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Originally posted by timalkin
Do child molesters choose to be so? Serial killers? Necrophiliacs?
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There are a few key differences between homosexuality and child molesters, etc: homosexuality is 1. not just about sex - it's about attraction, affection, passion, etc. It's a normal romantic/sexual attraction that just happens to be directed at someone of the same sex. 2. homosexuality, like many things, is determined in part by genetics, in part by biology, and in part by experience. You could say the same thing about most traits. 3. homosexuality is a consensual relationship between two people - nobody is harmed. Serial killers kill people. Child molesters hurt small children. Necrophiliacs defile the dead. That you can even classify homosexuality with these other acts bespeaks a strikingly misguided perception of what homosexuality actually is. I am bisexual, I have a girlfriend, and I really have to take issue with an expression of love and affection between the two of us being lumped in with the depraved actions of serial killers and child molesters.
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We all have natural urges that we do not choose, but which we must control. I have the urge to bash in the heads of stupid people who piss me off everyday, but should I do it? Would society be a better place if I acted on my impulses?
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Again, the key difference is that if you act on your urge, someone else gets hurt. If two gay people wanna fuck or get married or whatever, nobody is harmed. And don't give me the story about "won't somebody please think of the children!?!" - there's no credible evidence that having homosexual parents is any better or worse for kids than having hetero parents.
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If we are in favor of giving people the freedom to do whatever strikes their fancy, no matter the cost to our civilization, I want to be included.
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Could you please detail the "cost to our civilization" of accepting homosexuality?
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And where do homosexuals come from anyway? If there was a gene for homosexuality, it wouldn't have survived the first generation.
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There's a lot of evidence that there are several genes that predispose people to homosexuality, and they are differentially expressed depending on the hormonal environment in the womb and depending on experiences after birth. (Just because you have a gene doesn't mean that it's active - many genes have to be turned on or off by various chemical signals produced in response to particular biological inputs produced by experiences). Say you have three brothers, all of whom have this set of genes that predispose them to homosexuality. Brother 1 has less of hormone X in the womb for various reasons and ends up decidedly gay; brother 2 has more of hormone X in the womb and ends up hetero. Brother 2 goes on to reproduce biologically and passes on the set of genes, which may or may not be expressed in the next generation but will probably be carried on. Brother 3 has an amount of hormone X that produces a "middle road" reaction - he might find a man he really likes, might decide he's bi, might never encounter a man he loves and live a decidedly hetero life.
Like I said, not a simple picture.
It makes me profoundly sad that there is so much hatred and misunderstanding directed at gay/lesbian/bi etc people. We're people - we love, hurt, have jobs, do stupid things, turn into assholes, commit crimes, want to get married, have bad parents or good parents. The only difference between me and a straight woman is that when I see another woman I might be attracted to her, and if she's compatible I might even fall in love with her. I can't really understand how such a simple thing could be the downfall of civilization as we know it. It doesn't fit into an "either/or" paradigm that's easy for people to digest, which makes it frightening for some people. I hardly think that an entire population should be punished simply for not fitting into your neat little concept of how the universe ought to work.