2010-04-12, 05:50 PM
Kurtle, do you enjoy having people tell you you cannot live your life the way you prefer? Especially when the actions you take to lead that lifestyle have no effect (let alone negative ones) on the person telling you you can't be like that? I bet Ceddy just loves it.
Someone else being gay does not in anyway endanger your life, your liberty, or your property. So I hope you aren't of the stance that the government has any place making a decision to block gay rights or marriage. Leave that to the pettier religious institutions.
Slightly tangential: At the same time, even if I disagree with what you say, I will defend your right to say it- or however that line goes. So by all means, carry on telling the world how "unnatural" homosexuality is. But I do hope you stick to trying to convince the individual, and not pressure any policy enactment. This goes for explaining the concept of gay marriage as well, even to a child.
Back on track: He clearly understand the concepts of husband, wife, and that they are (in most modern cases) linked by love. What's happening here is that he's realizing that husband and wife are simply terms attached to one gender or the other, and any combination thereof can constitute a marriage. I think he's at the perfect age to have this explained. From what I see in the video alone, it seem to have been explained in un-loaded un-political terms. Which is the way to do it. Obviously the video is out of context, so I'm sure there's a slant in there somewhere, but that's largely irrelevant to my point. Tolerance begins with conversation. If he doesn't hear that it's acceptable for a marriage to be made of a husband and wife, husband and husband, or wife and wife, he'll grow up as a sponge for any number of stereotypes. He may internalize a message of tolerance, one of hatred, one of ambivalence or one of apathy. It's an unnecessary gamble that helps perpetuate intolerance- whether open intolerance or closeted intolerance - for another generation.
Getting tangential again: This applies to racism and xenophobia in exactly the same manner. And these articles might make it a little clearer what I'm trying to say. Just replace "racism" with "homosexuality" and viola
http://www.parenting.com/article/Toddler...-With-Kids
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/02/how...cist-kids/
Someone else being gay does not in anyway endanger your life, your liberty, or your property. So I hope you aren't of the stance that the government has any place making a decision to block gay rights or marriage. Leave that to the pettier religious institutions.
Slightly tangential: At the same time, even if I disagree with what you say, I will defend your right to say it- or however that line goes. So by all means, carry on telling the world how "unnatural" homosexuality is. But I do hope you stick to trying to convince the individual, and not pressure any policy enactment. This goes for explaining the concept of gay marriage as well, even to a child.
Back on track: He clearly understand the concepts of husband, wife, and that they are (in most modern cases) linked by love. What's happening here is that he's realizing that husband and wife are simply terms attached to one gender or the other, and any combination thereof can constitute a marriage. I think he's at the perfect age to have this explained. From what I see in the video alone, it seem to have been explained in un-loaded un-political terms. Which is the way to do it. Obviously the video is out of context, so I'm sure there's a slant in there somewhere, but that's largely irrelevant to my point. Tolerance begins with conversation. If he doesn't hear that it's acceptable for a marriage to be made of a husband and wife, husband and husband, or wife and wife, he'll grow up as a sponge for any number of stereotypes. He may internalize a message of tolerance, one of hatred, one of ambivalence or one of apathy. It's an unnecessary gamble that helps perpetuate intolerance- whether open intolerance or closeted intolerance - for another generation.
Getting tangential again: This applies to racism and xenophobia in exactly the same manner. And these articles might make it a little clearer what I'm trying to say. Just replace "racism" with "homosexuality" and viola
http://www.parenting.com/article/Toddler...-With-Kids
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/02/how...cist-kids/