Find Your Valentine
Slog
News & ArtsThursday, June 10, 2010
Homo Our National Discussion About Homosexuality
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 4:58 PM
We're having "a national discussion about homosexuality"—and we will continue to have that national discussion—because of DADT and because of employment discrimination and because of marriage inequality. If members of Congress want to end this "national discussion," if they want to protect seven-year-olds from hearing about gay people, then they should scrap DADT, pass ENDA, repeal DOMA, and allow gay people to marry. Poof! No more national discussion of homosexuality!
But our national discussion about homosexuality will continue so long as it's legal to discriminate against gay people. Stop discriminating against us and there won't be much to discuss.
2
Finally some flippin' honesty. As much as I hate this delay. As much as it irks me that Rep. Ike Skelton should think he needs to determine what is and isn't okay for us to discuss with our children. I appreciate the honesty.
Personal anecdote, but my dad voted in favor of Prop 8 and one of his reasons was that he feared for his grandchildren to learn about gays and "gay sex". Needless to say he had his mind blown by all of his grandchildren, when they told them that comprehensive sex education had already taught them about "gay sex" and that having family members and classmates who were openly gay meant that they already knew that "gays" existed. A bit of a shock for grandpa to learn that ignorance doesn't protect innocence. I suspect that he really wasn't surprised by his grandchildren, he was allowing his fear to find a "legitimate" reason to justify his position, especially as his grandchildren live in Washington and Oregon. I could be wrong, though.
I hope Rep. Ike Skelton comes around, like my dad finally did.
Personal anecdote, but my dad voted in favor of Prop 8 and one of his reasons was that he feared for his grandchildren to learn about gays and "gay sex". Needless to say he had his mind blown by all of his grandchildren, when they told them that comprehensive sex education had already taught them about "gay sex" and that having family members and classmates who were openly gay meant that they already knew that "gays" existed. A bit of a shock for grandpa to learn that ignorance doesn't protect innocence. I suspect that he really wasn't surprised by his grandchildren, he was allowing his fear to find a "legitimate" reason to justify his position, especially as his grandchildren live in Washington and Oregon. I could be wrong, though.
I hope Rep. Ike Skelton comes around, like my dad finally did.
4
Wake me when you guys actually do something.
Canada got rid of the equivalent of DADT more than 22 years ago and many of the honoured dead soldiers that died fighting in Afghanistan were openly gay. Buried with full military honours, parades on national TV ... and here?
Nothing.
Canada got rid of the equivalent of DADT more than 22 years ago and many of the honoured dead soldiers that died fighting in Afghanistan were openly gay. Buried with full military honours, parades on national TV ... and here?
Nothing.
6
Yes of course. Because if we don't talk about gays, we can pretend they don't exist. If we pretend they don't exist, little impressionable kiddies won't hear about them, and won't be converted.
What a dumbass.
What a dumbass.
7
Crazy, pandering re-election talk. Iowa is serving up gay married cooties right next door to Missouri, Rep. Skelton's state.
8
I'm tempted to accuse Ike of hanging around in airport bathrooms while his friend is waiting outside holding his bags.
9
You know, I take this nonsense as a compliment, really. Apparently, as far as the theocons are concerned, being gay is so damn appealing that the mere mention of it to impressionable young minds will sends hordes of them flocking to the (in)fertile lands of Sodom and Gomorrah. Gosh, if I'd known it was so easy, I would have started corrupting my fellow ladies long ago in hopes of increasing my dating pool.
It's all quite flattering, really.
It's all quite flattering, really.
10
On the subject of DADT, anybody see Tom the Dancing Bug this week? http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/clien…
11
Should we also not discuss issues of religious freedom and tolerance so that parents don't have to tell their 7-year-olds that some people don't believe in Jesus? Or how about race relations; should we not bring up that subject so that little kids don't have to hear about how some people look different from others?
13
Oh good flipping grief. I'm a straight woman and my husband and I have a seven year old. The conversation goes like this: Kiddo, most men want to hug and kiss and marry a woman, and most women want to hug and kiss and marry a man, like mama and daddy. But some women want to hug and kiss and marry a woman, and some men want to hug and kiss and marry a man. Like, you know, these examples of our friends of one persuasion or another. Just like you and dad like root beer but mama doesn't, people sometimes like different things in life. And that's cool, either way.
His response? "Oh. Okay."
It's harder to talk about why he had an argument with the kid down the block or why I won't buy more Legos when Legos are clearly the best thing on the planet. Tough parenting conversations? Try the time the hermit crab died.
I look forward to the day--within my lifetime, please!--when we as a nation can get the hell over this already.
His response? "Oh. Okay."
It's harder to talk about why he had an argument with the kid down the block or why I won't buy more Legos when Legos are clearly the best thing on the planet. Tough parenting conversations? Try the time the hermit crab died.
I look forward to the day--within my lifetime, please!--when we as a nation can get the hell over this already.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
SL Letter of the Day: Daddy Loves Who? by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Life Sentence by Dan Savage
-
Crowdsourcing Uncut Police Video from the Dec. 12 Occupy Protest at the Port of Seattle by Eli Sanders
-
Slog Bible Study: Deuteronomy 21:10-14 by Goldy
-
The AP Is Reporting That Whitney Houston Is Dead by Paul Constant
-
The Onion Is on a Roll: "Iran Worried U.S. Might Be Building 8,500th Nuclear Weapon" by Charles Mudede
-
Announcing The Stranger's Tournament of Dunces! Who's the Dumbest Representative in the State House? by Christopher Frizzelle
-
Survey Says: Cyclists Would Rather Give Up Sex Than Their Bikes by Bethany Jean Clement
-
Stranger Tournament of Dunces, Match 3: Rep. Mark Hargrove vs. Rep. Norma Smith by Eli Sanders
-
Rachel Maddow Uncovered the Secret Ron Paul Strategy by Paul Constant
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (13) RSS