Gays, the new blacks?

I’ve often tried to figure out why people, mainly on the right side but at times on the left too, spend so much time bashing gays. Okay, perhaps bash isn’t the correct word, but there is a definite negative emphasis on gays and their “lifestyles,” whatever the heck that is supposed to mean. My question is, why? Why do people put so much time and effort into telling people that gays are inferior, or that something is wrong with them and they are less of a person than “normal” heterosexuals.

On one side you’ve got the extreme religious right, and they’re views as to why gays are “bad.” The Westboro Baptist Church, owners of the site www.godhatesfags.com, offers this explanation, “The only lawful sexual connection is the marriage bed. All other sex activity is whoremongery and adultery, which will damn the soul forever in Hell. Heb. 13:4. Decadent, depraved, degenerate and debauched America, having bought the lie that It's OK to be gay, has thereby changed the truth of God into a lie, and now worships and serves the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! Rom. 1:25. But the Word of God abides. Better to be a eunuch if the will of God be so, and make sure of Heaven. Mat. 19:12. Better to be blind or lame, than to be cast into Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Mk. 9:43-48. Abstain, you fools.”

As I stated, this is an extreme point of view in regard to religion, and is by no means the most common theme. One need only look at the activities of The Westboro Baptist Church to see they put an extreme amount of time into preaching about “the certainty that all impenitent sodomites will inevitably go to Hell.” By the way, by definition sodomy also includes oral, not just anal, sex. On their website I see countless picketing of high schools, events, plays, and other such locations and activities because of fags and whorehouses. However, I see no information about charity drives, helping the homeless, or helping the less fortunate (unless you consider gays the less fortunate).

There is something deeper here, something almost unnatural about the amount of anger towards gays. There is no offer of help, only hatred, and hate is no easy emotion. Hate is a power that few should ever experience. I think it twists a mind, corrupts the soul, and makes people act in ways they otherwise shouldn’t. It’s basically the opposite of love, which can really do sort of the same thing to a person. At any rate, that’s my view, but there are other religious and philosophical views as to why hate is bad for you.

Getting back to my point, there is an underlying theme here, something deeper than this religious crusade. I think religion is just a cover, an excuse for actions that without the cover of religion would be seen as bad, corrupt, or possibly illegal. It tarnishes religion as a whole when it is abused in this manner. When you strip away religion exposing the hate, you can see a theme or a mentality that has reoccurred several times in American history, European history, and world history as a whole. This theme is the need of some people to have the feeling and security that no matter how they live their life, there is security knowing that there is an innate set of people who are lower than they, less human so to speak.

The title of this post is “Gays, the new black?” and I use blacks as my example, or case study so to speak. Gay marriage is bad because it “destroys the sanctity of marriage,” and Bush said that a "constitutional amendment protecting marriage," needs to be established. But he wasn’t the first to say marriage was “under attack” and the first argument wasn’t about gays, it was about blacks. In December 1912, Representative Seaborn Roddenberry of Georgia proposed an amendment to the constitution banning interracial marriage because, "Intermarriage between Negroes or persons of color and Caucasians . . . is forever prohibited." He took this action, he said, because some states were permitting marriages that were "abhorrent and repugnant," and he aimed to "exterminate now this debasing, ultrademoralizing, un-American and inhuman leprosy." Sounds a lot like the arguments against gay marriage, doesn’t it? Rep. Roddenberry has described blacks as “descended from the orangutan-trodden shores of far-off Africa.” Sounds like someone needs to feel like they are superior to someone else doesn’t it? This early movement was the result of a black boxer, Jack Johnson, having relations with white women.

Many states took up laws banning interracial marriage. But why? What aspect of this actually hurts people when you take away religious excuses? I don’t know of any. As a matter of fact, on a genetic level, it’s probably more healthy for the human race to have more interracial marriages (white/black, black/Asian, white/again, black/Persian, Asian/Persian, Arabic/Jew, whatever). Just like with animals, constant reproduction within a limited set of genes will expose bad genetic traits in some offspring. Okay, I mean, I’m not geneticist, but I think you get my point, and yes, we have millions of people on this earth, but you can see where I’m going. I always read that one type of person has a affinity against this type of disease, this type of person is susceptible to this type of disease, whatever the case, I think if more of us white people, and more of the “non-white” people maybe had kids we’d have a healthier set of humans all over the place. Okay, enough for this tangent.

So, if you want to bad interracial marriage, there must be a reason for it. In the case of Seaborn it was because he viewed blacks as inferior to whites, or at least that they were the “lesser” of the two. But why lesser? What makes blacks inferior to whites? Why would he hate them so much too outright ban the ability of a white person to marry a black, or a black to marry a white? What fuels this hate? A good argument I found is this, “It's born from a belief that everyone wants to maintain a positive view of their selves. So when a person or group wrongs another unfairly, they are forced into a state of cognitive dissonance. Either the offending group is unethical and wrong, or somehow the wronged party deserves this poor behavior. Whenever the wronged party cries out for justice or fairness, the offending party is forced into a painful self-examination. So, rather than go through that self-examination, the offending party gets angrier and angrier and focuses more and more on why the wronged party deserves what happened.” This can be found at kilroy.blogspot.com...


When Kilroy said “Either the offending group is unethical and wrong, or somehow the wronged party deserves this poor behavior,” I really took notice. That was it that was what I was looking for. I knew that if I looked that the history of whites hating blacks, it would open up a window to why some people hates gays now. Those that hate gays not only believe that they are unethical, but also wrong, and they feel that gays deserve to be attacked, deprived, and lobbied against. Once again, it also acknowledges my earlier theory that people want to maintain a positive view of themselves, so to keep that self delusional image they project this negative view of the lesser onto the gays.

The fact of the matter is that since the civil rights movement, it is no longer “okay” to hate blacks. Does that mean people don’t hate them anymore, heck no. I’m sure there are just as many whites that hate blacks today as there have ever been. It’s sad, but true, and it will take hundreds of more years to further minimize that sentiment. However, due to recent political and religious movements, there is a new group that it is “okay” to hate, that’s gays. So now this group takes the heat of all those that need to feel good about themselves by projecting their negative views onto these people. The hate they have for themselves can be manifested once again onto a subset of persons.

So far, since gay marriage has been legalized in Massachusetts, I’ve not heard about men divorcing their wives in vast droves to go marry other men. I’ve not heard about women divorcing their husbands to marry other women. I’ve not heard about an increase in divorce rates. So where is the threat? How does gay marriage threaten the sanctity or security of straight marriage? It doesn’t, but that’s not the point of the argument people have against gays. It’s an excuse, an excuse they have created to reinforce the negative projections they have placed on gays. The have allowed gays to become the new inferior race, the new unacceptable low, and these gays are a threat to them now for some reason. They need this negative subset of people to fight against so threats and violations of nature and religion are created. Gays are the new black, and it’s a sad reality.

Please feel free to add to this rambling set of thoughts. This is my viewpoint, and not one that I have necessarily finished researching or accepting. My two key lines on interest are how gays threaten marriage, and how why it is acceptable to hate gays. I’ve went through great strides to show that religion is being twisted here and used to justify peoples actions. I by no means am implying that all religious people to hate gays.

-O

[edit on 28-5-2005 by The Big O]

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Excellent Post.

I do agree that gays have become the new group to hate. There's always some group to hate, when it isn't blacks its illegal Imigrants, then back to gays. It's horrible and disgraceful. Gay people need to ban together and demand to be heard! They need to take to the streets and have their own civil rights movement. The country and it's government is being hijacked by the religious right, and this is sadly the result. People like to talk a lot of crap about islamic religious extremists, but they got their own set of religious extremeists wackos right in the USA.

Very nice post! I have to disagree, I feel middle-eastern people are the new blacks.

Originally posted by SpittinCobra
Very nice post! I have to disagree, I feel middle-eastern people are the new blacks.

I think it switches around, one day its blacks, the next its illegal mexican imigrants, the next its gays, next its middle eastern people, and it keep changing around depending on what's going on at the time.

[edit on 28-5-2005 by Ocelot]

I was watching a program about how scientists tested how groups of people who did not like homosexuals and groups of people who didn’t really mind them react to a gay pornographic video. It turned out that the people who discriminated gay people were the most sexually aroused by the pictures and videos shown to them, and the people who did not really have anything against gay people did not react at all.

Has someone turned into a biological organism that can mate with its same sex and produce children, yes, this is definitely news.

Originally posted by Ocelot

Originally posted by SpittinCobra
Very nice post! I have to disagree, I feel middle-eastern people are the new blacks.

I think it switches around, one day its blacks, the next its illegal mexican imigrants, the next its gays, next its middle eastern people, and it keep changing around depending on what's going on at the time.

[edit on 28-5-2005 by Ocelot]

You are right, I agree.

I can ride in the hood all day with my hair out of braids, when I have them in I will be harassed, its a shame.

You have voted The Big O for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have two more votes this month.

Wonderful post! I, like you see the hipocracy of these far right extremists persecution gay people and not just that, people of all sorts of races. I think that it's completly sad that even after the cival rights movement, that these extremists. Yes, it is against my religon to have same sex marriage so I will deffenintaly not do that. But do you also want to know what is against the Christian religon? Descriminating against people!

Everyone is discriminated against. Blacks, whites, asians, middle-easterners, hispanics, Jews, Christians, Muslims, gays, bisexuals, liberals, conservatives, and everyone else. We all need to get over these little differences and notice that we are all humans.

Originally posted by invader_chris
Everyone is discriminated against. Blacks, whites, asians, middle-easterners, hispanics, Jews, Christians, Muslims, gays, bisexuals, liberals, conservatives, and everyone else. We all need to get over these little differences and notice that we are all humans.

Exactly we all belong to the same species none of us are more special than the other, we all the same when it comes to all of us as one whole group.

Moralistic views and believes combine with gender and races preferences is what's dividing us.

Plust we also have the ones that make a big issue on pointing out make believe differences so they can get ahead with their personal agendas.

But inside we all the same and we all born to die just like everybody else.

I’ve often tried to figure out why people, mainly on the right side but at times on the left too, spend so much time bashing gays.

It's because people always find the weakest one to bash on.

My question is, why? Why do people put so much time and effort into telling people that gays are inferior, or that something is wrong with them and they are less of a person than “normal” heterosexuals.

It's basically because gays bring down the idea of a perfect world that many try to maintain so hard in their brains.

I think religion is just a cover, an excuse for actions that without the cover of religion would be seen as bad, corrupt, or possibly illegal.

Religion is a way to govern the masses. For me, child abuse is the ultimate crime: not only you do something to the other person without their desire, but you also do it to a minor that can't resist.

We don't have a problem with gay people in Britain its against the law to criticize them, same with black people. Parliament is doing its best to make being gay as normal as possible, they even lowered the age for gays to be legal. Its legal to have sex in a toilet if you wish. My thoughts are that gay people are no threat to anyone and should live their lives without being persecuted . What i don't like is a law banning me from having an opinion on this .

hmmmm.

Marge nice to see ya again, that ....

Black being the new gay, u never know. In this life.

Gay is cool, whats the prob here?!

Originally posted by yekway
Gay is cool, whats the prob here?!

Exactly! I actually think that gay people add color and brightness to our culture. My sister has a gay guy friend and he is awesome. You can go like shopping for purses with him and have the joy that he is having fun with me.

To true mate.

If only ay!

Anyway how about gay leaders, and gays being at the top of things.?

It could be a good thing. Or maybe not.

I, for one, don't see why everyone has such a problem with gays.

I mean, why does it affect them if there are people that like individuals of the same sex? Not only is it absolutely not any of their business, but it's just plain stupid. If two men have feelings for each other, that is between them, and it shouldn't be anyone else's business, and they should not be the object of ridicule of any sort.

At my school, there are gay people, and I constantly see them ridiculed and put down by many people. I also know people that are too scared to say they are gay, because they know that they will be tormented by everyone else in the school. I think this is a ridiculous problem, because once again, it is that own person's decision to do what they want to do, and not anyone elses, and there is no reason for other people to put down this group of people.

I also voted for you for the Way Above Top Secret award.

Great post.

Omniscient.

[edit on 28-5-2005 by Omniscient]

Maybe gays should stop advertizing Hey look at me im gay! tbh noone cares realy untill you shove it into there faces..

You wanna be gay ok thats fine its your business, But being gay doesnt make you special stop trying to be accepted simply because you are gay, I dont go around saying look at me in straight accept me do i?

Straight guy introduces himself and says hi im "insert name here"
Gay guys introduces himself and says hi im "insert name here" and for some reason feels the need to inform us hes gay.

WE DONT CARE.

Im not "cole the straight guy" im cole,

If gays would stop being "insert name here" the gay guy, and just be "insert name here"

alot of the problems they complain about wouldnt be an issue....



I Dont much care for there lifestyle but as long as they arent bothering me, i dont realy think much of it, same applies to anyone regardless of rather they are gay or not.

gays are good coz that means there is more ladies for the rest of us

i don't find i agree with cole much but on this i do he has a very valid point. it wouldn't bother people so much if they wouldn't stick their "gayness" in everyone's faces at every available opertunity. if you want to be gay have fun but don't rub my nose in it. keep it in your bedroom where it belongs.

I know what you're saying Cole.

It's just like the person who always tells you about all the bad things in their life when you ask them "how're you doing?" They go on and on about how depressing everything is.

Or like the guy with poor people skills who has a nervous laugh after everything they say.

I don't think it's out of line to tell people like this that they need to keep some information to themselves. I mean, people don't go around annoucing they've got genital herpes. And if they do, well, talk about confidence!

At any rate, there are rules of ettiqute that should be followed, gay, straight, or otherwise.

But hey, at least you don't hate them, right?

-O