[0762]

There is a comment in your first line SCO - "the essence of tolerance is to allow people to live their lives as they wish". Kate Forbes actually endorsed that view in her initial remarks on Monday; IMO a democratic view even if in her case she gave an honest answer to a typical "trip up" question by hostile Brit press/media cohorts who already clearly regard her as the biggest threat to their Unionist cause. It was noticeable that those end comments by her were omitted by the usual toxic Brit press/media reaction later on. She re-iterated that view today that she respected the settled will of the Scottish Parliament when a democratic parliamentary vote prevails. That is far more progressive than the opposition parties that refuse to accept Holyrood decisions on GRR or holding a referendum on independence. I always thought the SNP was a "broad church" (an unintended pun). Maybe not so after all!!? I couldn't care less if Kate Forbes is a member of the Free Church of Scotland. I believe her when she says her religious views will not impact on her upholding the LGBT+ laws of Scotland as they stand. Also many people who withdrew their support must have known her religious views before they endorsed her??? As an aside, it's worth mentioning that Humza Yousaf was apparently absent when the vote for equal marriage was ratified all these years ago in 2014 - never voted either as did Kate Forbes who just gave a straight answer to such a perceived straight hypothetical question. How can anyone who advocates for the LGBTQ+ minority, not respect the faith held by Kate Forbes? Surely respect and support for diversity is a two-way process and cannot be exclusive. There's a famous line derived from the French philosopher, Voltaire, that "I may not agree with what what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"! In my humble opinion, it takes great confidence in one's conviction to be able to take up this position. I think this was better reflected by Kate Forbes than those in the mainstream and social media who have chosen to attack her since her statement on Monday. Every single one of us has personal views about everything and there are differences of opinion about many issues, esp intractable ones. Having one's own view on anything is perfectly acceptable, but it is the collective decision that is important. Openness and honesty prevail for certain individuals like Kate Forbes while strongly abiding by the collective decision - exactly what democratic govt and leadership is about. Lastly, I must say this leadership contest, albeit early days, is getting stuck up on social issues rather than the nitty-gritty ones covering the challenges ahead in the quest for indy, tackling climate change, future energy policy, the economic crisis and the subsequent cost of living crisis etc. I can see the toxic Brit press/media like the BBC don't wanna move on, but I think there are far more pressing issues to healthily debate within the SNP membership/Scot indy movement and other nationwide Scot govt/indy-supporting organisations like the STUC, Common Weal, Believe in Scotland, TNT, the Scottish Socialist Party and many others.