In short, I am aware that they are out there... and that's it.
Despite my own indifference, I watched with curious interest the last two weeks as my feed exploded with Chick-Fil-A related postings, the vast majority of which were negative and condemning. (Much of my kin is lock-step, knee-jerking, toe-tag Left. All of my kin are outspoken and brash. Yeah, my feed can get entertaining...)
I'm like... My God, all this over chicken sandwiches??
Of course not.
Whenever a culture war event of this magnitude occurs, there is a lot more going on, a lot of history and hurt feelings, a lot of name calling... that led up to this.
You see, Hitler opposed gay people, so if you don't agree that two men should be allowed to marry, then you hate gays, just like Hitler... who also didn't like free speech that he disagreed with, just like the gays, who must be on Hitler's side...
This is what much of it sounds like to me.
This can go round and round...
Gays see themselves as fighting for their right to exist among humanity. In their way, through their eyes, I can see where this comes from in a world where being Gay is illegal in most societies, and can get you executed by The State in even some modern, educated ones.
Given the state of the world at large, the generally progressive European and American societies serve as a sort of oasis for gays within a desert of hostility. It makes sense that this oasis would be heavily guarded by any means available by Gays who adopt a world-view sense of their sexuality.
It's also quite a stretch to go from "I have moral objections to homosexual acts that are based upon 8,000 years of social and civilized tradition, not to mention biology." to "Kill all those faggots!"
I'm willing to bet that it would difficult to find anybody among the Chick-Fil-A-tionists of the past week who would be OK with the public hanging of Gays.
Yet, at the same time, it's easy to see why a segment of the population would be just a tad peeved with some of the bully tactics employed by the Gay Marriage supporters...
This peevedness goes beyond a few big city mayors, and extends to the past several years of antics the Gay side has been guilty of.
From Judges redefining the English language in California, despite the will of the voters to decide the meanings of the words they use...
To death threats delivered to openly anti-Gay Marriage churches.
Yes, death threats... from the liberal progressive tolerance crowd who oppose hate.
People flocked to Chick-Fil-A as a way of saying 'We are tired of your shit already!', not because of hatred.
Not everybody who opposes Gay marriage is acting out of hate, just like not all Gay marriage supporters endorse acts of terrorism. I think sensible folks can at least agree this much.
A few things I would like to say:
Cultural Traditionalists (I am one) need to recognize that some traditions are no longer as we remember them, that cultural values are/can be malleable in expression while the virtue (two committing as one) still remains.
Gays (I never was one)need to understand that 8,000 plus years of human/social/theological tradition will not be overturned so easily. Judges and politicians can decree, but people are people, and will behave according their whims first and foremost. I'm not saying to give up the struggle, I'm just saying try a little bit softer tact, maybe openly condemn the terrorists in your midst.
Christianists (I once was one, but got over it quickly) need to understand that we live a secular society with a decidedly secular form of government, by design. Trust me, you Fundamentalist types were on the wrong side of non-secular government in the past, and it wasn't pretty. It is possible that you will be again. If you desire to offer any logical/consistent defense in the future, you need to be honest now.
I suggest sticking to first principles of 'Church-State Separation' that you so valiantly defended (and rightly so.)
Looking to The World to protect the Christian sanctity of sexual unions is looking toward a false authority for an affirmation that can only come from God.
Free people should be allowed to enter into any living arrangements they desire and contract authority over their lives accordingly. I see nothing wrong with government enforcing these contracts and responsibilities as it does now with marriages.
What passes for marriage anymore is a far cry from the institution my grandparents took part in. There really is nothing Holy about government sanctioned matrimony anymore, so lets stop pretending that there is.
Same Sex Marriage will always be a contradiction. That said, government by nature is corrupt and run by whores... renaming something to it's liking doesn't make it so anymore more than calling a cat a dog will.
My guess is that Same Sex Marriage will be the law of the land a lot sooner than anybody thinks.
I don't mind.
4 comments:
I think you make some good points... but then you usually do. I don't always agree with them (your points), this time I do.
People flocked to Chick-Fil-A as a way of saying 'We are tired of your shit already!', not because of hatred.
Not everybody who opposes Gay marriage is acting out of hate, just like not all Gay marriage supporters endorse acts of terrorism.
If a person wants to object to other things going on in the government or elsewhere, then they need to go out and object to those other specific things. Don't you think? Communicating a message of hate is still communicating a message of hate, whether or not that was their intention. When a person does a specific thing, then that person is saying a *specific* thing. I find it difficult to believe that a person can purposefully line up in support of Chick-Fil-A on that specific day and still claim to be ambivalent about Equal Rights for LGBT people.
Not supporting Equal Rights, from this POV, IS the hate. Even if a person thinks they don't "personally" hate gay people. Murder is not the only way for people to express hatred. (Although hatred is very often the reason for murder.)
But to give your theory a little more leeway... - If people went out and ate at CFA that day, for that purpose, and still purport to not hate LGBT people, but only in support of "their side" in a culture war, then honestly, that's almost more contemptible than the hate. To fight against something you don't care that much about just because your SIDE is taking that stance? To me, that's incredibly cynical and...indefensible.
***
Also, "traditional marriage" is about 100 years old, not 8000. And humans have not always held the same position on homosexuality, which has existed forever. Here's a great book about it: Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage, by Stephanie Coontz
Have homosexuals always had the same rights for the last 8000 years? Of course not. But then neither have women.
missed it again...
but that's ok. i'm inclusive like that.
Equal rights?
Whether you are homo or hetero, we all have the same rights. Period.
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