#151
Posted: 1/15/05 at 3:23am
"And I hardly think it's unfair for you to say that President Bush "hates" Gays, just because he doesn't support us.
I have good friends who don't support my lifestyle, but still love me as a person. And they too have a right to believe whatever the hell they want."
I'm sorry to have to say this, but this is self-hate rhetoric at its worst. I used to preach the same thing about myself to justify all the adversity I was experiencing over sexual orientation. "Well, they're only bashing me because it's a part of their religion, so I have to accept that..." "They won't allow me to talk about it to them because it's against their faith..."
Nonsense. The people who don't support your "lifestyle" (i.e. support YOU) aren't "good friends." And they certainly don't love you "as a person" if they disapprove of something as central to your identity as sexual orientation. Why are you fooling around with them when you could have more friends who would be supportive of you? You deserve better than that. I hope that one day you will come to realize that you need not be supportive of their views - because by letting you call them your friends while also disrespecting you by "not supporting [your] lifestyle," they certainly aren't respecting your views. You should be using your identity to promote acceptance, NOT prejudice - which is exactly what you're inadvertently doing. Tough truth, hun, but it is still the truth. If your friends are not learning to view "gay" as a legitimate identity from you, then who will teach them? And they do need to be taught. Their views are NOT acceptable - it's the same thing as racism and sexism, both of which have been sanctioned by various institutions (especially religion) in the past.
Moreover, it's completely fair of the original poster to say that Bush "hates" gays "just because he doesn't support us." The original poster doesn't have to use kind words when talking about anyone's prejudices.
I'm sending this to you in a PM as well.
I have good friends who don't support my lifestyle, but still love me as a person. And they too have a right to believe whatever the hell they want."
I'm sorry to have to say this, but this is self-hate rhetoric at its worst. I used to preach the same thing about myself to justify all the adversity I was experiencing over sexual orientation. "Well, they're only bashing me because it's a part of their religion, so I have to accept that..." "They won't allow me to talk about it to them because it's against their faith..."
Nonsense. The people who don't support your "lifestyle" (i.e. support YOU) aren't "good friends." And they certainly don't love you "as a person" if they disapprove of something as central to your identity as sexual orientation. Why are you fooling around with them when you could have more friends who would be supportive of you? You deserve better than that. I hope that one day you will come to realize that you need not be supportive of their views - because by letting you call them your friends while also disrespecting you by "not supporting [your] lifestyle," they certainly aren't respecting your views. You should be using your identity to promote acceptance, NOT prejudice - which is exactly what you're inadvertently doing. Tough truth, hun, but it is still the truth. If your friends are not learning to view "gay" as a legitimate identity from you, then who will teach them? And they do need to be taught. Their views are NOT acceptable - it's the same thing as racism and sexism, both of which have been sanctioned by various institutions (especially religion) in the past.
Moreover, it's completely fair of the original poster to say that Bush "hates" gays "just because he doesn't support us." The original poster doesn't have to use kind words when talking about anyone's prejudices.
I'm sending this to you in a PM as well.
Updated On: 1/15/05 at 03:23 AM