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We are entering a dangerous, new dark age…
There’s no other way to describe this idea of gay marriage acceptance rings being pushed by the big end of town corporates other than as obscene and grotesque, soft bullying and intimidation particularly in the cloistered environment of the work place, in an endeavour to out and distinguish the non-believers from the believers.

If you don’t subscribe or at least aren’t seen to subscribe, there goes your promotion or pay rise.

I’ve always been deeply suspicious of the political class in question time wearing different coloured ribbons on their lapel to demonstrate their commitment to the cause de jour. Whether they actually believe in it or not there is no way of knowing. It is simply a high minded way of strutting their moral vanity and phony virtue signalling to demonstrate that they feel the transient pain and outrage of today for whatever the cause.

Tomorrow it will be a case of another day, another cause.

Hitler pioneered the idea of coloured lapel adornments when he forced Jews to where the Yellow Star of David and so it seems that todays jackbooted Brown Shirts have decided to adapt the concept with their acceptance rings to signify whether you’re on board or not.

The more recent sideways, cool and hip version of lapel ribbon outrage is the “I’ll ride with you” hashtag, bumper sticker and wrist band gesture politics as a way to signal your virtue and identify those who are not of a like mind.

When you combine this kind of sinister corporate blackmail, bullying and thuggery with the same intimidation, threats and thuggery that closed down the Ayaan Hirsi Ali tour, it becomes quite apparent that we have entered very, very dangerous territory.

 

“…Some of the country’s biggest businesses have upped the ante in the crusade for marriage equality by asking Australians to wear a specially designed “acceptance ring” until same-sex marriage is legalised.

Led by accommodation provider Airbnb and supported by Qantas, ANZ, Fairfax Media and Foxtel, the Until We Belong campaign has been billed as the “most public declaration for marriage equality” so far.

The initiative calls on Aus­tralians to signal their support for same-sex couples by committing to wearing the ring, created by designer Marc Newson.

Qantas staff and cabin crew would wear them, he said, while Google Australia has also provided rings for its 1300 staff to wear. “Our goal is to build ­momentum around the issue of marriage equality and spark those conversations about ­acceptance,” Mr McDonagh said.

The move is likely to fire up the debate about the role of corporations as lobbyists for contentious social causes, which has attracted criticism from some conservative politicians and religious leaders in light of the recent public hounding of brewer Coopers into pledging support for Australian Marriage Equality.

Marriage Alliance spokeswoman Sophie York, who is ­opposed to same-sex marriage, questioned whether people who opted not to wear their acceptance ring would be called upon to explain their decision. She pointed to the recent harassment of a Price­waterhouseCoopers executive and a Macquarie University ­academic by gay activists over their links with a Christian ­institution as a sign of what could happen when individuals failed to comply with the “same-sex marriage agenda”.

“Now we see big corporates giving away free jewellery to those who take the pledge, while providing an easy way to identify those who disagree with the company agenda.

“We know activists will stop at nothing — even accessories — to target people for demise.”

Mr McDonagh defended the role of corporations, such as Airbnb, which he said had a long history of championing equality and supporting the LGBTI community. “Openness and belonging is a core part of Airbnb; we strongly believe everyone has a right to marry the person they love,” he said…”  Firms ring in campaign for marriage equality