REAL Women, faux outrage

We ought to be delighted that a recent press release from REAL Women attracted the attention of Canada’s major news outlets; such coverage implies that this organization’s valuable perspective on current issues reached a wider audience. But, of course, when the mainstream media turns its collective attention towards social conservatives, it is usually only to rebuke or misinterpret. In this case, it is both.

In the press release which has attracted the attention – and the outrage – of our nation’s chattering class, Gwen Landolt, vice president of REAL Women, raises questions about the money given by the Department of Foreign Affairs to certain non-governmental organizations advocating for “gay rights” in Africa. In addition to inquiring about how, exactly, these funds are being spent, Landolt wonders why the liberal prohibition against “imposing our values” does not apply in this case.

Certainly, if the Department of Foreign Affairs really had discovered the courage of its conviction for universal human rights, no constituency would be more delighted than the pro-life movement. But, as Landolt rightly observes, the language of “human rights” is merely being mobilized to mask outright advocacy (and possible financial shenanigans) on a single issue in a single region.  (more...)

REAL Women, faux outrage