What are Maria’s aims, should she win a seat in the European Parliament in May 2019? Where can the people of the Midlands-North-West constituency expect to see her focus? Which issues will be at the heart of her agenda? How will she expend her energy, and where would she like to see the constituency and the lives of its electorate change?
Ruffling Traditional Values
Maria has made no secret of her desire to use her candidacy to to roll back traditional values. An Irish Times article on her candidacy of March 25 was titled ‘Maria Walsh hopes to ruffle feathers in MEP bid’ and began with the sentences: ‘Ruffling the feathers of people with a Fine Gael pedigree who hold traditional values will be an important contribution by the new candidates for upcoming European and local elections. That is according to former Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh, who attended her native county, Mayo’s local and European elections launch in the Michael Davitt Museum, Straide, on Monday.’
Ruffling the feathers of people…who hold traditional values will be an important contribution.
Maria Walsh, as referenced in The Irish Times
Maria could have highlighted any number of things with which to spearhead her campaign, but ‘ruffling the feathers’ of those of traditional beliefs is what she chose. ‘Ruffling someone’s feathers’ means to ‘say or do something which upsets or annoys someone.’ Maria has made clear that her aims include to annoy those who, because of conservative beliefs, cannot approve of the homosexual lifestyle.
Maria has made clear that her aims include annoying those of conservative beliefs.
Changing the Electorate
It seems that, for Maria, it is not enough that same-sex marriage and abortion have been legalised in Ireland against the wishes of 734,000 and 724,000, respectively, of Irish voters. Maria Walsh campaigned for repeal of the 8th amendment in 2018 alongside fellow former Roses Brianna Parkins and Aoibhínn Ní Shúilleabháin. She also announced, mere days after winning the Rose contest in August 2014, and mere months before the Irish referendum to redefine marriage: ‘I am gay. I hope some day I can and I will be married. If any country that I call home welcomes that, that’s great.’ It is likely that Maria is unhappy that 48% of Mayo voters voted against redefining marriage in May 2015 and 43% voted against introducing abortion in May 2018.
Maria campaigned for repeal of the 8th amendment in 2018 alongside fellow Roses Brianna Parkins and Aoibhínn Ní Shúilleabháin.
The Kerryman (South Edition)
Using Words as Weapons
After all, Maria Walsh’s use of the word homophobia in her work as a Plan International Ambassador is significant. The word ‘homophobia’ is just one of the ways in which LGBT activists force those of Christian belief to give official recognition to their lifestyle. The goal of most LGBT activists is that people would be coerced into accepting immorality as if it were morality and subsequently give up their own ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Rather than encourage meaningful discussion on whether the blatancy of sex between two people of the same gender is wrong, LGBT activists’ resort to name-calling and hurl invectives (‘homophobic’, ‘transphobic’ and ‘biphobic’) against those who hold to Christian beliefs on marriage.
Manufactured labels such as ‘homophobic‘ are merely an attack on the right of Christian citizens to express their religious beliefs. Worse, Maria makes no secret of the fact that perpetuating a ‘ruffling the feathers’ approach is one of the primary aims of her candidacy. She would do well to read the Irish Constitution, and the provision in Bunreacht na hÉireann Article 44.2.1 ‘Freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion are, subject to public order and morality, guaranteed to every citizen.’
The goal of most LGBT activists is that people would be coerced into accepting immorality as if it were morality and subsequently give up their own ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
The Aim of Activists