Over two years ago I was book signing in the Sirius arts centre in Cobh, it was bright summers day and the liner 'Independence of the sea,' was visiting. People came from far and wide to view it, in all its splendour moored alongside the deep water berth beside Cobh's heritage centre. The arts centre was busy with people sauntering in to view the photographic exhibition, the building also houses the tourist information office, that too was busy with people buying souvenirs and asking touristy questions.
I chatted to a few interested Americans telling them all about my novel, and wondering would they take to it if they bought it, then in walked an escorted Senator David Norris passing by me and on into the tourist office, I had never met him in the flesh before but he was true to his television imagine, he walked gracefully with a beaming genuine smile.
I greeted him warmly on his way back out and his escort a local man allowed him stop for a chat, he was very interested in my novel and he pronounced the title perfectly, 'Viaréggio,' I went on to give him a short synopsis and he listened intently, I then told him of the reference in my work to Shelley, and the beach in Viaréggio. David was impressed he had not heard of my Shelley story before, 'Do you know he came to Dublin?' David asked me, which I openly admitted to not knowing, 'he was sympathetic to irish nationalism.' David said, I presented him with a signed copy free of charge, he thanked me profusely and he was on his way.
Two years later I tweeted him re-his campaign and I also asked him what he thought of 'Viaréggio,' Shelley and all of that? I never received a reply, so I surmised that perhaps he never read it, or he did read it and didn't like it, or indeed he found one or two scenes a little graphic. I will explain this, in my novel a former Mi5 agent in flashback to his days during the war in North of Ireland, forces a young informant to wear a wig and lipstick, before engaging in oral sex with him. In the present this intelligence agent hires a male prostitute who is a transvestite to have oral sex also, so in my silly little mind I wondered would David be uncomfortable with this as he was running for president, and that he may not want to be associated with literature of this nature.
Of course events soon overshadowed my petty little world, and the Christian right tried to bury him with their age of consent slur, fair enough people say that Senator Norris handled all this poorly, but how does one handle it? He is appealing to the middle-classes to elect him, and most of these people live in a world that is media driven,they sleep with opinion polls, and form their views based on the middle-class agenda that is spouted on Rte radio and television, not to mention our cosy little print media.
You cannot argue a case re- the age of consent, as the issue is not up for discussion, then of course they came back for the kill with the revelation that his former lover the plumber and human rights activist Ezra Yizhak Nawi had sex with a fifteen year old boy, and that Senator Norris intervened on his behalf using Seanad notepaper. What failed to come to light however was that Ezra Yizhak Nawi claimed his innocence at all times, he says the boy assured him he was sixteen, he has also denied that he is a paedophile.
Ezra Yizhak Nawi is a well known human rights activist and therefore is hardly the darling of the Israeli government, he has had many previous brushes with the law mostly to do with his human rights agenda, also he has incurred some nebulous drug offences. At the time of the Norris letter they were lovers, so here was a man that David Norris loved deeply who in his eyes was wrongly accused of statutory rape, and a person whom quite possibly the Israeli authorities wanted to put away, is it any surprise that Senator Norris wrote the letter?
So the Christian right have had their way, and the Irish people have been denied the opportunity to have Senator Norris stand as a presidential candidate, it is now deemed by those who follow the middle-class agenda, that this man is so vile, he cannot be allowed to go before the electorate. They have in essence crucified David Norris for having different views on sexuality to their main stream victorian like values, this man who has never pushed his ideas on society, but only dared to bring them to the table for discussion, has been informed that the door is permanently locked to his kind.
The novel 'Viaréggio,' is available on Amazon, or through Easons!
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