Queer people of faith
Offline As a total faggot, I sometimes wish I was born earlier, before the AIDS epidemic began. Why? Because, at that point in history, being queer also meant you were a skeptic and freethinker, if not a downright atheist. The guy you were fucking wouldn't have to take a condom out of his ass and go to church the next morning.
After the AIDS epidemic, we saw lots of gay men running back to faith. This is when the gay-friendly churches were founded, later to be follow by the gay Jewish and gay Muslim help groups.
As someone who was president of my university's queer organization, and someone who has been relatively active in the community (ie, sleeps around a a shitload), I will certainly say that queer people of faith outnumber those who are freethinkers. We even have queers who are "waiting for marriage." The only thing I'd say is notable is the high amounts of New Age faiths, such as Wicca.
Now, there was a good two years where my religion and my queerness overlapped, and that was because I couldn't think of a rational way to reject my religious beliefs, and my understanding of Islam had always been rather liberal anyway. But, when I did find a way out, oh boy did I jump off that boat.
So, honestly, for other queers here, or others with at least some vague familiarity with the community, does the high amount of religious folk these days bother you? Unlike me, not all of them want a way out of faith. Certainly they're not as dogmatic as the straight ones, but still, why do they resign themselves to religious groups, where 90% of the believers find their lifestyle and feelings an abomination, as opposed to a philosophical position that almost anyone who holds it affirms their rights? It's just moronic.
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Offline Homosexual behavior is not 'normal'.Normal is two members of the opposite sex, having sex, for the purpose of procreation. This is the intended purpose of sex.... in all species.
Oh jeez.
"Normal" is a vague, inept term here. If your point is that it is uncommon, then you would necessarily have to hold all uncommon human behavior and practices as abnormal. If your point is that it is detrimental to the survival of a species under natural selection, then clearly, as Bob stated, you'd have to hold other kinds of behavior, such as abstinence, as abnormal. If you define normal as two members of the opposite sex having sex in order to reproduce, then two members of the same sex having sex or having sex for any other reason is definitively abnormal.
All of these are fine so far, on some if you bite the bullet, but then you're also implying that "normal" is good and "abnormal" is bad, which you have not justified. This seems to be the most important part of it.
It is not technically correct to say that it is the purpose of living things to reproduce; purpose implies a consciousness, which evolution certainly does not have, as it is not even an entity. Virtually all individual sexually reproducing organisms do not really have the mental capacity for their sex to have a "purpose." It is merely behavior that they exhibit, determined by their instincts and environment. In the very few animals that are intelligent enough for this to apply, sex is definitely not only used for procreation; it is also used for pleasure, pair/group bonding, and serves other social functions. Nowadays, in humans, it is arguably used more for pleasure than procreation.
The difference between me and the rest of you politically correct persons is that I am not trying to change your minds about how you feel on the subject of homosexuality... as you are trying to change mine. I view homosexuality as not normal. Simple as that.
I cannot change how you feel, but I can try to address what I see as problems with the way you're thinking about the subject. If your only message was that you feel uncomfortable about homosexuality, then you wouldn't have written most of what you've written.
Such as:
"How can a person with a logical mind and respect for scientific facts justify homosexuality?"
With this, you're implying that a person with a logical mind and respect for scientific facts would consider homosexuality to be unjustified. But, what does it mean for it to be justified or unjustified? It just means good and bad, doesn't it? All I can see is that you're playing with semantics, being vague, and then, you retreat back onto subjectivism. It is quite inconsistent.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
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Offline i can't think of anything more tedious than a normal fuck.
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Offline I think you were trying to be nice to me in your reply and I appreciate that. I will try to do the same.
Your problem with homosexuality is the same as it is with blacks. You see life as a script, a label, instead of a range.
In our original beef over "nigger" in Huckleberry Fin and the use of. You had an absolutist solution to a complex problem. I think whatever good intent you think you have, you suffer from the same blanket solution problem solving MOST of humanity has.
We understand that you think homosexuality is "not normal". Instead of putting it in language like that, I would put it in terms of STATISTICAL RATIO. Gays do not make up a majority of our species population. But that does not make the observation of such an "abnormal" event anymore than being left handed is "abnormal". Otherwise you should treat albino people with white eyes the same as gays.
Of course you don't understand gays because you are not gay. Just like I cannot understand what it is like to be a woman.
 
and I are normal while gays are not. I don't have to understand something to know it's not normal. I don't understand the mind of a serial killer but, I think you and I would both agree that is not normal behavior.CONTEXT.My mom will never understand why I don't believe. But she still loves me as much as if I did believe.
Just kidding.
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
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Offline Seriously, Sandy,
Quote:I'm sure there are also documented cases of people who poke their eyes with pencils or drool constantly but, that doesn't make them 'normal'.
That is a stupid statement. Comparing homosexual acts to acts of self-harm is particularly illogical and revealing of your deeply irrational attitude to homosexuality. It is not analogous to 'homosexuality' in any sense
'Drooling' is just a a messy problem, and also irrelevant.
Neither involves acts which would be expected to be pleasurable, in stimulating basic physiological reactions, in other than pathological cases. They also do not involve interactions between two people.
Homosexual and all kinds of non-reproductive sex are thoroughly documented to occur at far more than marginal levels in other species.
I gave you examples of behaviours which are even less 'normal', yet do not attract such reactions, and some which actually invoke praise, and other all-too-normal behaviour, such as over-eating, especially in the USA, that are clearly harmful and should be discouraged.
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
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Offline Sandycane wrote:Homosexual behavior is not 'normal'.Normal is two members of the opposite sex, having sex, for the purpose of procreation. This is the intended purpose of sex.... in all species.
Oh jeez.
"Normal" is a vague, inept term here. If your point is that it is uncommon, then you would necessarily have to hold all uncommon human behavior and practices as abnormal. If your point is that it is detrimental to the survival of a species under natural selection, then clearly, as Bob stated, you'd have to hold other kinds of behavior, such as abstinence, as abnormal. If you define normal as two members of the opposite sex having sex in order to reproduce, then two members of the same sex having sex or having sex for any other reason is definitively abnormal.
All of these are fine so far, on some if you bite the bullet, but then you're also implying that "normal" is good and "abnormal" is bad, which you have not justified. This seems to be the most important part of it.
It is not technically correct to say that it is the purpose of living things to reproduce; purpose implies a consciousness, which evolution certainly does not have, as it is not even an entity. Virtually all individual sexually reproducing organisms do not really have the mental capacity for their sex to have a "purpose." It is merely behavior that they exhibit, determined by their instincts and environment. In the very few animals that are intelligent enough for this to apply, sex is definitely not only used for procreation; it is also used for pleasure, pair/group bonding, and serves other social functions. Nowadays, in humans, it is arguably used more for pleasure than procreation.
Just as there is purpose in the design of a bee hive or the root structure of a particular tree. If bees built hives any way they wanted, just because it made them feel good, they would soon become extinct. If trees decided to grow their roots above ground because it felt good having them in the breeze instead of in the dirt, there wouldn't be any trees eventually. (yes, silly examples but, I hope you get the point)
The difference between me and the rest of you politically correct persons is that I am not trying to change your minds about how you feel on the subject of homosexuality... as you are trying to change mine. I view homosexuality as not normal. Simple as that.
I cannot change how you feel, but I can try to address what I see as problems with the way you're thinking about the subject. If your only message was that you feel uncomfortable about homosexuality, then you wouldn't have written most of what you've written.
Such as:"How can a person with a logical mind and respect for scientific facts justify homosexuality?"
With this, you're implying that a person with a logical mind and respect for scientific facts would consider homosexuality to be unjustified. But, what does it mean for it to be justified or unjustified? It just means good and bad, doesn't it? All I can see is that you're playing with semantics, being vague, and then, you retreat back onto subjectivism. It is quite inconsistent.
... and according to Bob, that is morally acceptable.
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
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Offline I did a little digging and found some well documented facts myself:
Morality and evolution
See also: Evolution of moralitySome evolutionary biologists believe that morality is a natural phenomenon that evolves by natural selection.
In this case, morality is defined as the set of relative social practices that promote the survival and successful reproduction of the species, or even multiple cooperating species.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
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Offline Homosexuality practiced by a proportion of a population, as long as there is adequate overall fertility, is not a problem for survival of the species.
There is also evidence that those individuals inclined toward homosexuality contribute significantly to the success of the group in other ways, so are a net positive, especially when we are actually tending to over-population.
At least one genetic predisposition to homosexuality appears to be the expression in males of a gene that is very positive and functional in females. So the overall effect of that gene is definitely positive.
Would you condemn infertile couples because they are not able to breed?
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
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Offline Homosexuality practiced by a proportion of a population, as long as there is adequate overall fertility, is not a problem for survival of the species.
There is also evidence that those individuals inclined toward homosexuality contribute significantly to the success of the group in other ways, so are a net positive, especially when we are actually tending to over-population.
At least one genetic predisposition to homosexuality appears to be the expression in males of a gene that is very positive and functional in females. So the overall effect of that gene is definitely positive.
It has also been documented that male infertility is linked to synthetic estrogen used in the linings of canned products. Would you call this a net positive, too?
Would you condemn infertile couples because they are not able to breed?
No, and I'm not 'condemning' gays either... but both gays and non-fertile couples are abnormal.
(ps: I just found out that if you are editing a reply and someone replies to it, your edited version will disappear into cyberspace.)
Here is what I was adding to my previous reply:
Speaking of insects, as I was earlier:
Though animals may not possess moral behavior, all social animals have had to modify or restrain their behaviors for group living to be worthwhile. Typical examples of behavioral modification can be found in the societies ants, bees and termites. Ant colonies may possess millions of individuals. E. O. Wilson argues that the single most important factor that leads to the success of ant colonies is the existence of a sterile worker caste. This caste of females are subservient to the needs of their mother, the queen, and in so doing, have given up their own reproduction in order to raise brothers and sisters. The existence of sterile castes among these social insects, significantly restricts the competition for mating and in the process fosters cooperation within a colony. Cooperation among ants is vital, because a solitary ant has an improbable chance of long term survival and reproduction. However as part of a group, colonies can thrive for decades. As a consequence, ants are one of the most successful species on the planet, accounting for a biomass that rivals humans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_morality
So, is it possible that because of the over-population of the planet, human genetics is (d)evolving to utilize a similar system as that of ants?
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
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Offline If I recall, the only reason I tossed in the 'good/bad' thing was after Bob said something is not immoral unless it causes harm. So, I said homosexuality causes harm to the species in regards to survival and procreation.
Homosexuality only seems like it is necessarily detrimental without reference to empirical observations and some more unintuitive details in genetics. The very fact that there are many homosexual humans and that homosexual behavior has been documented in at least hundreds of other species demonstrates that the genes have some potential benefits. For example, it could be a gene that increases female promiscuity or it could even be some group selection theory.
I don't really think being a homosexual is either good or bad - just yucky... and not normal.
You need to define "normal."
If you're defining 'normal sex' as sex between two people of the opposite gender for the purpose of procreation, then you're completely outside of any dictionary definitions. I don't mind that, but then you need to be consistent and justify your premises; by your definition, any intercourse that does not conform to that standard is considered not normal. Furthermore, "not normal" could not mean weird or unnatural in any way, as that would be an ad hoc.
]Did I say the purpose of living things is to reproduce? NO I did not. I said the purpose of sex, intended by Nature, is survival of the species and reproduction. Do you want to also argue that the purpose of breathing is not to sustain life??? And, yes, sex is not ONLY for procreation, it can also be simply for pleasure... just as breathing can be for the purpose of smelling a rose.
That is essentially the same thing; it is exactly what I am getting at. Perhaps you simply need to be more careful with your language.
Nature does not "intend" anything, as it is not conscious. So, sex does not have a "purpose;" that is a category error. Only individual intelligent living things can have a purpose for anything.
If trees decided to grow their roots above ground because it felt good having them in the breeze instead of in the dirt, there wouldn't be any trees eventually. (yes, silly examples but, I hope you get the point)
It is a perfect example for my point because the tree is not conscious. It does not "decide" to put its roots in the ground. It does not "feel good." It put its roots in the ground because that is in its genes. True, it would die if its roots grew into the air, but that does not mean the "purpose" of the roots is to go into the ground. That does not mean that nature "intended" for the roots into the ground. That kind of anthropomorphism opens the door to a lot of intuitive errors in thinking.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
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Offline While fertility may at the present time be 'adequate', it is a fact that infertility rates are soaring
Okay, how do you know this for a fact? You don't have to show me a source; just tell me how you know.
I know that infertility rates in China are increasing. For the U.S., I can only found sources that contradict your claim. This study by students at a college in Massachusetts appear to show that infertility is decreasing.
http://biology.wsc.ma.edu/biology/students/posters/popmodel/infertility/
and the population growth rates in civilized countries is in decline.
Okay, and how do you know this?
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
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Offline This is true.
The difference between me and the rest of you politically correct persons is that I am not trying to change your minds about how you feel on the subject of homosexuality... as you are trying to change mine. I view homosexuality as not normal. Simple as that.
You know, bigotry used to anger me at one point. Nowadays I just pity bigots. You are taking an unreasonable approach to this, so this has nothing to do with how I feel, I'm quite indifferent on homosexuals in general, I don't feel strongly one way or another. I may be a little biased because my closest friend is gay, however, his sexuality comes up extremely seldom. I'm also not a politically correct person. There are a lot of things that anger me, things that seem unreasonable. But to find someone not normal because they were born a certain way... People that think that way actually disgust me.
There is no way to justify your position short of saying you feel a certain way and that's that. There really is no difference between how you think, and how a theist thinks.
"Don't seek these laws to understand. Only the mad can comprehend..." -- George Cosbuc
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Offline Homosexuals are not harmful to society. Period. They can contribute to everything except fertilization. They can hunt, grow crops, help in raising and caring for the children, so even on such occasions freeing the women to have more children, etc, etc.
In many species, only a small proportion of the males actually get to procreate, the ones who gather groups of females under them in 'harems'.
Only a small number of males are needed for procreation - it is the number of females who limit the population growth. So again, even a major proportion of homosexual males would not necessarily have an impact on a species' reproduction rate.
There is also the fact that a significant number of men are not exclusively homo or hetero sexual.
Here is one article that seems to be related to what I was saying about a gene that is present in some women that seems to have some influence on their male children being disposed to homsexuality.
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1925
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
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I knew you'd have this reaction. People often do when you put a mirror to their face.
I do know what "vulgar" means and I find it funny that you used the word "shit" in trying to tell me what "vulgar" meant.
It would be "vulgar" to shout " escargot tastes like shit" If you were at the Ritz. It is not "vulgar" merely to use a word. Otherwise if I thought it was "vulgar" for you to use the word shit in this context, I would call it vulgar.
Unlike you, I understand in this context you are merely putting an explanation point on your opinion. A wrong opinion none the less, but "shit" is merely your way of saying "Shut the fuck up". See how I can not give magic to words by not typing "STFU" and also at the same time know why you are doing it rather than demand you don't do it at all?
"Vulgar" to me is ignoring history. "Vuglar" to me is deciding for others what they can or cannot say no matter the context.
The difference between you and me is I know what context is and you don't.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
goddammit, i'm tired of this shit! everybody gettin fuckin' pissy and writing in CAPS all the goddamn time...doesn't anybody ever turn it the fuck OFF for two goddamn seconds (see, you got me doin' it)?
this started as a damn good thread about who likes to fuck what, and i think that's wonderful. but then it got all shitty, like so many other similar threads here. well, i'm takin' it back!
ahem, as for me, gimme a beautiful blonde nordic chick with pale skin and blue eyes who can quote dylan thomas and talk soviet history, and has an enormous rack, and just watch me salivate!
now, everybody shut the fuck up if you have anything heavy to say, have a glass of wine with me (i'm on my sixth) or light up a spliff (never done it myself, but to each his own), and listen to otis motherfuckin' man redding!
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
I prefer Marvin to Otis though...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxUWaX0Ta_Q&feature=related
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
You are being vulgar. Wait, no you're not.
Me, I like Asians. But pretty much can go with any hot looking woman. Angolina Jolie. Kathrine Hepburn was hot for her time. Both atheists to boot. Nothing hotter than that to me.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
yes, ma'am! awww, shit! i can't take it! it's so good, it hurts!
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
I saw Marvin in concert about 35 years ago in Radio City Music Hall in NYC... I can't remember who my date was though.
When he did this song, he walked out on stage in a silk leopard print robe and by the time the song was finished he was only wearing silk leopard print briefs.
OMG!!!!
You talk about group sex!!! Every woman in the audience was in pure ecstasy!!! (possibly some men, too
)
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
I think Gauche is going to come in any minute and tell us that you must have stumbled upon a room full of sexual degenerates.
He knows about this stuff, apparently...
I keep asking myself " Are they just playin' stupid, or are they just plain stupid?..."
"To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy" : David Brooks
" Only on the subject of God can smart people still imagine that they reap the fruits of human intelligence even as they plow them under." : Sam Harris
Yeah, I'll bet 98% of the women in that auditorium would have gone 'back stage' in an instant.
I know I would have.
... but, that was a long time ago.
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
Uh oh.
What was that?
The sound of Gauche's bubble exploding?...
You dirty gurl, you.
C'mon, nobody is that charming.
You must mean the right one hasn't cum along yet...
I keep asking myself " Are they just playin' stupid, or are they just plain stupid?..."
"To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy" : David Brooks
" Only on the subject of God can smart people still imagine that they reap the fruits of human intelligence even as they plow them under." : Sam Harris
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
Red, it seems as though our sandycane here was much more of a bad ass in her earlier years and has mellowed out a little although she would probably still jump her favorite rockstars bones if the opportunity arrose. Oh sandy...
Considering I'm 50+ and my favorite rockstars are at least that old or dead, it ain't gonna happen.
'Bad ass' is an understatement... if you only knew...
But, look at me now. This is what old age and maturity does to a person.
So, live it up because one day you'll be looking at life through my eyes, and when you give advice to the next generation you want to at least know what you're talking about... they won't listen to you, though. I never did listen when I was younger.
But, it still feels good to dish out life lessons to the young and foolish.
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
Sandy, I didn't ever see things 'thru your eyes', AFAICR, back when I was your age...
But I do feel I have some purpose in life, not so much in 'dishing out advice', but more in trying to help both the "young and foolish" and the "older and still foolish", as well as those simply puzzled by the absurdities of human society, and the mysteries of the Universe, to understand "Life, the Universe, and Everything", ie passing on some of what I have gathered in half-a-century or more of thinking, observing, and learning...
Including trying to remain open to learning stuff from others...
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
You do have to admit at this point, your comment betrays several heterosexist views. You state that you don't know how I could be dominated by a man (yet, I suspect, you let yourself be dominated by men), you state that I'm lowering my standards by going with the gender I am much more attracted to, and last but not least you imply that finding the right woman would be better than settling for a guy. I mean, I'm not angry, but maybe you don't like the whole queer thing? As long as you don't think you should have a legal or moral advantage, I don't really care.
In the gay community I tend to be the masculine guy: I generally attract the effeminate men. I think those are silly constructs, but thus far, that's how the gay community is overwhelmingly organized. So, if you were to meet me in real life, I'd think you'd see I am very much the same. Yeah, there are men who wanted to be dominated by women. That's it's own genre of attraction though, a genre which I think would be fun, but I don't necessarily belong to. At this point, I'd say topping a woman would be more fun than her topping me, but at times I've thought otherwise.
As far as men being a low standard than women, not true; I find men on a whole exponentially more attractive physically and romantically than women. The latter romance, I will concede, may be a social construct. And heck, if you yourself will allow a man to dominate you sexually, why not me? Plus, I also switch off as well. He dominates me, I dominate him; depends on the day, and the guy. Unless I'm misjudging you, you're only getting on end of the stick: his. But, don't be fooled: the effeminate guy can go on top, and the masculine guy on bottom. They may be both effeminate, or both masculine. They may switch off every few months, or maybe after every around. Maybe they don't even use constructed terms like 'masculine' or 'feminine'.
Additionally, I think we're all 'bisexual', but I state I am homosexual because I have romantic and sexual attractions solely for men, and are attracted to men much more often. For women, once in a while I'll find one sexually attractive (many women are like this, yet they would not identify as bisexual), and then I never have any romantic attraction. I would guess it's akin to you, once in a while, finding a woman to be utterly gorgeous. However, sexuality is based both on physical and romantic attraction, which is why studies where they show nude pics to individuals to gauge their response have been criticized as not being representative of the spectrum of human attraction.
But where I do agree with you is on there possibly being a woman out there I'd go for. The point of me stating there are women with pants on is that it might happen. But, why should I prefer that over male relationships: you seem to imply I should! I will fall in love whoever I will fall in love with, whether that is a man or a woman. I don't care, I am open about that much. But, I don't think finding a perfect woman is any better (or any less) than just finding a perfect guy. And I do think it's statistically way higher to find the right guy, considering how rare I find any female to be attractive in any damn way.
I'm sorry and I don't mean to hurt your feelings (you probably don't give a shit what I think anyway, and there's no reason why you should) but, that's just the way I see it.
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
Case in point: homosexuality. I can be open to the fact that there are homosexuals and they have the same legal rights as I do but, I don't have to accept them as fitting into my moral standards or, being normal.
I think there is waaay too much moral relativism associated with atheism and I don't agree with the bulk of it.
(fire away
)
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
AFAICR = "As far as I can recall".
Morals should be based on minimizing harm to others, not on personal 'yuck' reactions.
Hence acts between consenting adults should not be subject to 'moral' judgement. Personal taste and aesthetics fair enough, but 'right' and 'wrong' should be based on more 'objective' criteria.
Basing any 'moral' principles on some subjective reactions to particular consensual acts is precisely what I find offensive about Theistic 'morality'. That and the ''thought-crime' aspects of other 'commandments'.
'Gullibility' is not relevant at all to being 'open'. Of course you should apply a proper critical/sceptical filter when presented with any new information.
A 'moral' filter??? Learning the facts about something should inform your moral judgement on that issue, but not lead you to filter out any of the facts and their implications, even if 'yucky'.
Homosexuality is no less 'normal' than many other activities people indulge in. You don't have to 'accept' it into your personal world, just don't try and make it a moral issue. That is very much an example of moral relativism, basing your morals on your personal reaction to some act. So you are unconsciously contradicting yourself when you claim you don't like moral 'relativism'.
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
You're such a meanie-pooh.
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
According to whom? And, how many claim this as a principle yet repeatedly fail to do so in practice?
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
Homosexual behavior is not 'normal'.
Normal is two members of the opposite sex, having sex, for the purpose of procreation. This is the intended purpose of sex.... in all species.
How can a person with a logical mind and respect for scientific facts justify homosexuality?
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
Yeah, or they have to take mega viagra to get it up.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
As another perspective, there are many documented cases of creatures other than humans in same sex relationships - including having regular sex, including raising offspring. The infamous book on the two male penguins is only one example. Another is a rather lengthy tome,
http://www.amazon.com/Biological-Exuberance-Homosexuality-Diversity-Stonewall/dp/031225377X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302891...
Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity
You don't have to buy it, I found it at my library, so you can ask for an interlibrary loan and look at it for free if you want.
From the book:
Some people will believe anything to avoid reality.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
WTF?
I'm not a homosexual, and I am not a politically correct zombie, but... what you're saying is really stupid. I would use the word ignorant but you obviously do posses the knowledge.
You obviously understand that homosexuality is not a choice, much as if you prefer vaginal sex versus anal or the other way around. You are pretty much hardwired a certain way. It is obviously a much more complex issue than a simple sexual preference, but for you to state that it is not normal... as if they're acting out of their nature, or committing some sort of abomination. What you probably are trying to point out is that it's not normal for two men to have sex for the purpose of procreation. In which case, thank you captain obvious. Human beings do not have sex for procreation only.
As for justifying homosexuality? relative to what? What do you mean to justify exactly, a male being attracted to another male, or that male acting on that attraction?
You sound a like Jean, are you sure you're not a closet Calvinist?
"Don't seek these laws to understand. Only the mad can comprehend..." -- George Cosbuc
I missed this - call me Capt. Oblivious.
There is a perfectly justifiable evolutionary reason for homosexuality. I don't have any published papers on the subject as it is my own - ahem - brilliant idea.
Think of a small hunter-gatherer family group. The goal is to have grandchildren. Children who can raise children. Those children and their mother who is nursing them can not hunt for themselves. During some stages, mom will have to cut back on gathering as well. I read somewhere - I won't bother to look it up but I'm sure if you really want to you can for yourself - that normal child rearing cycle for hunter-gatherer moms was 5 years between children. Without birth control. Moms nursed as long as they could because breast milk is more reliable than solid foods. Make sense? And mom didn't have enough spare fat to ovulate while breast feeding.
So my theory is that any non-breeding members of the family would contribute to child rearing without competing for scare resources. The more successful aunties and uncles a child had growing up, the more food was available for the child. So homosexuality actually increased the likelihood of children reaching adulthood - which is the goal. Just having scads of children who starve to death before they can reproduce is not increasing the population.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
It happens, in most primate species, in more than an just isolated instances.
Sex is definitely not just for reproduction in these groups, including ourselves. It also serves for bonding two individuals, and and the group in general, to varying degrees. These are scientific facts. Read about bonobos, one of the two main groups of chimpanzees.
Would you condemn infertile heterosexual couples, who know they are infertile, to abstinence?
So it is not 'unnatural'. Total abstinence from sex is far more unnatural, abnormal. Do you condemn that?
I'm not trying to 'justify' it. It is a fact, one of the multitude of ways people interact, and one of the most harmless, and most enjoyable to the participants. If you want to mention STD's, then that applies to hetero sex as well.
You would be far more justified in condemning over-eating, by your thinking. The primary purpose of eating is for nourishment, not for pleasure, and over-eating is far more definitely harmful to health than over-indulgence in sex.
Only a minority of humans devote their lives entirely or largely to helping others. That is also an example of behaviour that is 'not normal'.
"Intended"? By whom or what??
We are not robotic mechanisms, just 'designed' to eat and reproduce
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
This coming from the guy who's country plagiarized our Constitution, is still under British rule, and has fucked up animals with pouches and slow animals who should be extinct and hangs upside down all the time. HOW THE HELL DO YOU PEE?
(note to self, did I think this, or type it?)
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
Hey Brian, I am typing this while the news podcast I listen to is playing a speech by some ni.., woops, I mean some black guy, over there.
How can the USA so abandon their traditions to elect someone like that?
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
The difference between me and the rest of you politically correct persons is that I am not trying to change your minds about how you feel on the subject of homosexuality... as you are trying to change mine. I view homosexuality as not normal. Simple as that.
'Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.' A. Einstein
Your problem with homosexuality is the same as it is with blacks. You see life as a script, a label, instead of a range.
In our original beef over "nigger" in Huckleberry Fin and the use of. You had an absolutist solution to a complex problem. I think whatever good intent you think you have, you suffer from the same blanket solution problem solving MOST of humanity has.
We understand that you think homosexuality is "not normal". Instead of putting it in language like that, I would put it in terms of STATISTICAL RATIO. Gays do not make up a majority of our species population. But that does not make the observation of such an "abnormal" event anymore than being left handed is "abnormal". Otherwise you should treat albino people with white eyes the same as gays.
Of course you don't understand gays because you are not gay. Just like I cannot understand what it is like to be a woman.
CONTEXT.
My mom will never understand why I don't believe. But she still loves me as much as if I did believe.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
What's wrong with being a "ni"? Better than swimming with stingrays CRICKEY! What? Too soon?
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
Bobspence reaches the tip of the iceberg on another important point: "nature" is not an entity in the sense of being intelligent and creating things with a specific purpose -like, say a Renaissance toy maker, or a blacksmith. It's just a metaphor people use in lieu of an elaborately described physical reality that allows for things like organic life, or stars, or what-have-you.
Sandy, nature didn't "intend" anything about you. Nature doesn't give a rat's ass about you, the human species, or anything else.
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
Change your mind? Naaahhh. Correct your highly misguided assumptions about how the human species functions (or, in your case, that they weren't in fact "created" or designed)? Possibly...
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
BOB ANSWER YOUR SKYPE CALLS DUDE
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
Seriously, Sandy,
That is a stupid statement. Comparing homosexual acts to acts of self-harm is particularly illogical and revealing of your deeply irrational attitude to homosexuality. It is not analogous to 'homosexuality' in any sense
'Drooling' is just a a messy problem, and also irrelevant.
Neither involves acts which would be expected to be pleasurable, in stimulating basic physiological reactions, in other than pathological cases. They also do not involve interactions between two people.
Homosexual and all kinds of non-reproductive sex are thoroughly documented to occur at far more than marginal levels in other species.
I gave you examples of behaviours which are even less 'normal', yet do not attract such reactions, and some which actually invoke praise, and other all-too-normal behaviour, such as over-eating, especially in the USA, that are clearly harmful and should be discouraged.
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
Bob answer your skype calls
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
Masochism equates nicely with the concept of self harm. It is a sexual paraphilia that exists among both heterosexual and homosexual practitioners. It is consensual on the part of the "victim". It can be viewed as self harm in that context.
To masochists pain = pleasure=sexual arousal. It's just another fetish even if you can't understand it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_paraphilias
They don't have to involve two people. Look up Albert Fish. He used needles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Fish