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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Bad rap for presidential candidate David Norris

Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2011 at 08:57 AM

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Senator David Norris

Irish Senator David Norris was in my office a few weeks back and gave an impressive presentation on why he should be the next president of Ireland.

It was heartening that he recognized the importance of Irish America to the future role of whoever is successful in the “race for the park” as the Irish call it, because the official presidential residence is in the Phoenix Park.

Since returning to Ireland Norris had cemented his role as the front-runner in the race and was the bookmaker’s favorite.

Until this week that is, when a 10-year-old interview with journalist Helen Lucy Burke came back to haunt him.

The interview appeared in the now defunct Magill magazine and had previously been flagged as deeply controversial, but now that Norris is running for president it is doubly so.

At first glance the interview looks bad. Norris, who is gay, is talking about a range of taboo subjects, including boy/man sex as the Greeks perceived it. He seemed to exonerate some milder forms of child abuse by saying that being raped and murdered was a much worse fate.

After hearing Norris on an Irish radio show, however, I am inclined to agree with him that he should be judged on his record, not on a frankly bizarre and deeply academic interview he gave over a decade ago.

He explained that he was presenting the historical view of such issues, not his own viewpoint, and I believe him on balance.

There has never been the slightest suspicion that Norris is other than what he had proudly proclaimed himself to be, a gay man who has fought for civil rights for his community and many other groups too.

Norris has been a tireless worker for human rights in Ireland, including gay rights and children’s rights, and he is a colorful character, a Joycean scholar, always glib with a sometimes outrageous quote, something that was bound to come back and haunt him I suppose.

But the man that I met in New York a few weeks back was deadly serious on how he saw his role as Ireland's first citizen, and I believed him. He is passionate, forceful and, above all, idealistic on how he sees his country at a time when Ireland is badly in need of such leadership.

Ireland has been wonderfully served by her last two presidents, Mary Robinson, who established the diaspora as a major theme in her presidency, and Mary McAleese, who along with her husband Martin McAleese did an incredible job on bringing Northern Ireland’s Unionist community in from the cold in the south as well as many other groups in need of a voice.

Norris promised more along those lines, as well as being a committed cheerleader for Ireland.
Now he has been hit with the “when did you stop beating your wife” line that is almost impossible to refute.

This is not a scandal where someone was actually abused. Rather it is the overly pedantic musing of an academic who should have known better than to touch such a third rail of politics, but did anyway.

I hope he can survive this and prosper. Ireland, frankly needs diverse voices like his.

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tomasjryan | Jun 18, 2011, 04:07 PM EDT

The tenacity shown by the media in persisting with this absurd attack is riddled with latent homophobia. An Irish restaurant critic, Helen Lucy Burke, has attempted to inhibit David Norris’ campaign by referring to an interview with David Norris from 2002, portions of which she taped. The tape has not been produced. Burke stated that she has the tape somewhere, but cannot find a device to play it on. Instead, Burke has provided editorials disguised as quotes, and interpretations of her memories of the interview in 2002. This has been enough to draw negative media attention onto David Norris’ campaign. Burke claims that Norris was endorsing a “free-range sexuality” (Burke’s words, not Norris’), and asserts that in her view, based on an abstract and hypothetical discussion, Norris did not seem to oppose pedophilia in ancient Greece. However Norris has categorically and publically stated that he does not and has not condoned pedophilia in any circumstances. David Norris is Ireland’s first viable non-party, independent candidate for President. In this sense alone, he might be considered an outsider. But it is the view held by many that a person should not be considered an outsider based on their sexual orientation. The three pillars of David Norris’s Presidential campaign are enterprise, mental health, and culture. During his visit to Boston Norris outlined his views on each of these. He particularly referred to his profound respect for the American spirit of enterprise, to which countless Irish emigrants have contributed. Nothing characterized David Norris’ speeches in Boston more than his sincerity. Unlike many politicians Norris is not evasive, dealing candidly with the recent slurs made against him. Above all, he has shown his faith in the intelligence of the Irish electorate. Let’s hope that the press will make efforts to report what Norris plans to do as President, rather than continuously recycling this banal witch hunt.

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zyxwvutsrqponml | Jun 09, 2011, 10:23 PM EDT

He has a history of having to go back and "re-explain" some very problematic statements he has made- returning to the British Commonwealth, and apparently condoning pedophilia, incest. Not a good habit for a leader of state. Returning to the British Commonwealth would be an ignominious thing for Ireland to do, but it appears to be quite possible given the low esteem the ruling classes in Ireland have for any form of nationalist sentiment. A vote for Norris would be to further such an agenda.

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seanomelbourne | Jun 02, 2011, 08:47 PM EDT

Kate he opposed the 1916 rebellion,he's disappointed Ireland left the commonwealth and now he wants to be president of a republic he condemned. A Joycean scholar!!! Joyce the drunk and a wife beater who never gave a toss about Ireland some scholar.

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katetipp33 | Jun 02, 2011, 06:49 PM EDT

David Norris is somebody who has fought for human rights on all levels for years. Helen Lucey Bourke was a restaurant critic who wrote about restaurants and often closed places down on a whim. She is a has been and is trying to revive her flagging career. seanonmelboure ok he is a scholar but I can't say I have ever found him to aloof or a snob.

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LoyalCitizen | Jun 02, 2011, 04:17 AM EDT

@Mr O'Dowd. Where is my response to JackFknTwist. You not censoring me are you?????????

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seanomelbourne | Jun 01, 2011, 07:02 PM EDT

"A Joycean scholar" Ireland needs a man or a woman of the people to lead us. His distaste of Irish Independence and his "intellectual snobbery and aloofness" should make him a non-starter.

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LoyalCitizen | Jun 01, 2011, 06:56 PM EDT

@ohrightyeah: The Nazis had a high opinion of themselves and a low opinion of others. David Norris is a self promoting Nazis, who has a very high opinion of himself. When Ireland gets a court system that works then you will see the truth.

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ancavker | Jun 01, 2011, 03:45 PM EDT

My compliant with Mr. Norris, is that he has come dangerously close to stating that Irish independence was a mistake. How can you be President of a nation, if you are ambivalent about the existence of that nation?

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JackFknTwist | Jun 01, 2011, 03:29 PM EDT

@ ohrightyeah: Excellent, I agree .........too many idiots throw out the Nazi slur without understanding what they are talking about. It's high time that the right wing homophobic bigots keep off this pro-Irish blog. Ireland is a tolerant homo-friendly place. We have just had the Gay Theatre Festival and there are lots of Rainbow Flags decorating the river Liffey in Dublin. So suck it up you homophobes.......Homosexuals have equal rights and will soon have equal marriage rights not just Civil Unions.

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ohrightyeah | Jun 01, 2011, 02:08 PM EDT

do people have nothing better to do with their lives than make ignorant and hurtful comments? One contributor here described Norris as a Nazi. Very easy from your armchair hiding behind whatever nickname you have to make a hurtful remark like that. Do you know anything about the Nazis? Do you realize how many thousands of gay people they killed and persecuted in the Holocaust. How dare you!

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Chiefjustice | Jun 01, 2011, 01:58 PM EDT

Thats just the way we do this sort of thing in the U.S. Trash the front runner .And kep the eejets in office

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JackFknTwist | Jun 01, 2011, 01:40 PM EDT

@LoyalCitizen; Yeah, you only have the fact that he is a politician against him...ha ha ha. "Stealing from Social Welfare recipients for decades ..." Are you crazy ?Wher did you get that absurd stupid notion? David Norris has been at the forefront of asseting human rights for years. you just don't know what you are talking about. "He is a Nazi...."....what a stupid person you are to assert such an accusation. Get lost. And get off this site, you disgrace the name of Ireland.

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JackFknTwist | Jun 01, 2011, 12:42 PM EDT

@pacifist : Nonsense ! your hypocritical attempts to show that you are concerned for the welfare of anyone do not fool me. You are WRONG !......Homosexuality is not a life style.....what do you know ? Are you a homosexual ? Have researchers found the "straight gene " ? If not, then is "straight" a lifestyle ? According to your logic if they have not found the "straight" gene then being straight is a lifestyle .......that's beyond dumb. You don't have any rational argument to rebut. Your argument is simply to state that "homosexuality is a lifestyle" and somehow you think that statement is unassailable. What is wrong with you ? You do not argue.....you declare ! "It is not due to orientation genetic or otherwise" !!! That's what you said !!! Where is there any basis for that absurd assertion ? Who states the homosexuality is not due to a non genetic origin, where is the research for your rambling ? You faux interest in the health of homos makes me laugh....in a vomiting kind of way.

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Rebelforce | Jun 01, 2011, 12:38 PM EDT

Did anybody seriously believe that a man who is openly gay could run for President of Ireland without the ugly spectre of homophobia popping up at some point?

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JackFknTwist | Jun 01, 2011, 12:08 PM EDT

@pacifist : you are suspiciously interested in the health of homos........which in a normal person would be nice.....with you it's perverted.

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