The Timeless Art of Seduction

I’m never one to pass up the chance to squeeze in a Seinfeld reference wherever I can, but there’s really nothing like gay rights to get me to come back to blogging. (We’ll see how long I last this time around.)

Thanks to my Facebook Friendship with David Manes, I’ve discovered HU Queer Press. It’s an e-zine (I nearly typed “online e-zine”, which, to me, is the equivalent of saying “ATM machine” or “PIN number”. Ugh.) that focuses on gay life at conservative places, particularly Harding University.

One thing I was pleased to see that they covered was the eternally irritating “Why do they have to shove it down our throats?” argument. That’s driven me nuts for years, and I can imagine my frustration doesn’t even compare to that of someone actually living it.

A big problem (maybe not a “problem,” maybe just a “difference” yada yada) of mine is that the average person is pretty incapable of comprehending logic beyond a certain point. It makes me angry, which makes me look, to those people, like someone who can’t accept a difference of opinion. What I can’t accept is the inability of critical thought. It’s a lack of critical thought which makes people so scared of homosexuality, and my hatred of that, combined with my tendency to love people until they give me a reason not to ( Yes, this love is there. It’s hidden underneath the misanthropy–hey, I’m an enigma, baby.), that makes this whole issue so special and so infuriating to me.

On FB a while back, I posted a note called “Arguments I Find Stupid and Why”. I actually lost several FB friends over it, two because of the post mentioned below. To be fair, it was a direct response to their views; however, it was nothing I hadn’t already told them. It’s a bit outdated now, as DADT was, in fact, repealed, but it addresses the illogic behind the gay agenda/shoving it down our throats argument:

I’m not a homophobe, but “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is OK/appropriate/not harmful because the military is work, and your personal life is irrelevant.
Perhaps. But it seems as though I’ve mentioned a husband or boyfriend or date a time or two at work. Homosexuals aren’t fighting for the right to come to work and announce how much fun they had last night ass fucking or eating pussy, any more than you would do that. They want to be able to say, “Last night my {same sex partner} and I went to the store/watched a good movie/decided to go on vacation”–just like you do–without worrying that it will cost them their job. If you have never once made any remote mention of any aspect whatsoever of your personal life at work, then this is a valid argument for you to make. Otherwise, you are a homophobe, or at the very least acting like one, and you should knock it the fuck off.

These people couldn’t offer a single basis for their disagreement other than saying, “Well, that’s just how I feel.” Well, how I feel is that that isn’t good enough. If it’s consensual, if the people are adults, and if all parties are human, then no rights are being violated and it’s none of my damn business (unless, of course, I am one of the parties involved).

I will admit that I see the Church of Christ view. I do not agree (perish the thought! ), but I do see how they can interpret the Bible that way, and I see how it can be very difficult for them to see it differently. It’s what we were always taught. I was 18 before I even began to consider that hey, maybe it’s not a choice. But I think the point that we used to use the Bible to defend slavery is a good one. (Incidentally, I’ve asked numerous CofC scholars how they can defend the scripture telling slaves to return to their masters. None of them have really been able to. )

Speaking of choice, there was an article in a 2008 edition of The Los Angeles Times that made an argument I’ve been making for ages, only far more eloquently. I believe homosexuality is something you are, not something you choose. That said, what if it were a choice? Would it make a difference in how it should be treated by the government? I say no. Here’s a link:
Gay is a choice?

So prepare your mind to be open, polish your critical thinking skills, and read the e-zine. Even if you don’t change your mind, you might change the way you treat homosexuals. It’s weird to me that as a Christian, I could have close friends who had sex outside of marriage, who’d been divorced, who’d had an abortion–I could forgive them that. But a gay person? Uh, no, we kinda backed away from that. It was wrong. So what if it is? Is it any more wrong than divorce or abortion or promiscuity? I’d guess no. (I’m able to remember how I felt and behaved as a Christian, even over a decade later.)

And I think that’s all my rambling for now. I hope there will be more, because it makes me feel better, even if it bores the pants off everyone else.