That is the only way to describe GayNZ's story on the homophobic comments made by Bill English's son. Yes, the comments are crass and bigoted. No, I don't think they're acceptable. But for Cthulhu's sake, he's fourteen. "Teenage boy is stupid, makes arse of himself" is not and never has been news. The fact that said boy is the son of a politician shouldn't change that. I've already said in the cases of Don Brash and David Benson-Pope that I'm simply not interested in the private lives of politicians. I am even less interested in the private lives of their family members. Using them as weapons in a crude effort to attack their public parents or partners is simply vile, and not something we should be tolerating in our political culture. That sort of sewage can stay in America, thanks.
GayNZ is right to point out that teenage homophobia and the resultant bullying is a real issue, and has real consequences (notably in the high suicide rate amongst GLBT teens). But it would be better if they focused on the actual issue, rather than trying to drag politicians' families into the firing line.
