MICHAEL Attwell, of Dunlop (CN, September 7), says he is sick of LGBTIQ people “crying discrimination” and complains that it is really motorsport fans being discriminated against.

Evidently the ACT government hasn’t given them enough buckets of taxpayer money.

Since when has being a motorsport fan stopped you from getting a job, or got you fired from one? Since when is motorsport something that could get you sacked from a career in the military or the police force? Since when have motorsport followers been criminalised with a blanket ban attached to a jail term of 10-14 years’ hard labour? Since when have motorsports fans endured systemic and organised bashing by gangs of thugs? Since when did being a motorsport fan get you refused service at a commercial business?

I have lived half my life under threat of imprisonment because of repressive laws against same-sex relationships. Some of those closest to me spent most of their military or police careers having to actively disguise their sexuality to avoid being dismissed. I have experienced being targeted by a gang of cowards with baseball bats (in Canberra), and got away only because I was quicker than them.

These anti-gay laws and attitudes have only changed in very recent times, and only because people with balls have stood up to the bullies who wanted to keep decent people living in fear.

Mr Attwell has experienced no such hardships. Yet he whines like a crybaby because his chosen recreation isn’t getting special treatment. Time to grow up, pal.

Tony Whelan, Gowrie