Arizona Goes Gay

[bobabode]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...017-story.html

[Combwork]

Is there strong anti-gay feeling in America? Not micky taking but is the Land Of The Free free enough to leave gays alone so that they can live as they are or do the Baptists amoung us still think of homosexual and lesbian relationships as damned in the eyes of God?

I know several gay couples. My youngest daughter's gay.

Let's dig a bit. Is homosexuality normal? If you define normal as 'average' then it's not, but is it natural? Yes, it occures in nature.

Glasgow shipyard worker in the 1950's. Dark hair, dark eyes. Stocky build. About 5ft 10'' tall. Average, the 'norm'.

But a few had blond hair, blue eyes, skinny build, 6ft tall. Were they average, the 'norm'? No, but they were natural.

Some people still think of gays as poofs, quears. Like thinking of a black guy as Sambo, nigger or any other insulting name.

I guess it's all in a name. Whatever the name it can be used as an insult; all it needs is an upwards inflection at the end of the word.

[donquixote99]

Prejudice is natural too, unfortunately. It never goes totally away, and can always come roaring back.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Combwork

Is there strong anti-gay feeling in America? Not micky taking but is the Land Of The Free free enough to leave gays alone so that they can live as they are or do the Baptists amoung us still think of homosexual and lesbian relationships as damned in the eyes of God?

I know several gay couples. My youngest daughter's gay.

Let's dig a bit. Is homosexuality normal? If you define normal as 'average' then it's not, but is it natural? Yes, it occures in nature.

Glasgow shipyard worker in the 1950's. Dark hair, dark eyes. Stocky build. About 5ft 10'' tall. Average, the 'norm'.

But a few had blond hair, blue eyes, skinny build, 6ft tall. Were they average, the 'norm'? No, but they were natural.

Some people still think of gays as poofs, quears. Like thinking of a black guy as Sambo, nigger or any other insulting name.

I guess it's all in a name. Whatever the name it can be used as an insult; all it needs is an upwards inflection at the end of the word.

Excellent post! And yes, there are some virulently anti-gay people in this country. They often cite passages from the Bible and speak of their religious beliefs when discussing the issue. Those aren't the ones that bother me, however. It's the people who go along with their vitriol, but will tell you in secret that they have no problem with gays. They just don't want to be heard saying it. Ferfuksake, if you disagree with this mentality or homophobia, grow a spine and say so!

Comb, some people are afraid to speak up because the instant you contradict these clowns you are accused of either being gay yourself or you are accused of somehow being "...against what this country stands for.". (Whatever the hell that is supposed to mean, I don't know.)

I keep hoping that, one fine day, my countrymen would start seeing these tactics for what they really are and stand up to it.

Dave

[Combwork]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Excellent post! And yes, there are some virulently anti-gay people in this country. They often cite passages from the Bible and speak of their religious beliefs when discussing the issue. Those aren't the ones that bother me, however. It's the people who go along with their vitriol, but will tell you in secret that they have no problem with gays. They just don't want to be heard saying it. Ferfuksake, if you disagree with this mentality or homophobia, grow a spine and say so!

Comb, some people are afraid to speak up because the instant you contradict these clowns you are accused of either being gay yourself or you are accused of somehow being "...against what this country stands for.". (Whatever the hell that is supposed to mean, I don't know.)

I keep hoping that, one fine day, my countrymen would start seeing these tactics for what they really are and stand up to it.

Dave

I couldn't agree more Dave, except I wouldn't give a toss about being called gay. I'm not as far as I know but who knows, tomorrow I might turn a corner and meet Mr. Right. As an adult the only time I was attracted to a man was in my early 20's, he'd been a friend of mine for years. He was gay, he had a long term partner. If I'd said the wrong thing it would have been embarasing stupid, insulting. At the very least it would have screwed up a good friendship but I had no feeling of guilt, wrongdoing or anything negaitve. Just enough sense to say nothing.

A feeling that came out of the blue. What the **** was that about?

[Ike Bana]

Here's the thing. For the majority of younger Americans who you take for a partner and what their sex or sexual orientation is...simply isn't an issue anymore. You're black or brown or white and you take a partner who's male or female...have a nice life because it's none of my fucking business who you take for a partner. It's just not an issue. I know a number of young college professors and they report this all the time. Whenever the subject comes up in classroom or social settings...it's a yawn. It's not an issue. And as us geezers die off, particularly the moronic right-winger geezers, it's gonna become even less and less an issue.

There are still plenty of younger Americans who have bought the conservative religious/social/political line from their bigot elders...sure there are. But as time goes by they will be finding themselves as members of a continuously shrinking segment of the culture. Tough shit for them.

[donquixote99]

But noting that younger people hold more liberal attitudes is not a reason to celebrate the coming extinction of prejudice. Many people get more cynical and cranky as they age. for lots of reasons, youthful optimism can become disappointment, while high principles become compromised. Persons beset with dissatisfaction and feelings of failure can look for targets for projection of their own self-loathing. Familiar stereotypes and prejudices become useful, even if one had rejected them in the past.

There's a reason that the classic 'Archie Bunker type' is a male in later middle age. A lot of the young people who answer polls one way now, will answer then another way later.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

Here's the thing. For the majority of younger Americans who you take for a partner and what their sex or sexual orientation is...simply isn't an issue anymore. You're black or brown or white and you take a partner who's male or female...have a nice life because it's none of my fucking business who you take for a partner. It's just not an issue. I know a number of young college professors and they report this all the time. Whenever the subject comes up in classroom or social settings...it's a yawn. It's not an issue. And as us geezers die off, particularly the moronic right-winger geezers, it's gonna become even less and less an issue.

There are still plenty of younger Americans who have bought the conservative religious/social/political line from their bigot elders...sure there are. But as time goes by they will be finding themselves as members of a continuously shrinking segment of the culture. Tough shit for them.

I've noticed this listening to the younger crowd at work.

And it leaves me with hope for the future after all.

Although, I'm sure their are such moronic parents across the country teaching their kids to hate anyways. Oh, geez, my bad! It's not "hate", it's "love for ones child" to steer them away from "deviant" relationships by instilling a loathing for "those people" in them at a young age.

Kind of like the KKK now claims they don't hate non-Christian, non-whites.......they're just expressing their abiding love for the white race.

Dave

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

I've noticed this listening to the younger crowd at work.

And it leaves me with hope for the future after all.

Although, I'm sure their are such moronic parents across the country teaching their kids to hate anyways. Oh, geez, my bad! It's not "hate", it's "love for ones child" to steer them away from "deviant" relationships by instilling a loathing for "those people" in them at a young age.

Kind of like the KKK now claims they don't hate non-Christian, non-whites.......they're just expressing their abiding love for the white race.

Dave

I suppose I might suggest that hamas and their sympathizers don't really hate Jews, they're just freedom fighters and supporters of freedom fighters who are, at their core, pacifists who only want peace. But then, I'd just be looking for trouble, eh?

[Rajoo]

Where there is intolerance, religion is usually behind it. For instance, Islam forbids homosexuality so gay unions are banned in very many Muslim countries. Don't quite get why Russia had to ban it.

And recently after the Pope asked the church to show tolerance towards gays, I don't get this either.

"The call to "accept and value" homosexuals was in a draft report, but failed to win the backing of two-thirds of the bishops at a synod in Rome."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29678751