"Its Wrong To Be Homosexual or Bisexual"

Hey,
Remember this Judge not lest ye be judged. Tell them that. It is not their place to judge you or anyone else. They should know better. Its one thing for them to believe you're wrong but but it is another to harass you for it.
In this country, everyone deserves equal rights under the law. (I know many of you won't like this story because the priest doesn't believe homosexuality is right.) We were having a q and a session at our church and one of the questions posed to the priest was homosexual rights. His stance was (while he believed it was wrong by church teaching) in this country we have promises of equality for all. It isn't fair for heterosexual couples to get the rights and benefits while homosexual couples don't in a country where the church and state are separate. His belief was that government needed to get rid of the term marriage and use civil union for everyone regardless of sexual orientation and every couple regardless of orientation deserved the same benefits and rights. I know at least at my church we aren't there to judge, just to share the love, we leave the judgement to God because as humans we aren't perfect and we know it. Hope this story helps. While people have the right to believe you are wrong, they do not have the right to force you to live the life the want you to live. Free choice is a right that should never be taken away from anyone, regardless of what anyone thinks. (I know homosexuality isn't a choice, but to live the life openly just like hiding it is a choice.) I am not here to try to argue that point, I am just trying to tell you that it is your right to live as a homosexual. If anything in this post seems stupid to you or doesn't make sense please let me know and I'll try to elaborate or explain better tomorrow. I wish I could say what's in my head better and I know some of what I typed can be taken the wrong way, but I honestly believe you do deserve the same rights as anyone.

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Updated On: 2/13/04 at 12:38 AM

son of--I think you spoke very well. =)

DonnaMurphyRocks is right--life will be so different (and better, ultimately) out of high school. While homophobia will never go away (and will likely blow up during what is about to become a very historical, emotional chapter in America's ongoing civil rights movement), college is a much more open environment (in general). In life, you can surround yourself with the people who support and love you.

I'm proud that you do not tolerate the exceedingly immature and unnecessary hate talk in your school. But, pick and choose your battles carefully. It's probably not worth detention or expulsion over some idiot's stupid comment. It's sickening that teachers don't protect all students. It's also sickening that a school paper would allow such a hateful viewpoint to be included--at least while not including the opposite pov.

I got into a bit of a battle with my undergraduate's newspaper. They were printing ads for that organization that was popular in the 90s that helped people become straight (I forget the name, but it's the same one with the "reformed gay man" who has since been caught going to gay bars!! lol). Anyway, I wrote in about how terrible it was for this ad to be included in the newspaper, comparing it to what it would be like if it were an ad to change the color of one's skin. It was a redneck college--who knows if my letters (which were printed with editor and other student's rebuttals to mine) made any impact in such ignorantly, thick heads. But, it felt good to say, "uhn UH. I'm not taking this crap lying down!" Well--not in those words. =)

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Triple Star,

If you feel so strongly, write an op ed back countering this other girl's view.

I believe very strongly that this girl had every right to express her views in the forum she did, as long as equal time is given to the opposing viewpoint. We must never censor those who don't believe the same as we believe, but we have a moral obligation to use any means necessary to present our views in hopes of making a difference in society.

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Wow, I applaud your maturity, RobbieJ. Sincerely.

As for me, I want this chick's e-mail address so I can write a scathing response back to her.

But that's just me, I guess.

this isnt a unique battle. i live in a fairly metropolitan area (Whashington DC) and homophobia is everywhere. a kid in my neighborhood got beaten up and left in a ditch, with fag written accross his forhead. he wasn't even gay. there have been three attempts at my school to start a gay-straight alliance; each one was shot down immediately, yet my very catholic friend waltzed into the principles office, suggested a pro-life club, and walked back out with the necessary papers signed, bypassing the normal procedure. we have three--THREE!!!--bible clubs. i've been told the following in the halls:

i'm going to hell
god hates my "kind"
Bush is finally going to screw those fags for good.
and other things along the same lines.

ya, it sucks. but you learn to get over it. it will still hurt, but you have to learn to live with the hate, because its not going away anytime soon. fight it! i'm going to actaully get the GSA started this year, and i have the school paper, two administrators, the marching band (people fear us) and a lawyer to get the job done. pick your fights carefully, and be an example. breaking someone's nose just tells people your the typical angry dyke. i know you're not, but that's how the homophobes twist it. don't take any hate pointed directly at you, and fight homophobia in subtle ways. faggot has slipped into people's vocabulary, and most of them don't even realize what meaning is coming accross. call them on it! i guarentee that a lot will make a conscious effort to stop. whenever you hear the word gay being used to describe an inanimate object, inform the person that what they said is silly: a pencil has no sex, much less two of them, and is even less likely to fornicate, and nothing about it suggests that the pencil will fornicate with other pencils of the same sex. see how stupid it sounds? people will get the idea, and start to watch their language around you, making your environment that much more enjoyable. homophobia sucks some major ass, but its a fact of life. learn to accept it, then fight to change it.

i thought that was controlled, didn't you?

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Excuse me but isn't this a question best left to the politicians to answer for us?

Pardon me, but if it ain't legislated for me then it don't exist. Lead on Mr. Bush, we'll find those pesky WMDs somewhere.

Updated On: 2/15/04 at 02:31 PM

I don't think that RightSaidRick should be saying anything like this on this specific thread. Thank you for your comments, but like B-wayGirl said, Politicians have allowed enough crap already. So screw "politicians" cuz they don't understand any of this stuff....looks like you dont either RightSaidRick.

Homophobia is the stupidest thing ever. It shouldn't exist but it does. Its people that egg on this sort of thing and don't understand ANYTHING about it that make it worse in this world.

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Triple Star, it does suck that there is such homophobia.

But like racism, it will unfortunately live forever. You can try changing things (in fact- absolutely try!), but even if there is very little homophobia later- it will still be present.

Attitudes like yours may seem like it will help, but won't. I've gotten into fights with homophobic people myself, and let's just say that now they think that I'm a lesbian and they're more scared of gays than ever. I've tried to be a little more understanding (well, more of just not getting angry too quickly) and it's somewhat worked.

What am I trying to say?
Homophobia sucks, but I don't think that it will be eliminated completely.

Racism, believe it or not, is still definitely present.

And most high schoolers don't know anything, anyway.

And as for the politicans knowing nothing, that is such nonsense. I don't like a lot of politicians either, but don't tell me that they 'don't understand any of this stuff.' They've got their own beliefs, and whether it be right to us or not, they know it. That remark just...ugh.

Well, ***onBway, this seems to be a fairly common high school scenario. Unfortunately, there's no way to have it all. If the "popular" kids (and when it comes down to it...are they "really" polular, or have they just laid claim to the title? It seems to me that the so-called "popular" kids are frequently disliked by just about everyone but their own little clique.) Anyway, you have to find your niche with people who matter to you, and don't worry about the rest. The key concept to remember is that words will only hurt you if you let them. My daughter (who is straight and has been going with a guy not from her school for 2 1/2 years) went to the prom last year with a girlfriend whose male date had baled on her at the last minute. She said that at least two dozen people came up to her at school, including many who had never spoken to her before, and said, "I didn't know you were a lesbian." She figured it was none of their business, one way or another, and let people think what they wanted. Is/was there gossip? Sure. But it didn't last that long because she didn't react to it.

Kids (and adults) who torture others for being different (Bwaytheater11's teacher comes to mind) have more problems and issues, as a rule, than the people who they are ridiculing. It's as if they need to know someone else down to assure their precarious social position on top of the heap. You need to evaluated if these are people whose opinions matter to you. If the answer is no, hold your head high, brace for the onslaught that will come (and go), and know that you are the better person. I'm not saying it's easy, But it IS honorable.

Oh, and BTW, Rick...I actually like your post, but think you should cut and paste it over to the National Guard thread so it doesn't get lost.

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Updated On: 2/15/04 at 12:31 PM

rick, thank god for brave souls like yourself who are willing to put themselves out there in supprt of our commander in chief during this difficult time (particularly your reference to the early 70's era national guard binge drinking requirements as most people have no idea how hard it actually is to funnel a six pack of milwaukee's best). i find your faith in our elected officials inspiring and in honor of your display of said faith i plan to begin lobbing unfounded and purely speculative rumors about nearly any politician i decide is not mambo-worthy. thank you for your inspiration. i hope that someday i might capture one iota of your eloqunce here on the boards as well.

your fan,

papalovesmambo

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ew. who wants to be normal? normal is icky and for looser conservative republicans and Catholics (i can say that. i am one. catholic that is). i've learned that you can never be truly happy in life if you're always worrying about the homophobes. if they beat you up, they beat you up. press charges and get on with your life. just like the whole 9/11 mall attack thing, you can't let fear of one thing that could happen at anytime ruin your life. sometimes you have to accept risks. and sometimes, it's just fun to piss off Rick And PLMambo and make fun of G.W. some more!!

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"

"I'm going to work with every Cabinet member and set goals for each Cabinet."

"I mean, there needs to be a wholesale effort against racial profiling, which is illiterate children."

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