Thursday, July 23, 2009
First the homosexuals, now the obese, so who is next in the Souter firing line?
Stagecoach is considering suspending any of its workforce in possession of a vocational license to drive PCVs who happen to weigh in excess of 120kg. There have, apparently, been cases throughout the country where rotund drivers have been suspended from duty pending an appointment with the company doctor, who has – in consultation with the driver concerned and the company – produced an ‘action sheet’ that includes dietary modifications to ensure the employee is able to lose weight.
The Chief Executive of Stagecoach is one Brian Souter , the well-known bigot from the Church of the Nazarene who believe that the homosexual lifestyle is sinful and is contrary to the Scriptures. In 2000 Souter was the prominent leader of the Keep the Clause campaign , which aimed to resist the repeal of legislation known as Clause 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which dealt with the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities. Souter funded a private postal ballot in Scotland to gauge public opinion on the issue. Souter supported the poll to the tune of £1million.
...So, first the homosexuals, now the obese, so who is next in the Souter firing line? I have nothing against homosexuals or the obese. What annoys me is the picking on minorities by wealthy, bigoted Christians. George W Bush or Brian Souter, the attitude is the same and their bigotry simply stinks.
The DVLA has strict licensing of PCV drivers and you have to pass a medical before you can learn to drive a Passenger Service Vehicle. Once you have your licence to drive buses and coaches you have to pass repeat medicals every 5 years once you become 45 years old. This independent government body is the only outfit who should judge a persons' fitness to drive a bus or a coach. The DVLA know what is important and in the public interest, unlike the views held by wealthy, bigoted Christians. A drivers' obesity or body mass index is their own private business and should make no difference to their ability to do the job. Having driven buses and coaches for over 28 years I can tell bloggers that there is no physical strength needed for our job. Even in the old days before power steering and synchromesh gearboxes there was never any need for physical strength in the job. Now with power steering and automatic gearboxes even little limp wristed women like Margaret can do the job just as well as a strong man! Also with this Stagecoach limit of 120 kg - 19 stone, no account is made of the drivers' height. A 19 stone 5 foot 6 inch tall man is more obese than a 19 stone 6 foot 4 inch tall man, yet both would be discriminated against because of their weight on the scales, not their ability to do the job.
So, who is next on the Souter hit list? Let me think now, I am thinking blue, a large flowing blue gown. Will Brian Souter start banning cross-dressers from his buses and coaches? Could Brian Souter, in an act of religious intolerance that is typical of right wing Christians everywhere, start to ban passengers from wearing a Burqa ? He could claim that the banning of Burqas was the right thing to do because male suicide bombers disguised in womens' burqas stormed government buildings and security headquarters in co-ordinated attacks which killed a dozen people and injured 22 others in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday. Our government may have reduced the official terrorist threat classification from "severe" to "substantial" but Brian Souter could raise the fear of terrorism by banning his Muslim passengers from wearing traditional Islamic dress.
Time will tell and we will learn which new minority has become out of favour.
Stagecoach is considering suspending any of its workforce in possession of a vocational license to drive PCVs who happen to weigh in excess of 120kg. There have, apparently, been cases throughout the country where rotund drivers have been suspended from duty pending an appointment with the company doctor, who has – in consultation with the driver concerned and the company – produced an ‘action sheet’ that includes dietary modifications to ensure the employee is able to lose weight.
The Chief Executive of Stagecoach is one Brian Souter , the well-known bigot from the Church of the Nazarene who believe that the homosexual lifestyle is sinful and is contrary to the Scriptures. In 2000 Souter was the prominent leader of the Keep the Clause campaign , which aimed to resist the repeal of legislation known as Clause 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which dealt with the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities. Souter funded a private postal ballot in Scotland to gauge public opinion on the issue. Souter supported the poll to the tune of £1million.
...So, first the homosexuals, now the obese, so who is next in the Souter firing line? I have nothing against homosexuals or the obese. What annoys me is the picking on minorities by wealthy, bigoted Christians. George W Bush or Brian Souter, the attitude is the same and their bigotry simply stinks.
The DVLA has strict licensing of PCV drivers and you have to pass a medical before you can learn to drive a Passenger Service Vehicle. Once you have your licence to drive buses and coaches you have to pass repeat medicals every 5 years once you become 45 years old. This independent government body is the only outfit who should judge a persons' fitness to drive a bus or a coach. The DVLA know what is important and in the public interest, unlike the views held by wealthy, bigoted Christians. A drivers' obesity or body mass index is their own private business and should make no difference to their ability to do the job. Having driven buses and coaches for over 28 years I can tell bloggers that there is no physical strength needed for our job. Even in the old days before power steering and synchromesh gearboxes there was never any need for physical strength in the job. Now with power steering and automatic gearboxes even little limp wristed women like Margaret can do the job just as well as a strong man! Also with this Stagecoach limit of 120 kg - 19 stone, no account is made of the drivers' height. A 19 stone 5 foot 6 inch tall man is more obese than a 19 stone 6 foot 4 inch tall man, yet both would be discriminated against because of their weight on the scales, not their ability to do the job.
So, who is next on the Souter hit list? Let me think now, I am thinking blue, a large flowing blue gown. Will Brian Souter start banning cross-dressers from his buses and coaches? Could Brian Souter, in an act of religious intolerance that is typical of right wing Christians everywhere, start to ban passengers from wearing a Burqa ? He could claim that the banning of Burqas was the right thing to do because male suicide bombers disguised in womens' burqas stormed government buildings and security headquarters in co-ordinated attacks which killed a dozen people and injured 22 others in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday. Our government may have reduced the official terrorist threat classification from "severe" to "substantial" but Brian Souter could raise the fear of terrorism by banning his Muslim passengers from wearing traditional Islamic dress.
Time will tell and we will learn which new minority has become out of favour.
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