Nov 5, 2008
Still so far away…
Forgive me for my lack of enthusiasm today about our President Elect. As heartening as such a victory is for America, it is marred by ignorance and leaves me feeling shame for my country at the same time. The election of Barack Obama to our highest office may seem to be the end of one form of bigotry, one form of xenophobic ignorance, but like a smoker who franticly chews gum, or an alcoholic who turns to drugs, we’ve just replaced one addiction with another, one prejudice with another, one form hatred and discrimination with another.
Yesterday, another 3 states banned gay marriage and a fourth denied some of its orphans the chance of a good home by banning the right for gays to adopt.
California’s ‘Yes On Prop 8′ had $25 million dollars donated by the Morman church, to “uphold the sanctity of marriage.”
I still have yet to hear an argument against gay marriage that is not directly tied to religion, and along with such huge support from a church, this is a reduction of everyone’s rights, not just homosexuals. This is church funding government, however much you’d like to deny it.
I am reminded, (and this comparison has been mentioned elsewhere) of the same arguments made against interracial marriage. The “lack of morals”, the “healthy upbringing of the child”.
I think the same people opposing gay marriage would be (and probably still are) the same people protesting interracial marriage, and I think its just as disgusting a group of people as was back then.
So as jubilant and excited as I might feel about the possibilities of the future with a President Obama, my excitement is held in check, realizing that a large portion of our country is treated as second class citizens, with no right to express their love in whatever way they choose.
Listen I understand that everyone wants to be treated equally and all that. I’m fine with that, but in the universe and all things great and mighty, the fact that homosexuals want to get married is not on the list of the top 1,000 things that matter to most people. the issue of “gay” rights is an issue that has gotten too much coverage for the number of people that it touches. But, gay marriage is a polarizing topic that the right-wing has taken and used as a wedge to drive people apart. It is NOT like segregation, b/c black people can’t hide their skin color, its on display for everyone to see regardless of if blacks wanted it to be known. My advise to gays is to STFU and stop trying to force everyone to accept their sexual practices. Can you imagine if blowjobs were a political issue? I can’t readily tell if a girl, or guy for that matter, likes giving blow jobs, just by looking at them. The fact of the matter is that some gays like to advertise their sexuality and some people are uncomfortable with any person’s sexuality being advertised. I don’t think the gov. should be able to tell people who they can/can’t marry, but the issue of gays getting married is NOT anything that the majority or even a large percentage of people should care about. Gays and people promoting gay rights need to understand why people are fighting against this. Not out of hate but out of disdain for a different way of life. Individuals working together make a community. People get married and have families, making the community larger. The basis of society will always be the family unit. This is the MAIN reason America is in the place where it currently is, b/c of the decline of the family unit. Gays want to be able to marry, have kids, and live “normal” lives. But when 2 men or 2 women decide to start a family, there is no way that this unit can sustain itself. 2 men or 2 women by themselves cannot have children. The gay model for a community is non sustainable and only possible due to technology or through some other sexual arrangement. That is the point that gays don’t seem to understand. Much like the americans who were/are caught in the mortgage crisis or the gas price crisis, living 100 miles away from your job is ok when you have cheap gas, but when you take the cheap gas out of the equation, the entire system starts to fall apart. I advise people who are on both sides of this issue to thoguthfully think about the other side, I have.
Ugh, sorry Sam, I think you are a bit off here. I will follow up with a longer, better comment later, I am at work.
Mark,
I do agree with what you say in your post, but I have definitely heard non-religious argument to banning gay marriage.
I don’t agree with Prop 8. But I have tried to figure out the rationale behind supporting it previously and here is what I have gathered thus far:
First, its just a basic Christian/Muslim/Monotheistic value which is clearly written in the each faith’s respective texts. The bible states that marriage should only be between a man and woman and the Koran clearly states that. So you must understand that if someone is to truly subscribe to what these texts say as the word of god/message from god- then we must understand that these people have these values on valid religious grounds (abortion similar). And since our nation is predominantly religious Christians in addition to the many right wing evangelists which have much influence in American society, it is no wonder why there is such a movement to ban legalized gay marriage.
The second part has to do with children and the effect; because presumably if we were to liberalize this; future generations are involved.
Aside from the religious argument. People not religious who are against legalizing gay marriage often argue that it is not good for future generations of a society in which children are being raised by two men/two woman, rather than a man and women. Its based on natural versus unnatural. I have even had discussions with professors and other intellectuals who root this back to ancient Greek society arguing that one of the roots of the fall of ancient Greek society was this liberal interpretation of adult/child relationships. It alienated future generations. So this argument is based on an assumption for future generations. Do you want your children going to school with other children being raised by two people of the same sex? Would this confuse children? Would this harm children’s growth as heterosexuals? Would they be forced to be gay? In many ways these are valid questions that these proponents often claim. Obviously, I am not voting yes on this, however, I can’t predict what my child’s response would be if he/she came to me confused about this parental relationship from other children.
Thats my idea as to what this is all about.
Peace
Artoor
Sam,
If this “doesn’t matter” to most people, why do these bans exist? Why are they going out and voting for them?
“My advise to gays is to STFU and stop trying to force everyone to accept their sexual practices.”
Do you realize the hypocrisy of that statement? It’s certain heterosexuals who are trying their hardest to force their “values” on everyone else.
“I don’t think the gov. should be able to tell people who they can/can’t marry”
You’re right, it most certainly shouldn’t.
“Not out of hate but out of disdain for a different way of life.”
You just used a different word for hate. And by the way, that is called bigotry. Interesting how shameless you are in promoting it.
Ultimately your argument against gay marriage is the fact that they can’t reproduce? Then what about infertile couples? Or couples who choose not to have children? Should there be laws banning those?
I am never going to “STFU”, and I am not going to even ask you to Sam. I am going to ask you to think a little harder.
@Maribel
I completely agree and was about to post the same thing. If marriage were solely about “having families and making the community larger” sterile adults would also be banned from marriage.
As I discussed with a friend last night, this argument is simply about a gut reaction. What feels right to me versus what feels right to ‘them’. Sure, both sides are trying to throw evidence of their beliefs toward the argument, but in the end, its about what each person is comfortable with. Unfortunately, for homosexual couples, the general public is uncomfortable with gay marriage. And, I think that’s a ridiculous reason to make a law. I grew up believing that, in America, we should be accepting of everyone.
@Artoor
To answer your question, I personally would not mind if my child had a friend with homosexual parents. I believe its better to leave them open-minded about all situations in life, instead of shielding them from things I don’t understand.
I don’t anticipate changing anyone’s mind on this issue – just my two cents.