 'Watson School of Biological Sciences', tho. Incidentally, the School, of which Dr Watson is the Chancellor, hasn't yet graduated a single black student. You know, my thing was always that you better honour folks posthumously, just in case they lose the plot on the way.

Cabinet row over adoptions by gay couples

The Guardian reports today about a UK government row over adoptions by gay couples. Here's my letter to the editor of the paper, responding to that report: 'Quite remarkable that the fundamentalist Catholic sect Opus Dei's permanent representative in New Labour's government, communities secretary Ruth Kelly, proposes that unjust discrimination is acceptable as long as it is meted out by people and organisations sharing her particular set of prejudices. She probably does not believe that gay people working in adoption agencies should also be entitled to prevent members of Opus Dei from adopting children. It is very obvious that she prioritises her individual system of prejudices over the greater good of society. High time for cabinet to put a stop that. Can't someone put her in charge of developing rules for collecting traffic fines or something similar?'