Comments on: Tolerant of Intolerance?

By: ~Katherine

~Katherine — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:57:00 +0000

Yes John. Some people need and response to stories. I do. However many people don’t prefer them and I get the distinct feeling that storying makes them feel suffocated in layers of metaphoricals. They prefer plain words. No guessing. That has been such a difficult thing for me as I love nothing better than yarning on. People closely related to me were saying “Don’t be silly.” So yes… different pages.

As to getting it wrong about HIV/AIDS as linked to sexual behaviors. !! The biggest growing group of people getting the condition are heterosexual. !! That to me is a HUGE red flag that the disease process has *most likely* nothing to do with orientation.

By: Alicia Hayden

Alicia Hayden — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:52:39 +0000

I would go on to say that I can somewhat understand why some would feel the need to eradicate this, but the means is unacceptable. Alcoholism rarely goes on without hurting someone. It usually destroys a family. And I would venture a guess that homosexuality does the same thing in some way. Feel free to redirect.

Alicia

By: Alicia Hayden

Alicia Hayden — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:17:53 +0000

It goes back to what if it was in your “house”. My gene pool has a strong tendency for alcoholism. Society has labeled it as a “disease” I guess it’s a little easier to accept than homosexuality. It affects all walks of life. I can either be aware of all of its implications if it was full blown in my life or just fall victim to it. I choose the awareness of it. Homosexuality goes the same way. If I’m homosexual and know what it is and what it does, then it’s a choice. Some will grow out of it, then others will continue on, knowing and fully accepting it for what it is. Then it becomes a lifestyle. If they are comfortable with it, and they are not hurting others, then it is /or should be acceptable.

By: John Sobert Sylvest

John Sobert Sylvest — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:48:29 +0000

Thanks, Tim. And I like what Katherine and Alicia added. Thanks, y’all.

Science provides us the plain truth about what homosexuality IS and IS NOT.

From this IS we reason to the moral OUGHT; therefore, if one doesn’t get the IS right, then one will not get the OUGHT right either.

Now, I appreciate (but do not understand) that some use the Bible to ground their moral position. Foremost, I would remind them that they have a responsibility — not to leave their religious and metaphysical perspectives behind, but – to translate their position into arguments that can be understood by those of other faiths or no faith at all in our pluralistic society. I challenge them to do this. Furthermore, I challenge people to distinguish between cultural taboos in the Bible and the moral sense of scripture. I commend, then, Daniel Helminiak’s book: What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality. Alamo Square Press, 1994, 2000.

I appreciate that the Ugandan situation goes way beyond this moral determination and that some excuse themselves as only condemning the behavior and not the person. I can only suggest that you may very well STILL be culpable, at least in part, for not doing more to overcome your woeful ignorance regarding this moral reality because getting the moral significance of this human reality wrong is what makes the bigotry possible in the first place.

There you go, K.A., I’ve added the plain version to the story-telling. Thanks for the challenge! You are a princess of a person. As Tim says, different pages for different stages.

By: Alicia Hayden

Alicia Hayden — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:38:58 +0000

And to answer the other questions…cultural convictions are just another name for prejudice. And anywhere there is prejudice, there is a lack of respect and love. Start with respect, then comes understanding and the sky’s the limit from there.