140 Character Assassination

On Sean Avery, Twitter And The Sanctity Of Marriage

Action, reaction. Actually, more like action, over reaction. A guy most hockey fans have never heard of, criticizes a guy most hockey fans have heard of with remarks that many have said before, and we’ve got us a controversy.

Todd Reynolds, agent with Uptown Sports, hit Twitter with these three missives, yesterday:

uptownhockey Very sad to read Sean Avery’s misguided support of same-gender “marriage”. Legal or not, it will always be wrong.

uptownhockey To clarify. This is not hatred or bigotry towards gays. It is not intolerance in any way shape or form. I believe we are all equal…

uptownhockey But I believe in the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. This is my personal viewpoint. I Do not hate anyone.

Fine. Reynolds has views that I do not, personally, agree with. I think the sanctity of marriage has been pretty well battle-tested by heterosexuals, and could easily withstand the extension into the homosexual world. Might even be better, for it.

Sean Avery: Knows The Pain Of Just Blurting Something Out

I don’t know the man, but, it seems to me, his views were clearly and definitely stated. You can object to his stance, disagree and even condemn his views, based on those tweets. It’s just that so many are ready and willing to decide, without further information, that the man must be a hate-filled, bigoted lout. Which, he may be. It’s just that, again, you’d need a bit more information about him to reach that conclusion. Do I think someone could stand against Gay marriage and NOT be homophobic? Yes, I do. I do think it’s possible. For some, it might be a multi-layered and complicated issue. I don’t think you can accuse every person who is against Gay marriage of being homophobic any more than you can accuse those who oppose the war in Afghanistan of being against the troops, or Canada, itself.

I once had a discussion with Maple leafs’ President Brian Burke, many years ago, when he held a position with the NHL’s Head Office. Something he said to me has stuck to this day.
While in a testy conversation about the state of the NHL, he told me my comments were “ignorant.” I replied that it was well and good for him to call me ignorant, but that didn’t address the issue. He quickly corrected me. “I didn’t say you were ignorant,” he told me. “I said your comments were ignorant, and there’s a big difference.” Of course there is. Burke correctly pointed out that he made a distinction between me and what I had specifically said. It may well have been that I was ignorant, but one so-called ignorant comment didn’t necessarily prove that.

This principle can be extended to Reynolds and, just as importantly, to everyone else. In the absence of further proof, I try to judge the comments, not the person.

With that in mind, I’d like to applaud Sean Avery. I think his willingness to help champion equal rights is laudable (see the video HERE), and should be celebrated. As for Reynolds, his comments do not reflect the beliefs I hold, in this matter. Sorry if that’s boring.

Twitter has certainly done some good. It’s helped topple dictators. Unfortunately, the same instant call-to-action it employed to motivate uprisers in Egypt also allows for instant, unmeasured reaction to anything and everything else. It’s pitchforks and torches for the modern world. Thing is, it’s the individual who still makes the decision: “Do I, or do I NOT pick up that pitchfork?”

[box border=”full”]To read SUN TV INTERVIEW ISN’T WORTH COMPLAINING ABOUT, click here.[/box]

[box border=”full”]To read BLATCHFORD’S LAYTON COLUMN: TIMING IS EVERYTHING, click here.[/box]

 

 

 

 

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About Don

Don Landry is a multi-talented media pro: an accomplished morning show host, a sought-after voiceover artist, a sports play-by-play announcer, an experienced and respected columnist, and a thoughtful commentator & interview specialist.