Your Redneck Friend

[cimmaronmax]

Hey,

Just a shoutout to you all from a Redneck Friend. What follows is a "Comments" page I copied from the Blog "The Constructive Curmudgeon " which an old friend of mine runs. His name is Doug Grothuis and is a Phd. who teaches at the Denver Seminary. He's pretty conservative. In some ways I am too. Hence, "Your Redneck Friend". Some of the language I use may be offensive. If you are offended, well, Get Over It!!! I was deliberate in my choice of language, but it is not unlike the language I use on the "street". I am not apologizing and will discuss it if you like.






(This is Doug's initial post, it included a link to an article by Colson)

Charles Colson speaks powerfully about the backlash over Proposition 8 being passed in California. The losers of the election are striking out against their opponents in violent ways. So much for democracy and tolerance. Sadly, the homosexual lobby is often reactionary and intimidating.
posted by Doug Groothuis at 12:04 AM on Nov 14, 2008

(What follows are the "Comments". I am Steve Schuler.)


Steve Schuler said...
Interesting article. I am not opposed to homo marriage and, in fact, support the notion that homosexuals should be afforded the same rights under the law as their heterosexual counterparts. The parallels between the civil rights movement for equal treatment, under the law, for people of all racial distinctions and the homo civil rights movement are pretty clear to me. I am not homo, so I don't have a personal stake in this matter. While reading the article it occured to me that we might all be better off if the heterosexual community that is energetically resisting queer marriage instead put their energies into efforts to bolster the social institution of the "family". It appears to me that the institutions of marriage and family have been undermined much more by heterosexuals failing to meet the comittments and responsibilities called for to sustain healthy families than the threat that legalizing homo marriage would actually pose to a healthy society. Why not stop concerning ourselves with what queers should or should not be allowed to do, under the law, and focus our attentions on what we can do to help develop healthy marriages?

4:24 AM


Steve Schuler said...
After my first comment I watched a short video clip of a fellow named John Piper. It seems pertinent to recent issues discussed on your blog. It can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGjGbZNyIBY

I saw it at:

http://www.xavierpacheco.com/

It is called, "John Piper's Heart in the 2008 Election"

4:47 AM


Doug Groothuis said...
The fundamental issue is whether marriage is merely a human construction or rather it has a normative structure, a natural part in an objective order of being. The historic view of Western civilization is the latter.

No one is disallowing homosexuals from living together or having some rights in a civil union. Marriage, however, cannot be defined or rewarded in terms of homosexuality. It is heterosexual by constitution. The next step, by the way, if marriage is allowed for homosexuals is polygamy. This is not extreme, it has already been suggested. So, there is a slipper slope for real.

9:38 PM


Steve Schuler said...
On an emotional level I find homosexuality, well, weird. Particularly the male variety. I recorded "Brokeback Mountain" on my DVR when I still had TV and eventually deleted it without watching it. No offense intended to gay folks, but I really don't enjoy seeing men kissing. I understand this feeling is not uncommon in the heterosexual population. Yes, in my mind marriage "should" be between a man and a woman. I thought Clinton's "Dont Ask, Don't Tell" approach was a pretty reasonable solution to the gays in the military problem. Obviously this solution falls far short of providing equal rights to queers. I can appreciate the push for equal rights in the homo community. I may not like, understand, or embrace the homo-way, but it seems reasonable to me that equal rights should be afforded to people of all types. I worked in Georgia with a fellow who said to me, "I might not agree with you, but I will give my life to protect your rights to believe as you do." I don't suppose gayness constitutes a belief system. Still, the idea that I don't need to be like you in order to support your right to be what you are seems pretty American to me.

1:53 AM


David said...
I would also hasten to add that, despite claims to the contrary, the gay marriage movement is not analogous to the black civil rights movement. There is, quite simply, no right or privilege afford to other members of society which gays are lacking.

To wit, a gay person is free to marry any person of the opposite sex of his choosing, just like a straight person. And no one is allowed to marry someone of the same sex, whether gay or straight.

So the law is applied fairly and equally to all people, and it's an insult to the real struggles faced by blacks in this country to claim otherwise.

7:54 AM

(End of Transcript)

(That last comment by "David" is a real doozy, isn't it?)

Now, my purpose in writing this is to, hopefully, give you all some encouragement in what you are pursuing. I am sure that through the efforts of the "Gay Rights Community" I have become more aware of the injustices that still permeate our society. Yes, I am sometimes "put off" by what I think are flamboyant demonstrations. When I am I simply remind myself, "They're Here, They're Queer, Get Over It!!!" (LOL!) But despite that you all should know that there are Rednecks, such as myself, who are coming around to not only "tolerate" gays, but to speak up on behalf of the rights they are being denied. After all, "They" is "Us".

Okay, I am not suggesting anyone should lay seige on "The Constructive Curmudgeon". I am already on thin ice with him so far as whether he will allow my comments, which is his right. I am doing what I can to have a dialouge with Doug, although I doubt I am any more likely to change his mind than he is to change mine.

Fight the Good Fight! More Power to You!

Steve the Redneck

[micah6.8.]

[Rick336]

Originally Posted by cimmaronmax

Hey,

Just a shoutout to you all from a Redneck Friend.

Yay Rednecks!! Great post. Are you a gay redneck or a straight redneck?

Rick

[Gennee]

Welcome to Soulforce.

Gennee

[yeskararocks]

Welcome man. I appreciate your willingness to think outside the box. Who doesn't love a kind redneck??

[cimmaronmax]

Rick,

Thanks for the welcome. In answer to your question, I am a straight redneck. As I said in my post, "I don't have to be like someone to support their right to be what they are." I fear that a classmate of mine from high school some 40 years ago may have committed suicide because of being gay. I'm not sure. I just want our society to come to a point where someone's sexuallity is NEVER cause for suicide. So I stand with you as you, "Come out of the closet, and into the street!"

Gennee,

Thanks for the welcome. I just hope to infuse some 'Straight' energy into the 'Gay' struggle. I'm not sure by what margin Proposition 8 passed in California. I'm thinking (hoping?) it was pretty close. Anyhow, I hope the tide is turning and we are getting closer to "justice for all" in our country. I will continue in my own "Redneck Way" to be an advocate for "Human Rights for all Humans!"

Steve