you don't know what *purpose* gays serve?
Feb. 18th, 2013 01:04 pmIn the news category of "You Gotta Wonder About Some People" ...
Opponents denounce call for anti-gay prom in Indiana
Feb 15 2013
By PAMELA ENGEL
Associated Press
SULLIVAN, Ind. (AP) _ A quiet Indiana community known for its parks and corn festival has become the latest setting for the debate over gay rights and bullying after several area residents, including some high schoolers, proposed holding a non-school sanctioned ``traditional'' prom that would ban gay students.
School officials and many residents of Sullivan, a city of about 4,200 near the Illinois border, have scrambled to distance themselves from the controversy caused by the group's plans and some strong, anti-gay remarks made by one of its members.
Diana Medley, a group member who is a special education teacher in another school district, said she believes being gay is a choice people make and that gays have no purpose in life.
``I just ... I don't understand it,'' Medley said, referring to whether homosexuals have a purpose in life. She was speaking to Terre Haute television station WTWO at a Sunday planning meeting for the anti-gay dance.( Oh ... just click to read the rest )
My thoughts: Are not hard to discern, if you know me even a little here, I suppose. But to break them down:
(1) We had a gay girl who came to our prom in 1990. All us kids knew she was, even if she wasn't out yet. She even wore a tuxedo. She was not conventionally attractive, so it's not like she was the target of the straight boys' fantasies and that's why they liked her; they just accepted E and were not surprised she dressed like a boy (so did us girls; somewhere at home there's a photo of me and my date posing with E). I know Sullivan, Indiana; the town I grew up in, also in the Midwest, was even smaller and had lots of churches. QUIT CITING RELIGION AS AN EXCUSE FOR YOUR PREJUDICE.
(2) I'm not sure anyone leaning on religion to explain anything else should question someone else's "purpose" in life. I haven't figured out the purpose of modern religious systems except to oppress others - those of us who want to lean on beliefs to comfort ourselves about Life's Unknowables just do it whether we subscribe to a religion or not. So far as I can see, religion is even more practically useless than the most useless gay person; and it's certainly a lot less useful than science.
(3) Oh, First Amendment rights, how you're being selectively invoked again! Sure, anyone can say anything they want about anyone else, but I'm of the mind if you're aligning yourself with a powerful majority to take a swipe at a struggling minority that isn't set on hurting society (i.e., not the KKK), you shouldn't get to just say your piece and then run and hide behind your employer. Be an adult and stand behind your beliefs when questioned or criticized for them - OR DON'T SAY THEM WHERE THE PRESS CAN GET HOLD OF THEM. Especially if you're a teacher talking about a population that includes children. Especially if you're a special-ed teacher; I wonder if she realizes there are people out there who question the worthiness and "usefulness" of disabled people? I can't imagine it would make her happy, unless she's a completely cheerless harpy who sees no purpose to her own work.
(Yes, I just refrained from any foul language to prove I can do it while writing in a ticked-off mood. I can do it when I choose to; it's not a reflex. I just don't want to choose to very often.)
Opponents denounce call for anti-gay prom in Indiana
Feb 15 2013
By PAMELA ENGEL
Associated Press
SULLIVAN, Ind. (AP) _ A quiet Indiana community known for its parks and corn festival has become the latest setting for the debate over gay rights and bullying after several area residents, including some high schoolers, proposed holding a non-school sanctioned ``traditional'' prom that would ban gay students.
School officials and many residents of Sullivan, a city of about 4,200 near the Illinois border, have scrambled to distance themselves from the controversy caused by the group's plans and some strong, anti-gay remarks made by one of its members.
Diana Medley, a group member who is a special education teacher in another school district, said she believes being gay is a choice people make and that gays have no purpose in life.
``I just ... I don't understand it,'' Medley said, referring to whether homosexuals have a purpose in life. She was speaking to Terre Haute television station WTWO at a Sunday planning meeting for the anti-gay dance.( Oh ... just click to read the rest )
My thoughts: Are not hard to discern, if you know me even a little here, I suppose. But to break them down:
(1) We had a gay girl who came to our prom in 1990. All us kids knew she was, even if she wasn't out yet. She even wore a tuxedo. She was not conventionally attractive, so it's not like she was the target of the straight boys' fantasies and that's why they liked her; they just accepted E and were not surprised she dressed like a boy (so did us girls; somewhere at home there's a photo of me and my date posing with E). I know Sullivan, Indiana; the town I grew up in, also in the Midwest, was even smaller and had lots of churches. QUIT CITING RELIGION AS AN EXCUSE FOR YOUR PREJUDICE.
(2) I'm not sure anyone leaning on religion to explain anything else should question someone else's "purpose" in life. I haven't figured out the purpose of modern religious systems except to oppress others - those of us who want to lean on beliefs to comfort ourselves about Life's Unknowables just do it whether we subscribe to a religion or not. So far as I can see, religion is even more practically useless than the most useless gay person; and it's certainly a lot less useful than science.
(3) Oh, First Amendment rights, how you're being selectively invoked again! Sure, anyone can say anything they want about anyone else, but I'm of the mind if you're aligning yourself with a powerful majority to take a swipe at a struggling minority that isn't set on hurting society (i.e., not the KKK), you shouldn't get to just say your piece and then run and hide behind your employer. Be an adult and stand behind your beliefs when questioned or criticized for them - OR DON'T SAY THEM WHERE THE PRESS CAN GET HOLD OF THEM. Especially if you're a teacher talking about a population that includes children. Especially if you're a special-ed teacher; I wonder if she realizes there are people out there who question the worthiness and "usefulness" of disabled people? I can't imagine it would make her happy, unless she's a completely cheerless harpy who sees no purpose to her own work.
(Yes, I just refrained from any foul language to prove I can do it while writing in a ticked-off mood. I can do it when I choose to; it's not a reflex. I just don't want to choose to very often.)