Marriage and other LGBTQ Rights

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by kladner

Bravo!

And in yet another display by intolerant and hateful religious scumbags, we have:

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/248...cks-day-parade

Yes, they have the right to withdraw. Noone questions it. But they
find it necessary to make a hateful and intolerant social/political statement
in doing so.

Just another display of hate by religious hypocrites.

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

And in yet another display by intolerant and hateful religious scumbags, we have:

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/248...cks-day-parade

Yes, they have the right to withdraw. Noone questions it. But they
find it necessary to make a hateful and intolerant social/political statement
in doing so.

Just another display of hate by religious hypocrites.

And of course the sub-human piece of shit clergyman who is principal of the school found it necessary to show off his Catholic stupidity and ignorance
by prattling about the gay "lifestyle".

[Brian-E]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

[...]prattling about the gay "lifestyle".

Yes, I'd be interested to know the origins of the phrase "gay lifestyle". Language can be incredibly effective in distorting concepts and putting inaccurate ideas into the public psyche. That particular phrase has probably set gay emancipation back a number of years in the English speaking world.

Here's someone's summary of the "gay lifestyle" (contains other useful information too for those ignorant enough to need it):
http://www.gaylifestyle.info/

The Homosexual Lifestyle / Gay Lifestyle is:

• Get up in the morning, moaning at the alarm clock.
• Shower, dress, eat breakfast.
• Go to work. Complain about traffic.
• Work. Worry about the job getting outsourced to India.
• Go home. Worry about gas prices.
• Stop for groceries on the way once or twice a week.
• Cook dinner. Realize there's no butter.
• Eat dinner. Worry about blood pressure and cholesterol.
• Do laundry. Try to figure out how to get that tomato stain out of that t-shirt.
• Clean the house. Realize that a sock didn't make it into the laundry.
• Pay bills. Worry about saving for retirement.
• Watch a little TV, spend time with any family members in the house, talk with friends on the Internet.
• Go to sleep.
• Repeat.

Decadent, isn't it?

Gay and lesbian people live our lives like everyone else. We have jobs, bills, housework, and families like everyone else.

[LaurV]

you missed after "go to sleep": "dreaming about getting rich by finding a billion digit mersenne prime". Otherwise how can you say that you "have a normal life, like everyone else" ?!?!?

[chappy]

It has been a while since we talked about this angle, and certain claims were made by one side, then other claims were made by the other side--it was this whole thing.

http://iacknowledge.net/largest-stud...ws-for-bigots/

[kladner]

Originally Posted by chappy

It has been a while since we talked about this angle, and certain claims were made by one side, then other claims were made by the other side--it was this whole thing.

http://iacknowledge.net/largest-stud...ws-for-bigots/

"Facts are stupid things." -Ronald Reagan (likely a slip of the tongue, not a misquote of Adams. However, I would call it a Freudian slip.)

Those who think they know are unwilling to be told otherwise.

[Brian-E]

Originally Posted by kladner

"Facts are stupid things." -Ronald Reagan (likely a slip of the tongue, not a misquote of Adams. However, I would call it a Freudian slip.)

Those who think they know are unwilling to be told otherwise.

Those who think they know are willing to channel funds to young up-and-coming scientists to do research on the subject provided that the study reaches the "correct" conclusions by whatever means necessary.

(That's a reference to the flawed and disgraced Regnerus study to which the article linked by chappy also refers.)

[Brian-E]

Aside from the studies concerning same sex parenting, and attempting to understand those with opposing views to my own, I was very interested to read the following article linked to by the iacknowledge.net article from chappy's post. It is written by a man who was raised by a female couple but opposes same sex marriage and parenting based on problems he says he suffers due to not having had a father in his childhood. He does not really dwell on the precise nature of the problems he experiences, but he does say that he knows other people raised by same sex parents with similar problems who are frightened to come out and say so in case they are branded homophobic.

Does the writer have a point?

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/not...should-know-i/

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Brian-E

(snip) He does not really dwell on the precise nature of the problems he experiences, but he does say that he knows other people raised by same sex parents with similar problems who are frightened to come out and say so in case they are branded homophobic.

Does the writer have a point?

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/not...should-know-i/

While I sympathize with the author's angst, I suggest that there are all sorts of ways to feel dissatisfaction with the parenting one received. Just having a parent of particular gender physically present does not mean that person is emotionally available in the way that the author seems to long for.

I am also uneasy about articles which include plugs like,

Click "like" if you want to defend true marriage.

(link removed). It reminds me of the testimonies of "former gays" who have been "cured".

The author's feeling may well be authentic, but I think he may be overlooking other contributing factors besides his parents' gender. These factors could include the lack of available surrogates for the missing father. Kids who lack a parent for whatever reason frequently find someone to play the role.

Then, too, many people have dissatisfactions with their parenting, but may believe quite a variety of explanations for their unhappiness, some more accurate than others. It is easy to latch onto one factor as a cause, and overlook others.

I had a father and a mother. They had a relationship which lasted as long as they did. However, I personally feel a dire lack of mothering. This is at odds with the perceptions of at least some of my siblings. I am happy if they had satisfying relationships with our mother. But for me, the entire concept of "mother" as many or most people seem to experience it, is a dark spot in my psyche. I imagine that I grasp it in the same way that a person blind from birth might understand color.

I have to wrap this up and confront our current snow storm. I hope that it suffices to say that I respect the author's personal experience, but I believe that he is over-generalizing to apply it to any and all situations.

[Brian-E]

My reaction on reading that article was similar to Kieren's above, granting the author the benefit of any possible doubt about the authenticity of his negative experience having been brought up by two mothers, but judging that he was misattributing his stated problems to his same sex parents when they in fact have other likely causes.

However, I've just come across the following article by the same author, written just a couple of days ago. This one is an attack on surrogacy and its use by gay men as prospective parents. This time the article has taken me aback with its vitriol and its inappropriate comparisons with slavery.

http://americanthinker.com/2014/03/b..._the_left.html

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Brian-E

However, I've just come across the following article by the same author, written just a couple of days ago. This one is an attack on surrogacy and its use by gay men as prospective parents. This time the article has taken me aback with its vitriol and its inappropriate comparisons with slavery.

http://americanthinker.com/2014/03/b..._the_left.html

That is quite disturbing. I note that he derides the idea that gays should be included under Equal Protection. "Oh sure, they were teased. Poor things, they had to hide their sexuality and live a lie."

Of course, he does not have to think about people like a gay friend of my parents, back in the bad old days. This talented man, a highly respected piano teacher, had a liaison which ended with him being robbed, viciously beaten in his home and left for dead. Of course, the legal authorities had no interest in pursuing the case.

It was not oppression for Oscar Wilde to have his health destroyed a Victorian prison, sentenced to deliberately meaningless hard labor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde

I suppose that this character might even think that Alan Turing had nothing to complain of, either.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

The latter two are famous examples. Who can say how many unknown people suffered on account of bigotry?

I have to admit that his main topic raises some thorny questions. However, once again, he alleges anonymous examples which fit his goals. This tactic is of a piece with the unknown "victims" of same-sex parenting for whom he claims to speak in the previous article.