Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Posted in
Life
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Politics
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The attitude of conservatives and Republicans towards homosexuals has always baffled me. Homosexuality has been a part of mankind for all of recorded history. Common estimates are that 5% to 10% of the male population are exclusively homosexual, and another 5% to 10% are mostly homosexual or bisexual (I don't know what the percentages are among women). Given that gays have always been with us, what is the point of ostracizing them? What is the point of depriving them of their rights and forcing them to be second-class citizens?
Conservatives claim that homosexuality is a sin, and they point to the Bible. That doesn't prove anything, of course. The Bible is just one of dozens of religious documents that form the basis of various religions. There's no proof that Christianity is the true religion, or that the Bible is the word of God, so there's nothing to do but ignore it insofar as this discussion is concerned. Besides, it really works in reverse: Christians aren't prejudiced against gays because of the Bible; rather, they use the Bible to justify the prejudice that they already have. As proof of that, let me point out that the Bible mentions the sin of divorce far more often than it does the sin of homosexuality, yet conservative Christians don't rail against divorce. (Correction: There is a movement under way in the U.S. to make divorce more difficult; but the Christians who are at the core of the movement are not trying to eliminate divorce altogether.)
One week ago, the Supreme Court refused to reinstall California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. As a result of that, the appeals court which originally struck down Proposition 8 lifted its stay so that gays could start marrying again. Immediately, opponents of gay marriage went back to the Supreme Court to reinstate the stay. Their argument was that, legally, they had a month to re-appeal to the Supreme Court (such re-appeals are almost never successful), so they argued that gay marriages should remain illegal for at least one more month. In other words, they were so filled with hatred for gays that they wanted to delay the right of gays to marry to the last possible moment. They lost the battle, but they still wanted to get in their last licks.
The opponents of gay marriage say that they are trying to protect the "institution" of marriage, but that's nonsense -- and the Supreme Court's decision made that clear. That gays can now marry doesn't do anything to harm the marriages of straights, and only through convoluted reasoning can a person argue that it does. And that's the point: The position of gay marriage opponents is transparently false, so much so that to other people they look hateful and obsessed. Everyone can see their hate but them.
What really puzzles me -- and I guess this is why I'm writing this article -- is: Why this prejudice against gays? Being human, I have my own prejudices. I don't like children because I was mercilessly teased by children as a child (and even now, at the age of 62, I get teased at times). I don't like bikers because their motorcycles are loud and smelly and keep me from living in a peaceful environment all summer long. And I don't like conservatives because they are trying to deprive me of my rights and to make me poorer. The point is, I have reasons for my prejudices. The conservatives who hate gays have no good reasons.
And yes, hate is what it comes down to. Every time I see a narrow-minded conservative arguing against gay marriage on TV, I find myself thinking, "Aren't you ashamed to be a bigot? Don't you feel embarrassed to go before the public and display your intolerance for everyone to see?" Apparently, they don't.
On an intellectual basis, I do know what's going on. It's on an emotional basis that I don't understand it. Years ago, some group made a study of anti-gay bigotry. The researchers assumed that they would find that straight men hated gays because the straight men were insecure about their sexuality, so gay men were perceived as a threat. But that wasn't what they found. The researchers found that straight men hated gays because gays were different. Hating other people for being different is the source of most bigotry in the world, so it turned out that gays were being hated for the same reason that whites hate blacks, Christians hate Jews, and natives (of whatever kind) hate foreigners (of whatever kind). But everybody knows someone who is gay. In fact, every straight man knows many gay people, though he may not be aware of it. But as we all know, "familiarity breeds contempt". If men can hate women, which many of them do though they know hundreds of women, then they can certainly hate homosexuals too.
Maybe some day I'll understand.
Conservatives claim that homosexuality is a sin, and they point to the Bible. That doesn't prove anything, of course. The Bible is just one of dozens of religious documents that form the basis of various religions. There's no proof that Christianity is the true religion, or that the Bible is the word of God, so there's nothing to do but ignore it insofar as this discussion is concerned. Besides, it really works in reverse: Christians aren't prejudiced against gays because of the Bible; rather, they use the Bible to justify the prejudice that they already have. As proof of that, let me point out that the Bible mentions the sin of divorce far more often than it does the sin of homosexuality, yet conservative Christians don't rail against divorce. (Correction: There is a movement under way in the U.S. to make divorce more difficult; but the Christians who are at the core of the movement are not trying to eliminate divorce altogether.)
One week ago, the Supreme Court refused to reinstall California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. As a result of that, the appeals court which originally struck down Proposition 8 lifted its stay so that gays could start marrying again. Immediately, opponents of gay marriage went back to the Supreme Court to reinstate the stay. Their argument was that, legally, they had a month to re-appeal to the Supreme Court (such re-appeals are almost never successful), so they argued that gay marriages should remain illegal for at least one more month. In other words, they were so filled with hatred for gays that they wanted to delay the right of gays to marry to the last possible moment. They lost the battle, but they still wanted to get in their last licks.
The opponents of gay marriage say that they are trying to protect the "institution" of marriage, but that's nonsense -- and the Supreme Court's decision made that clear. That gays can now marry doesn't do anything to harm the marriages of straights, and only through convoluted reasoning can a person argue that it does. And that's the point: The position of gay marriage opponents is transparently false, so much so that to other people they look hateful and obsessed. Everyone can see their hate but them.
What really puzzles me -- and I guess this is why I'm writing this article -- is: Why this prejudice against gays? Being human, I have my own prejudices. I don't like children because I was mercilessly teased by children as a child (and even now, at the age of 62, I get teased at times). I don't like bikers because their motorcycles are loud and smelly and keep me from living in a peaceful environment all summer long. And I don't like conservatives because they are trying to deprive me of my rights and to make me poorer. The point is, I have reasons for my prejudices. The conservatives who hate gays have no good reasons.
And yes, hate is what it comes down to. Every time I see a narrow-minded conservative arguing against gay marriage on TV, I find myself thinking, "Aren't you ashamed to be a bigot? Don't you feel embarrassed to go before the public and display your intolerance for everyone to see?" Apparently, they don't.
On an intellectual basis, I do know what's going on. It's on an emotional basis that I don't understand it. Years ago, some group made a study of anti-gay bigotry. The researchers assumed that they would find that straight men hated gays because the straight men were insecure about their sexuality, so gay men were perceived as a threat. But that wasn't what they found. The researchers found that straight men hated gays because gays were different. Hating other people for being different is the source of most bigotry in the world, so it turned out that gays were being hated for the same reason that whites hate blacks, Christians hate Jews, and natives (of whatever kind) hate foreigners (of whatever kind). But everybody knows someone who is gay. In fact, every straight man knows many gay people, though he may not be aware of it. But as we all know, "familiarity breeds contempt". If men can hate women, which many of them do though they know hundreds of women, then they can certainly hate homosexuals too.
Maybe some day I'll understand.
* * *
Addendum: In mid-July the anti-gay group "Alliance Defending Freedom" filed a brief with the California Supreme Court in an effort to halt gay marriages in California. This is the same group that re-appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. They are trying one exotic legal theory after another in order to get their way. The irony, of course, is that they call themselves "Alliance Defending Freedom", yet they're trying to limit the freedom of gay people to marry! The hate just goes on and on and on.
One thing that I didn't mentioned above is that the Mormon church was very active in getting Proposition 8 passed, though Mormons don't have a strong presence in California. The Mormon church in Utah actually went out of its way, and spent millions of dollars, to deprive gay people of their rights in California. The more I learn about Mormons, the less I like them.
One thing that I didn't mentioned above is that the Mormon church was very active in getting Proposition 8 passed, though Mormons don't have a strong presence in California. The Mormon church in Utah actually went out of its way, and spent millions of dollars, to deprive gay people of their rights in California. The more I learn about Mormons, the less I like them.
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