No, not gay people... I'm talking about the ignorant fuckers behind Prop 8 in California, Fred Phelps, Rush Limbaugh and all those other fuckers who cater to the knuckle-dragging masses. The people who like to quote Leviticus as their reasoning for being hate-mongers.
I'm probably going to end up using 'Fuck' a lot, in this post.
Lets run down the list of things being railed against by the 'Anti' crowd, so I can systematically tear them apart and feel better about myself afterwards. In no particular order:
- Homosexuality is a choice or a psychological defect
- Gay people detract from 'Family Values'
- Allowing same sex marriage would cause <insert horrible thing here>
- It's unnatural
I think I'll start with some pictures, since the other side of this argument isn't big on reading...
So, what we have here a series of MRI images showing the active centers of four different brains, in response to sexual stimulation. The full study can be found here. In this study, a group of Swedish scientists set about trying to find similarities between the active portion of different brains. 25 heterosexual men, 25 hetero women, 20 homosexual men and 20 homosexual women. What they found is pretty well illustrated above. Now, to a rational human being, this study would be enough to close the argument, but as soon you throw a bible in the mix, or start talking about 'God' people get all misty eyed and rational thinking gets tossed out the window. Happily, though, there are other avenues to this argument that even irrational fundamentalists can't just brush under the rug, even though they try.
Consider the climate in the world today. The average gay person is going to have to endure the kind of hate, abuse, discrimination and general ill-treatment, unheard of since the 1960's. We're talking about beatings, rape, harassment, picket lines at gay funerals (my favorite, since it's so damned classy), social stigma and general suspicion. And so-called 'sympathetic groups' aren't necessarily better, since using 'Gay Issues' is a great way to sway Democratic votes, and parading flaming homosexuals in front of some news cameras is a great photo-op if you're running for public office, and really need the liberals to come out for you. Does this sound like something a person would CHOOSE? And if it's psychological, it's a fucking pandemic of crazy on a scale rivaling the Bubonic Plague. We're talking about something on the order of six million people, in the U.S. alone, that have some kind of martyr complex. Some one said something once about eliminating the impossible to find the most probable solution. I think that applies here.
Family values seems a laughable point, considering who it is that's bringing it up. The guys are basically closet homosexuals, or adulterers, and they're grandstanding about 'Family Values'? Are you fucking joking? Even so, let's look at it seriously. What about two gay men, or women, fucking is so damned threatening to the rest of the world's 'Values'? I'm honestly confused by this argument, because in the same breath they're saying that it's acceptable for the majority to discriminate against, condemn and protest against an entire group of people simply because they don't fuck how we do. Where's the logic here? I know, I'm asking a lot, but... seriously? Which is a greater moral issue? Two adults having sex in a committed relationship, or violating the basic human rights of several million people?
Marriage... we're honestly arguing about this as a culture. Other countries have gotten over it, and moved on. Some states have pulled their heads out of their asses and figured out that the counter argument is bullshit. Despite these facts, there's still a large enough group of people in MOST states to make the idea uncomfortable to address on a national level. So, what the fuck is marriage anyway? I'm going to have to throw out gender, because the issue here is that the people who would be entering into a newly defined form of marriage would both have the same gender. Not that I give a shit about whether or not people have interlocking groins. The most basic definition of marriage is simply a legally binding commitment between two people who love each other who have chosen to say to the world that they're going to be together for the foreseeable future, and aren't going to fuck other people. On a civil level, that little piece of paper also confers a good deal of power and rights to one's partner, as well as allowing the couple to file joint tax returns, access one another's personal information and in the event of some medical emergencies, make important decisions in the best interest of their spouse. Y'know what? Fine... don't call it marriage, call it a 'Civil Union', what ever, but the issue isn't religious. The issue is civil. The religious argument is rendered invalid by the Bill of Rights, and our guaranteed separation of church and state. You don't get to dictate the legislative process with your Bible any more than anyone else does with their holy book.
I've mentioned before that I dabble in anthropology, and I find the idea that homosexuality as some kind of unnatural state to be high humor. Let's forget, for a moment, that I've already argued this point above. Let's ignore the facts I've already laid out... let's look at history for a moment. No, before Christ... No, before Rome... Keep going. Before the Greek city states... Approximately 10,000 years ago, around the time the first humans were making their way into the lower 48, there were gay people, but let's go further back than that. Consider the simple fruit fly. We've all heard anecdotal evidence of homosexual behavior in the animal kingdom, but what if it was scientifically documented, and completely repeatable, in a significantly simple form of life, like Drosophila Melanogaster. Well... go click that link and read up on it. The fact that homosexuality is well documented, historically, in human cultures dating back to our earliest known forms simply cements the idea that, not only is this natural, it's been with us since life began on Earth. Which means homosexuality is an inevitable fact of sexually reproductive life forms.
The homosexuality debate, which really ought not be a debate at all at this point, is one of those cases where one side has facts, evidence, reason, logic, science, rationality and history, and the other side... Well, the other side has howler monkeys, picket signs, chest thumping, propaganda and morally ambiguous spokespeople.
Which side do you figure I'm on?
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