Jan Moir in the Daily Mail today attempts to answer the critics of her article on the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately with a column headlined: 'The truth about my views on the tragic death of Stephen Gately'.She says: "To my horror, it has been widely condemned as 'homophobic' and 'hateful'. Obviously, a great deal of offence has been taken and I regret any affront caused. This was never my intention.
"To be the focus of such depth of feeling has been an interesting experience, but I do not complain. After all, I am not - unlike those close to Stephen Gately - mourning for the loss of a much-loved partner, son, family member and close friend.
"To them, I would like to say sorry if I have caused distress by the insensitive timing of the column, published so close to the funeral."
Moir comments on the "bile, the fury, the inflammatory" hate mail she has rfeceived and the repeated posting of her home address on the internet.
She says: "To say it was a hysterical overreaction would be putting it mildly, though clearly much of it was an orchestrated campaign by pressure groups and those with agendas of their own.
"However, I accept that many people - on Twitter and elsewhere - were merely expressing their own personal and heartfelt opinions or grievances. This said, I can't help wondering: is there a compulsion today to see bigotry and social intolerance where none exists by people who are determined to be outraged? Or was it a failure of communication on my part?
"Certainly, something terrible went wrong as my column ricocheted through cyberspace, unread by many who complained, yet somehow generally and gleefully accepted into folklore as a homophobic rant.
"It lit a spark, then a flame and turned into a roaring ball of hate fire, blazing unchecked and unmediated across the internet. "
Moir ends the articleby asking: "Can it really be that we are becoming a society where no one can dare to question the circumstances or behaviour of a person who happens to be gay without being labelled a homophobe? If so, that is deeply troubling."
She adds: "Finally, I would just like to say that whatever did or did not happen in Majorca, a talented young man died before his time. This, of course, is a matter of regret and sadness for us all."
"To be the focus of such depth of feeling has been an interesting experience, but I do not complain. After all, I am not - unlike those close to Stephen Gately - mourning for the loss of a much-loved partner, son, family member and close friend.
"To them, I would like to say sorry if I have caused distress by the insensitive timing of the column, published so close to the funeral."
Moir comments on the "bile, the fury, the inflammatory" hate mail she has rfeceived and the repeated posting of her home address on the internet.
She says: "To say it was a hysterical overreaction would be putting it mildly, though clearly much of it was an orchestrated campaign by pressure groups and those with agendas of their own.
"However, I accept that many people - on Twitter and elsewhere - were merely expressing their own personal and heartfelt opinions or grievances. This said, I can't help wondering: is there a compulsion today to see bigotry and social intolerance where none exists by people who are determined to be outraged? Or was it a failure of communication on my part?
"Certainly, something terrible went wrong as my column ricocheted through cyberspace, unread by many who complained, yet somehow generally and gleefully accepted into folklore as a homophobic rant.
"It lit a spark, then a flame and turned into a roaring ball of hate fire, blazing unchecked and unmediated across the internet. "
Moir ends the articleby asking: "Can it really be that we are becoming a society where no one can dare to question the circumstances or behaviour of a person who happens to be gay without being labelled a homophobe? If so, that is deeply troubling."
She adds: "Finally, I would just like to say that whatever did or did not happen in Majorca, a talented young man died before his time. This, of course, is a matter of regret and sadness for us all."
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