“Some people are blind or ignorant, and you can’t be that prejudiced and hateful and go through this world and still be happy.” – Dolly Parton.

A faction, which includes at least 1 elected OIC councillor, wishes to ‘police’ the diversity educational materials children and young people in Orkney are reading or listening to in our islands’ schools.

The materials have been carefully designed to encourage tolerance and reduce abusive behaviour towards children and young people in our schools over their  sexual orientation or gender identity.

Last week we lost one of the greats of popular music, Dolly Parton, an advocate of tolerance and love for all. Her music brought pleasure to millions – and continues to do so.

It got me thinking of some of the wonderful creatives in the LGBT community who have enhanced our lives with their writing, music, art, and performances.

• Oscar Wilde and his most wonderful ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’.
• The Scots poet Jackie Kay (Many of her poems set texts for Nat 5 Exams)
• Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen
• Sir Elton John
• David Hockney who died on 11 June this year, considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the great Russian composer of the 19thC
• Benjamin Britten, one of the finest composers of English operas, choral works, and songs, many of which he wrote for his life partner, tenor Sir Peter Pears.
• Zachary Quinto, aka Spock in Star Trek, Into Darkness, & Beyond

And then there’s the sports personalites:

•  Blackpool football player Jake Daniels 
• Tennis legend Billie Jean King
• Tennis legend Martina Navratilova
• Tom Dailey, Olympic Diving Champion,  the first British diver to win 5 Olympic medals.

Feel free to add in the comments more names.

Orkney Islands Council states that it is an inclusive organisation – that’s for everyone, staff, service users and young people. These are excellent values which, however, at least one elected member of the council does not adhere to.

Our lives would be very much poorer if we only had the monoculture of intolerance.

This reactionary kerfuffle about the use of diversity educational materials in our schools also reminded me that the criminals in the Epstein files have not been brought to justice.

The Epstein files have still not been released in the US. The files contain the names of powerful and rich men who raped and abused trafficked young women and girls. Perhaps the OIC councillor and his supporters should think on the rich men who were engaged in those sexual crimes, instead of their fear of our children and young people becoming tolerant and understanding of all their fellow students.

Fiona Grahame