The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World

by Andrew Doyle

As the regalia and lexicon of the LGBTQIA+ movement grows ever more farcical, one cannot escape the feeling that many of its proponents are nostalgic for the oppression of the past. As we have seen, identity politics as practised by the new puritans is rooted in narratives of victimhood. This makes sense in countries where being gay is illegal or even punishable by death, but no sense at all in a country like the United Kingdom where equal rights have been long established. This is not to suggest that homophobia has ceased to exist, or that we shouldn’t be vigorously opposing it wherever it lingers, but to be gay in the United Kingdom no longer carries the risk of arrest or social ostracism. It is an insult to the achievements of civil rights heroes of the past to pretend that gay people are more oppressed than ever. Compared to Harvey Milk and Stormé DeLarverie, the LGBTQIA+ activists of today seem like intoxicated brawlers still swinging their arms at imaginary foes even after the pub is shut.