Ok, time to come out on martial talk I suppose. I am absolutely sure in my case it is genetic. And most of the people I knew when I was active in the GLBT community felt the same way. But I have known some people where it was a choice.
It shouldn't matter. Freedom of religion is a choice, yet protected by our laws (in America.) The whole idea that we have to prove it is genetic to some people for them to be behind us having equal rights frankly annoys me. As long as it is a consenting adult, and I am not abusing some power structure (boss, teacher, etc.) it really shouldn't matter.
And I don't care if someone wants to flip the finger or approve of being gay or lesbian. You don't have to like me or approve of my life. But when you feel your opinion should affect MY life by denying me the same rights you enjoy - MY life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, then I will fight you with activism or any way I legally can. And I don't need to flip the finger back at you, because I am laughing with joy for every bit of progress I have seen in my lifetime. And yeah, if my gaining equal rights annoys your bigotry, I admit I enjoy the salt in your wound. I should be above feeling that way, but nobody's perfect.
As for people being gay because it is cool. That is just an ignorant statment. If you knew how difficult it still is for many of us, you would realize how ridiculous this statment is. Being Gay Lesbian is one of the leading , if not the leading, reasons teens kill themselves. People still get fired, beaten, and kicked out of their families for being gay/ lesbian/ bi. I could go on about this, but I hope this is enough for people to get the point.
Things I NEVER thought possible in my lifetime have happened. Gay marriage, boy scouts, societal attitudes, military - it's astounding to me that I get to live to see these things.
As for activists. There are a lot of activists that people never hear about. They shouldn't all be lumped in together. I used to be active in the San Diego Gay and Lesbian Historical Society. There is the Log Cabin Republican Club. Sometimes, in any group, the loudest most obnoxious people get the most air time with the media. No group should be judged solely by that. Some of the people supposedly representing me make me cringe with embarrrasment. I know some African American Co-workers who expressed the same opinion to me on people like Al Sharpton supposedly representing them.
Activities. Straight people have similar celebrations like Mardi Graw that get pretty raunchy. If you are going to object, object to all of them. I think I went to the Fulton street thing years ago, or something close to it. Certainly not my thing. Too raunchy for me personally. But it was late at night and it was an adult crowd.
And again, the media harps on the wildest part of our community. Look at news media coverage of our Gay Lesbian etc. parades. They show the leather boys in their umm, backless chaps, and the wildest drag queens and the bar floats. But you never see all the Church organizations, the historical societies, the stamp clubs.....
Boy Scouts - If the Boy scouts want to become completely private, with no special status, money, or special benefits from the goverment, then I don't care who they exempt from their organization. But as long as they benefit from the government, then they should not be allowed to be exclusionary to gay people. And activism to this end gets my full support.
Hate Crimes - I actually do not support the idea of hate crimes. If you kill someone for their wallet or because they are gay, they are still just the same amount of dead. However, let's remember why hate crimes developed. It was to counteract unjustices coming from bigotry in our court system. I remember reading stories of gay people being beaten to death and the perpetraters getting light or no sentences. They would claim the person came on to them, so they had every right to beat them to death and they would get away with this defense!
Finally, as on another MA forum I am on, it is awesome to see so many people be supportive of gay rights. And when I say "you" in this post, I am talking about society in general- for the most part I am not referring to members of this forum.
Ok, this lesbian is getting off of her soapbox now. :soapbox:
