Quote:
|
Originally Posted by martinguerre
cynthetiq...i think that comparison is quite shallow. we all make judgements about what is beyond the pale, and what is acceptable in others even if we personally disagree with it. comparing me to a bunch of homophobes is not a cheap shot, it's simply an ineffective one. i might assume that you beleive it is not the right of a parent to cannibalize their offspring for food. i believe it is not right to teach a child to hate who they are on account of sexual orientation. we're all drawing lines. your argument seems to be assuming that your line is a neutral or natural one...and i don't think that assumption is justified.
i think you overstate the virtues of tolerance. carried to an extreme, it is just as dangerous as the cultural despotism that you are taking issue with. also betrayed in your thinking is a view of children as chattle. you are only advocating tolerance and respect of the other so far as it recognizes the right of the parent to dispose of the child in whatever way they see fit. IMO, there is not a recognition of the child as equally valued as a moral agent.
would you support parents who sent depressed kids to camps that told them that God was really angry with them for being sad? is that just the parent's freedom? does it always show respect for another to abdicate moral judgement on their actions? what these folks are doing is teaching their own children to hate who they are. there is every reason to beleive that self-hate focused on sexual idenity is strongly linked with suicide.
why do you believe i ought to let that pass without comment?
as a post script. i take some issue with your vocabulary as well. i don't use the word lifestyle, as i think it confuses the issue. lifestyle implies choice, and is functionally vague. for instance, a person may have a chaste lifestyle or very active one...but neither of these choices depend on a non-chosen sexual orientation.
|
I support the parents abiltiy to make choices. I may not agree with the choices they make but it is not for me to agree with their choice. It is for me to accept the fact that it is their choice. It is not my child to raise or rear.
When a parent says, "Oh my child has ADD or is constantly depressed' and sends them to the doctor and sets them all up on a pill regimen, I don't agree with that either, but it's not my place to say that the parent is wrong. A parent is doing what they feel is right for them and for thier child.
If their belief system says that theiy have an angry god, who am I to correct them as an outsider to their ministry and teachings? What right do I have to do so? Do I have a right to say to an Orthodox Jew what he should and should not do for himself or his family based on their teachings and their readings? Do I have that right with Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Bhai, Agnostics, Athiets? I do not have that right.
All I can do is shake my head in disbelief for things that I do not agree with.
Children as chattle? Hardly, children are the moral and legal responsibilty of the parents up until the age of 18. Understand that parents have an obligation to fill their children with MORALS that agree with their own belief structure. Again, if they decide that they wish to promote bigotry and hatred vis a vie their children that is the parents prerogative. It's not right but it is not my place to tell a parent how to raise their child. Again, so long as what they are doing are within the guidelines of the US Constitution (of which you should know if you don't already that children do not have the same rights and protections as adults) and the US Judicial system then everything is fair game.
Quote:
lifestyle or life-style or life style
n. A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group.
|
I do not see the word CHOICE in any definitions that I have in any of the dictionaries online or in my own home. I live a heterosexual lifestyle and all the trappings that come with it. My homosexual friends live homosexual lifestyles and all the trappings that come with it. Do we have choices in how we express our attitudes and values? Yes we do.
Why do I take umbrage at Gay Pride Parades? Because homosexual men seem to find it okay to walk about with their cocks flailing about in the wind for everyone to see. I do not see that happening at Puerto Rican Pride Parades, Irish Parades, Gulf War Veterans Hero Parades. The only similarities that come across is Mardi Gras/Carnivale, which it's well known to the organizers and vistors alike that debauchery is part of the process before abstinence. One does not walk down the street and accidentally walk into a crowd of Mardi Gras people all flashing their tits trying to get beads. Yet, here in NYC I've found myself crossing Gay Pride events where homosexual men felt the need to whip out their cocks to show to everyone. Even in gay bars that I have frequented here in NYC, I see plenty of homosexual men exposing themselves and parading around town that under normal circumstances would be considered indecent. I do not find that acceptable at all.
But that part of homosexual lifestyle is not representative of all homosexuals.
My boss is gay. He's very private about his sexual orientation, and keeps it quite low key. In fact I actually had to ask him directly if he was gay because he does not wear it on his sleeve. For his lifestyle he chooses to be very private about it. He also agrees that flapping penises in the wind does not help the gay cause of tolerance and acceptance. I know and am friends with many homosexuals that live and work in this manner and lifestyle.
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.