Comments on: Withers: A response to a Morehouse College concern http://www.365gay.com/blog/030309-a-response-to-a-morehouse-man/ The daily news source for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:11:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Scott http://www.365gay.com/blog/030309-a-response-to-a-morehouse-man/comment-page-1/#comment-45944 Scott Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:45:46 +0000 http://www.365gay.com/?p=5714#comment-45944 We had a similar problem on my campus at Vanderbilt. Several students began writing articles that in my opinion bordered on hate speech. After the articles came out, the attacks against gay students doubled for the next three months (according to several housing officials I knew). The thing that made it so ...surreal... was that the young men writing the articles were closeted homosexuals. One in particular was head of a prominent Christian group on campus and also routinely promoted the "true love waits" campaign. At first I didn't believe he was gay... I mean how could you write something like that and be gay. But then my friends slept with him, and pictures don't lie... We had a similar problem on my campus at Vanderbilt. Several students began writing articles that in my opinion bordered on hate speech. After the articles came out, the attacks against gay students doubled for the next three months (according to several housing officials I knew). The thing that made it so …surreal… was that the young men writing the articles were closeted homosexuals. One in particular was head of a prominent Christian group on campus and also routinely promoted the “true love waits” campaign. At first I didn’t believe he was gay… I mean how could you write something like that and be gay. But then my friends slept with him, and pictures don’t lie…

]]> By: Neil http://www.365gay.com/blog/030309-a-response-to-a-morehouse-man/comment-page-1/#comment-45732 Neil Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:31:10 +0000 http://www.365gay.com/?p=5714#comment-45732 I went and read the linked article which lead to a linked YouTube video. What struck me about that ugly, sad video is that if you replace all the instances of 'same sex' or 'gay' or 'homosexual' with the words 'black' or 'interracial' or 'interfaith', the video plays just as well to its target audience. The same lies, arguments and sickness were preached from innumerable pulpits back when segregation was the norm ... back when interracial marriage was illegal in the majority of this country . . . when interfaith marriage was sinful in the majority of religions. The arguments haven't changed - only the verbiage. The ignorance and hatred haven't changed - only the target. But that is a great thing! Because the legal results of all their foolish debate will result (sooner than later) in their arguments, ignorance and hatred being relegated to their pitiful religions and not being allowed to easily spill over into the real world. We are on the verge of joining the real world. While that is a wonderful thing, let no one believe that integration will be an easy thing or pleasant thing. It will require tolerance, assimilation and vigilance. But it will happen. And don't believe we are fighting mostly for ourselves. If that is true, we fail. We have to know that we are fighting for our children and for their children. Whether those children be our own biological children, or the gay kids who are only kids now, or those gay kids who have yet to be born, we are fighting for them. If our battles do not go beyond ourselves, the benefits we will see may well be short lived. Just as our fight is founded on the struggle of those who fought long before us, so our fight must be motivated by those who will come long after us. Neil I went and read the linked article which lead to a linked YouTube video. What struck me about that ugly, sad video is that if you replace all the instances of ‘same sex’ or ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ with the words ‘black’ or ‘interracial’ or ‘interfaith’, the video plays just as well to its target audience.

The same lies, arguments and sickness were preached from innumerable pulpits back when segregation was the norm … back when interracial marriage was illegal in the majority of this country . . . when interfaith marriage was sinful in the majority of religions.

The arguments haven’t changed – only the verbiage. The ignorance and hatred haven’t changed – only the target. But that is a great thing!

Because the legal results of all their foolish debate will result (sooner than later) in their arguments, ignorance and hatred being relegated to their pitiful religions and not being allowed to easily spill over into the real world.

We are on the verge of joining the real world.

While that is a wonderful thing, let no one believe that integration will be an easy thing or pleasant thing. It will require tolerance, assimilation and vigilance. But it will happen.

And don’t believe we are fighting mostly for ourselves. If that is true, we fail. We have to know that we are fighting for our children and for their children. Whether those children be our own biological children, or the gay kids who are only kids now, or those gay kids who have yet to be born, we are fighting for them.

If our battles do not go beyond ourselves, the benefits we will see may well be short lived. Just as our fight is founded on the struggle of those who fought long before us, so our fight must be motivated by those who will come long after us.

Neil

]]> By: montrealbren http://www.365gay.com/blog/030309-a-response-to-a-morehouse-man/comment-page-1/#comment-45658 montrealbren Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:48:48 +0000 http://www.365gay.com/?p=5714#comment-45658 It's nice to see that this particular conversation, an important one, is being opened. I tend to dislike "gay politics" in the US: we've become like former Soviet citizens - everything must be based on inflexible ideology. Having lived in communist countries, I'm familiar with the pitfalls of groupthink. The gay hive-mind in the US is the sad result of continued institutionalized and legal discrimination... And it has led to breathtaking political bigotry on both sides of the argument. In Canada, and several European nations that are less like our own, the gay political discourse in the USA is painful to follow: it is a reminder of how fearful Americans are of change. Once gays are given legal equality, so much of the hatred we still discuss just fizzles out, as the general population comes to realize that their gay minority is NOT a threat to anything fundamental about society. Once gays are treated equally under all laws, they generally participate in a nation's political life in a much more productive manner: the homosexual agenda disappears and becomes a more humanitarian agenda. To see my great nation stuck in such a tired mode of cultural hatred and/or imposed religiosity is really draining. I can't wait for the day that US gays are equal citizens. I know that many will realize that they preferred being discriminated against (victimhood and oppression are hard to give up, since you go from "special/notorious" to just "normal/boring" and lots of people don't adapt well to that loss of specialness). But once we're full citizens of the USA, we can move on to a more modern form of activism, one that benefits more Americans. It’s nice to see that this particular conversation, an important one, is being opened. I tend to dislike “gay politics” in the US: we’ve become like former Soviet citizens – everything must be based on inflexible ideology. Having lived in communist countries, I’m familiar with the pitfalls of groupthink. The gay hive-mind in the US is the sad result of continued institutionalized and legal discrimination… And it has led to breathtaking political bigotry on both sides of the argument.
In Canada, and several European nations that are less like our own, the gay political discourse in the USA is painful to follow: it is a reminder of how fearful Americans are of change. Once gays are given legal equality, so much of the hatred we still discuss just fizzles out, as the general population comes to realize that their gay minority is NOT a threat to anything fundamental about society. Once gays are treated equally under all laws, they generally participate in a nation’s political life in a much more productive manner: the homosexual agenda disappears and becomes a more humanitarian agenda. To see my great nation stuck in such a tired mode of cultural hatred and/or imposed religiosity is really draining.
I can’t wait for the day that US gays are equal citizens. I know that many will realize that they preferred being discriminated against (victimhood and oppression are hard to give up, since you go from “special/notorious” to just “normal/boring” and lots of people don’t adapt well to that loss of specialness). But once we’re full citizens of the USA, we can move on to a more modern form of activism, one that benefits more Americans.

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