Purple Letter Campaign: Liberalism and the LGBTTQ*

Bullying in junior high and high schools, particularly that of the LGBTTQ* community, has been gaining media and public attention recently. The good people of British Columbia have decided to take the issue into their own hands.  All over the province people are sharing their stories of encouragement and support, and it’s as simple as putting a letter in a purple mailbox.  It’s called the Purple Letter Campaign; the goal is to make schools safer for LGBTTQ* students and staff.  The letters will be delivered to BC’s premiere and minister of education (slapupsidethehead, 2011).  BC schools have no institutionalized policy regarding gay bullying.  A quick Google search later and I’m unable to find any such existing policy in Winnipeg school divisions either.  Supporters of the campaign want province wide sexual orientation and gender identity policy for schools (Purple Letter Campaign, 2011). This means that province wide any school that receives government funding (including Catholic private schools) would have to adhere to the policy (Moreau, Jennifer, 2011).

Naturally, the Purple Letter Campaign’s efforts have been met with some amount of hostility.  Anti-gay group Parents Voice oppose the campaign, on the utterly ridiculous grounds that it promotes gay pornography in schools (Gender Focus, 2011). They claim that the campaign is “not about anti-bullying, but about sexual activism and pushing the agenda of homosexual activists” (Moreau, Jennifer, 2011).  Yes parents, look out, lock your doors, and cover your child’s eyes; for lurking in the halls of your precious babies high school is….the homosexual activist.  Despite this incredibly insensitive and tactless objection, there are some less ridiculous opinions being voiced, such as freedom of religion and freedom of belief.  To me, it would seem that asking students not to harass folks based of something as trivial as sexual orientation is just basic human decency. 

           But that’s just my opinion; what’s more important is how our elected government officials responded.  The campaign has received explicit support from the NDP party in BC, and, perhaps not surprisingly, only “quiet support” from the liberal party (Moreau, Jennifer, 2011).  This is quite typical of the liberal ideology.  On the one hand, liberalism attributes social problems as not being “squarely the fault of the individual,” but rather to “social disorganization inherent in an urbanized and industrialized capitalist society and globalized economy” (Mullaly, 101).  Liberalism views social problems as resulting from social disorganization, not individual deviance.  Well that’s a relief; so if it’s not my fault I’m being bullied why the hesitance to commit and support the obvious logical and moral merit of the campaign? That’s because Liberals can be a walking contradiction, and why shouldn’t they be!  They are in the unenviable position of being in the middle of the political spectrum; therefore having to balance left wing ideologies with Conservative values.  So, while liberals may agree that social problems are not squarely the fault of the individual, “liberals see individuals rather than social groups as casualties of capitalism.” (Mullaly, 102) The liberal focus is on the individual instead of societal forces like sexism, racism, and homophobia.  It seems to me that the liberal point of view on the Purple Letter Campaign would be that though it is not through any fault of your own that you are being harassed, it is up to you as an individual to defeat the various social forces working against you.  This is sometimes referred to as “reluctant collectivism,” or “modified individualism” (Mullaly, 94).  To the liberal, ideally social organization is a last resort, used in situations where the autonomy and freedom of the individual is challenged (Mullaly, 93).  Because Liberals are in the unpleasant position of balancing between political ideologies, they aren’t comfortable explicitly supporting the Purple Letter Campaign (what would the Conservatives think!), though they are willing to quietly express their support.

Thanks for reading!

Love & Rage

Julianna

References:

Moreau, Jennifer. (September 16, 2011). Activist launches 'purple' campaign: Hopes to

            see all schools, including private ones, adopt gay-positive policies. Retrieved

            from: http://www.burnabynow.com/life/Activist+launches+purple+campaign/5411698/story.html

Mullaly, R. (2007). The new structural social work (3rd Ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford

 University Press.

Unknown Author. (September 15, 2011). Purple Letter Campaign Wants LGBT Policy

for BC Schools. Retrieved from: http://www.gender-focus.com/tag/purple-letter-campaign/

Unknown Author. (October 12, 2011). More letters wanted for Purple Letter Campaign. 

            Retrieved from: http://www.slapupsidethehead.com/

Unknown Author. (2011). Purple Letter Campaign: Working to make BC schools safe

and inclusive for all students. Retrieved from: http://purplelettercampaign.ca/about/