Last night Dame Elisabeth Murdoch died, aged 103. She was a much loved philanthropist. She was also a patron of the Australian Family Association.
Whilst on the surface a supporter of a cause that supports families might sound warm and fuzzy, the reality is that a supporter of the AFA supports a cause that is intolerant of same-sex attracted people, and intolerant of same-sex relationships. It upholds a definition of marriage that excludes same-sex attracted couples.
The good dame was also the patron of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Today their web page announces:
Her vision and commitment have saved thousands of children’s lives and improved the health of many more living with rare and common childhood conditions.
The irony of this is that her having been a patron of the AFA, an organisation deeply intolerant of homosexual people, is that her good reputation gave credence to bigoted values that have proven links to contributing to the alarming rate of youth suicide, mental health issues and other forms of self-harm.
While she may have been a wonderful person, she linked herself with a disreputable organisation, in stark contrast to many of the values she espoused in her public life. She sided with bigots and homophobes and we shouldn’t forget that.
Whilst many remember the great good that Dame Elisabeth Murdoch did for society, we must also remember her as a person who upheld bigotry.
Well said Michael.
I know it’s extremely unpopular to speak ill of the dead, but you know what, just because you’re dead that shouldn’t give people a free pass to forget or overlook the life you led. The notion that we should only speak in glowing terms ignores the reality of people’s lives, and sure, it might be tough to hear, but we should not forget the good, or the bad.
That is the most disgusting thing to say of a woman who gave so much back Doug!!
Thats really pathetic to use for playing gay politics
Repugnant for you sir!!
“Gave so much back”? Do we tally the youth suicides amongst that?
I agree!!!
Reality check
Gay overeach here sadly
Ms Murdoch was the epitome of class and wealth
Melbournes grandma has sadly died
R.I.P
Michael,
I highly respect the work you have done with the glbtiq community but this is tacky….
Give us a break guys…pick on someone else
Cheers.
The interesting ethical question here is to what extent does one negative action, or even, as in this case, one negative aspect of a person’ts life undermine that person’s status as a decent or good person? On one hand, if the claim that a leading patron of the Family Association is thereby a bigot is accepted, then it doesn’t make a lot of sense to suggest that she was still a decent person. But on the other hand, we are not looking for saints here, are we? We need to be careful not to raise the bar for decency so high that no one can attain it.
Furthermore Michael,
The Jewish community and their sexual abuse case with the cover up of their senior leaders should be of grave concern to you here
Who exactly will have blood on their hands with these sensitive issues?