Many of those – lead by the U.S. media – who are constantly preaching the gospel of sensitivity tend to be just a bit hypocritical. They are always telling us that we need to mind what we do and say, taking into consideration the sensitivities of those of a different race, nationality, religion, or sexual orientation. They will often suggest, or even mandate, sensitivity training. However, they seem to believe that this whole sensitivity thing only works one way.
Here’s a prime example. A few days ago, stories appeared on several major news websites which reported on the fact that the repeal of Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell – the law that banned gays and lesbians from openly serving in the U.S military – had taken effect. That problem was that a couple of those stories were accompanied by a photo of a gay Navy officer exchanging “vows” in Vermont with his longtime same-sex partner. Ironically, the photo was not all that relevant to the repeal of DADT, as the goverment still does not recognize marriages between same-sex couples. That was not affected by the repeal of DADT.
Where was the sensitivity for those of us who don’t wish see such a photo? Don’t they know that this kind of thing grosses some people out? They wouldn’t place photo of a toilet full of un-flushed human feces on their home page, yet they did not hesitate to shove a photo of a homosexual “wedding” right in our faces. I would have been less offended by the toilet photo. But they don’t care – because our sensitivities don’t count for anything in their book.
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