K-Dog
12-30-2009, 12:17 AM
One thing I see about homophobia and gay bashing is that it is actually a part of a many headed monster that has plagued America since its inception in 1776. There has always been an 'in' crowd and a group of undesirables. At first the undesirables were the Irish in New York. They were not allowed any of the good paying jobs, so many of them became police officers in the city. They eventually assimilated into the culture, but there is still an inordinately large amount of Irish descents on that police force.
After them were the Italians, then the Germans. Next it was women. When they finally won the right to vote, the group turned its attention to the blacks. Thanks to the work of Martin Luther King Jr., African Americans finally started to win a modicum of equality. Now that my generation is finally starting to accept them overall, the new group to suffer are the gays and lesbians.
This didn't follow a straight line or queue system. It is a slow and blurry process, but someone always goes into and comes out of the proverbial cross hairs.
Homophobia, racism, sexism, and pretty much any ism are all different heads on this same monster. It is not exclusive to America, and really it isn't even at its worst in America. That honor belongs to Nazi Germany. However, if any culture on earth has a chance to beat it, our culture does.
There are a few key things to note about this. First of all, the best way to kill this beast, or at least weaken it is with dialogue. You need to have a spokesperson or two who will call out your adversaries in public forums and show average Americans the flaws in the hard liners logic. You will not convince the hard liners, but that shouldn't be your goal. Hard liners on both sides of an issue are always the minority, and America is a country where majority rules. You convince people in the middle that your way is best for America and they will go to the polls and tell Congress to give you the right to marry, the right to openly join the military, and the other rights you are fighting for. And what makes this an easier fight to win is the fact that it is the right way for America.
Nowhere in the ten commandments does it say thou shalt be straight. Nowhere in the teachings of Jesus does it say that homosexuality will send you to hell. Nowhere in the constitution does it say, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all heterosexuals are created equal..." And these are the three cornerstones of American society. America was founded on freedom of religion, and freedom from persecution, though it was founded by some extremely uptight and repressed people. People who would call Rush Limbaugh a bleeding heart liberal.
At the same time, you need a watershed moment. You need an "I have a dream" speech so to speak. In this fight you are David, and Goliath is what you are up against. If history teaches anything, it is that you will eventually win the fight, but not for quite a while.
I have recently found something else out too. My father was recently diagnosed with HPV cancer in his throat. HPV is an STD that leads to cancers including but not limited to cervical cancer in women. Right now they are attempting to get young girls vaccinated for this virus to stop its spread. The philosophy is if the girls don't get it from the boys, they won't give it back to the next boy who won't give it to the next girl and so on. As such the chain ought to be broken. The problem is that only works in heterosexual relationships. Young gay boys can still transfer the virus among themselves and when they get into their late fifties or so they get nasty cancers. I read about it on WebMD in a link to HPV throat cancer.
After them were the Italians, then the Germans. Next it was women. When they finally won the right to vote, the group turned its attention to the blacks. Thanks to the work of Martin Luther King Jr., African Americans finally started to win a modicum of equality. Now that my generation is finally starting to accept them overall, the new group to suffer are the gays and lesbians.
This didn't follow a straight line or queue system. It is a slow and blurry process, but someone always goes into and comes out of the proverbial cross hairs.
Homophobia, racism, sexism, and pretty much any ism are all different heads on this same monster. It is not exclusive to America, and really it isn't even at its worst in America. That honor belongs to Nazi Germany. However, if any culture on earth has a chance to beat it, our culture does.
There are a few key things to note about this. First of all, the best way to kill this beast, or at least weaken it is with dialogue. You need to have a spokesperson or two who will call out your adversaries in public forums and show average Americans the flaws in the hard liners logic. You will not convince the hard liners, but that shouldn't be your goal. Hard liners on both sides of an issue are always the minority, and America is a country where majority rules. You convince people in the middle that your way is best for America and they will go to the polls and tell Congress to give you the right to marry, the right to openly join the military, and the other rights you are fighting for. And what makes this an easier fight to win is the fact that it is the right way for America.
Nowhere in the ten commandments does it say thou shalt be straight. Nowhere in the teachings of Jesus does it say that homosexuality will send you to hell. Nowhere in the constitution does it say, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all heterosexuals are created equal..." And these are the three cornerstones of American society. America was founded on freedom of religion, and freedom from persecution, though it was founded by some extremely uptight and repressed people. People who would call Rush Limbaugh a bleeding heart liberal.
At the same time, you need a watershed moment. You need an "I have a dream" speech so to speak. In this fight you are David, and Goliath is what you are up against. If history teaches anything, it is that you will eventually win the fight, but not for quite a while.
I have recently found something else out too. My father was recently diagnosed with HPV cancer in his throat. HPV is an STD that leads to cancers including but not limited to cervical cancer in women. Right now they are attempting to get young girls vaccinated for this virus to stop its spread. The philosophy is if the girls don't get it from the boys, they won't give it back to the next boy who won't give it to the next girl and so on. As such the chain ought to be broken. The problem is that only works in heterosexual relationships. Young gay boys can still transfer the virus among themselves and when they get into their late fifties or so they get nasty cancers. I read about it on WebMD in a link to HPV throat cancer.