Rotherham man refuses to drive bus with gay rights advert on it
THE driver of the First Group bus has refused to operate the vehicle with the Gay Rights sticker down the side. The message, created and paid for by Stonewall, reads: “Some people are gay. Get over it!” Passengers for the X78 from Rotherham to Sheffield were forced to wait while another driver was found.
Says First Group:
We are aware of an incident involving one of our drivers refusing to drive a bus at Rotherham Interchange. We have spoken to the driver in question and the matter has now been resolved. We would like to apologise to any customers that were affected during this isolated incident.”
Stonewall information officer Louise Kelly adds:
“Passengers in Rotherham can rightly expect bus drivers to do the job they pay them to do - drive buses. If they are unwilling to, perhaps they should look for another job.”
Only, passengers don’t pay the driver, the bus company does. And Stonewall must be delighted. An advert on a bus in the provinces is now a national story. Good for them. People are different. Get over it.
It does, however, make us wonder if the bus driver has a point. Is the bus an extension of his uniform? If so, adverts on it are adverts on him. In 2008, atheists hired pace on London buses. Their slogan went:
“There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
Anyone who believes in God would find it wrong, but not take offence. People are different. It’s God’s plan. Get over it.
The Stonewall advert was in respsonse to Christian advertising campaign promoting “reparative therapy” for gay Christians. Their advert said:
“Not gay! Post-gay, ex-gay and proud. Get over it!”
Those ads never saw the light of day. London Mayor Boris Johnson, intervened to prevent them being slapped on buses.
Barack Obama’s aide Valerie Jarrett says gay is a “lifestyle choice”. The notion that homosexuality can be cured is not out there. It’s pretty popular. The Dalai Lama doesn’t thinks gays are ok. Many religionists don’t.
And at least one bus driver in Yorkshire agrees. Get over it…
Posted: 18th, November 2012 | In: News Comments (3) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
November 19th, 2012 at 9:39 am
I have a work colleague called Elton (name changed to protect the guilty!). He is gay. It is obvious he is gay as he is so overtly camp about it. His clothes, hair, make-up, the way he walks and talks etc. It all affects my sensibilities.
Another work colleague called David (name changed to protect the innocent) is also gay. I didn’t know this until I had known him for a good few months and it was mentioned in conversation. Knowing him is a pleasure and does not affect my sensibilities.
My employer has a very clearly defined clause in my contract regarding discrimination of any kind. This is mainly because any of us could be public facing at any time.
If I refused to work with Elton then I would not get paid and here,The Real Stig and I can agree with that. However, where is the “protection” that my employer should be offering me from having my sensibilities affected by Elton.
It must be just the same for the bus driver.
November 18th, 2012 at 11:08 am
If I were employing him, I would refuse to pay him.
November 18th, 2012 at 9:54 am
I’m gay, but I do think the driver is entitled to his point of view. If I were a bus driver, I would (for instance) not wish to drive round in a bus that had a BNP slogan on the side. The ‘in-your-face’ Stonewall approach works on some levels, but can be counter-productive. Some people may not like being told “You MUST like gays or else !” Believe me, I have met several, and I don’t like them all !!