Folks in Europe are Getting It

I have written about how society should go beyond tolerating the GLBT community and fully accept them and grant them equal rights. That viewpoint received a strong voice at a recent conference in Portugal. From IPS News via PageOneQ:



"Tolerance? No. I want to talk about acceptance. I don't want to be ‘tolerated’, I want to be accepted as a disabled lesbian woman," said Lydia La Rivière-Zijdel, to a lengthy ovation at the event concluding the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, in the Portuguese capital Tuesday.



La Rivière-Zijdel, an international consultant on gender, disability and sports, was referring to the central message voiced by activists at the two-day conclusion of the year’s activities launched in January in Berlin, when Germany held the European Union rotating presidency, now held by Portugal.



Their message was that Europe should adopt policies that translate into acceptance of minorities, because the term "tolerance" implies that a generous concession is being made, rather than recognition of the right to full and effective integration for those who are somehow "different."



The more than 1,000 different activities carried out over the past year in 30 countries, in accordance with the plan designed by Germany, were aimed at raising awareness among people in the EU on the rights of minorities to equality and the benefits to society of diversity, and at informing non-EU immigrants, who often face discrimination, of their rights under the laws of the bloc’s 27 member countries.



There was a closing thought from the article that I thought was right on the mark:



"A society with more just laws is not necessarily a more just society. There is a great deal of in-depth work to be done on people’s attitudes in order to convert the EU into a promised land of happiness and diversity."



Laws can control behavior to some extent, but they can't change the way people feel.



That's the hard part, and it's an effort GLBT advocates and allies need to be devoted to in order for it to move closer to reality.