Two corporations, IBM and the ANZ Bank, are part of a boycott of this blog and my advertising revenue has plummeted. It was never a lot of money, but it had helped pay the bills.
The boycott is a consequence of an article attacking gay marriage published at On Line Opinion. I have never published anything on gay marriage, and I am not against the concept, but because advertising for this blog is sold as a block with advertising for On Line Opinion, and because the gay lobby is apparently intolerant of alternative views, I am suffering.
And it is not as though On Line Opinion is running a campaign against gays, lesbians or their right to marry – quite the contrary. On Line Opinion publishes a diversity of opinions with the aim of promoting Socratic dialogue.
As Christopher Pearson writes in The Australian today, issues of principles are at stake here concerning freedom of political debate in this country and the character of our civilization.
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The Offending Article:
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=11268&page=0
Skeptical Lawyer on the Boycott:
http://skepticlawyer.com.au/2011/02/05/of-secondary-boycotts-free-speech-and-revenue/
Christopher Pearson explains the situation in today’s The Weekend Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/oversensitivity-can-only-compromise-debate/story-e6frg6zo-1226000416817
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Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.