Grex Agora46 Conference

Item 109: Is "scott" still in the closet?

Entered by sabre on Wed Jul 23 23:01:13 2003:

Go to this url:
http://www.morenatimm.com/grex/
Click on "scott" on the menu at your left.
Tell me that goober doesn't look like a fag.
That bitch could suck a golf ball thru a garden hose.
People..that's what a REAL cocksucker looks like.
150 responses total.

#1 of 150 by scott on Wed Jul 23 23:32:51 2003:

Sabre is marginally more interesting than the freekman twit from a few years
ago, but not by much.  Couldn't even compete with polytarp.


#2 of 150 by spectrum on Wed Jul 23 23:39:12 2003:

Ha Ha....I knew you couldn't resist responding to this scotty.
Touch a nerve?
When you throw a rock into the dogyard the dog that gets hit is the one who
yelps. :o)


#3 of 150 by rcurl on Thu Jul 24 00:11:53 2003:

(More jerk junk.)


#4 of 150 by janc on Thu Jul 24 03:41:39 2003:

Years ago on M-Net we had a lot of openly gay users.  I miss that.  It
made for a much more interesting community.  We still have a number of
gay users, but liberal as Grex supposedly is, nobody seems very public
about it. Is is just Grex, or is it the whole net or the whole country?
 Probably it's mostly just my imagination.  Though I still hang out off
line with Grexers a lot, it tends to be a rather small group.  In the
old days, practically all of M-Net got together for parties, so I'd see
a lot more diversity.  Grex's culture has fragmented.  The annual picnic
is about the only event that still really looks like a gathering of
people with nothing in common.


#5 of 150 by micklpkl on Thu Jul 24 03:46:31 2003:

IMO, it's just Grex, not the whole 'Net, much less the whole country.

I can't even begin to express my feelings on the hateful responses I 
see on Grex, like this one. The twit list becomes longer everyday, it 
seems.


#6 of 150 by cross on Thu Jul 24 04:29:10 2003:

This response has been erased.



#7 of 150 by pvn on Thu Jul 24 04:53:27 2003:

It depends on who's defining what "diversity of opinion, etc." is.  To
my mind those who need to define it definately don't have it.

It probably has more to do with grex being culturally located in a
college town - these days not exactly noted for being bastions of either
diversity or tolerance.


#8 of 150 by rcurl on Thu Jul 24 05:45:10 2003:

Au contraire. How can you make an obviously false startement like that
with a straight.....(?). There is more diversity and tolerance in Ann Arbor
than in any other community in Michigan.


#9 of 150 by twenex on Thu Jul 24 12:24:37 2003:

This seems like the perfect time and place for the following:

I should like to officially announce to Grex, that I am bisexual.


#10 of 150 by bru on Thu Jul 24 14:16:46 2003:

sorry to hear that twenex. Do you really need to double your dating base?

This town detests conservatives.  The colleges rail against it.  The city
council abhors it.  The average citizen fears it.

While they claim to be liberal and open to al ideas, they are open to them
only as long as they are liberal in nature.  Conservatives get chucked out
with the dirty bath water.

even when you try to be civil to them, you are likely to get a slap in the
face.  Example:

I asked my wifes office manager if she would mind if I showed up in full
uniform in their office.  That means wearing a gun.  I did it so as to not
put her co-workers ill at ease.

What I got back from their headquarters was an order that I could NOT wear
my gun into her workplace.  They were forbiding me because of their liberal
bias.  As a federal law enforcement officer, I have the right to wear that
gun anywhere as long as I am wearing the uniform, and almost anywhere when
off duty.  They cannot ban me from the office.

All they had to do was say they would rather I not wear it adn I would be
happy.  But they had to make it an order and upset me because they are so
damned liberal.


#11 of 150 by micklpkl on Thu Jul 24 14:42:54 2003:

Geesh, Bruce ... you are such a bigot. "Sorry to hear that"? I gotta 
remind myself never to read one of your ignored responses ever again.

You deserve every perceived slap in the face you get in life.




#12 of 150 by twenex on Thu Jul 24 15:01:36 2003:

Bru:

While I might have reason to object to said office's order not to carry your
firearm on their premises if it conflicts with federal law (and orders
certainly conflict w/ what I consider to be a liberal frame of mind), I think
of Grex as a window onto Grex; and thus the bias or otherwise of A2 is to my
mind rather irrelevant; there are many non arborites and non-michiganites on
the system, as well as non-us citizens such as myself.

Furthermore, i am somewhat disappointed by your "sorrow" at my "coming out".
I cannot comment on the treatment of conservatives by liberals in Ann arbor;
however (especially in these testing times, when the West seems to have taken
the collapse of communism as an excuse to, as it were, veer sharply to the
right, many liberals and leftwingers feel as if they must be on the defensive
against the rise of "mccarthyism". and other forms of extreme conservatism.
Rather like the attitude of certain well-known political leaders in the 1980s
towards (a) communism and their concomitant embrace of anything which appeared
to be the reverse. I can assure you that for me there is no "shame" in being
what I am; in my position, one either has to come to terms with the realities
and limitations (i am also disabled) of one's existence, or let it slowly
destroy you.

It also appears to me, if i may venture an opinion on the matter, that you
are as contemptuous of "liberalism" in general as you accuse the liberals of
Ann Arbor of being w/ respect to conservatism.

"All governments are, more or less, combinations against the people... and
as rulers have no more virtue than the ruled... the power of government can
only be kept within its constituted bounds by the display of a power equal
to itself, the collected sentiment of the people."

-- Benjamin Franklin Bache

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger -- aphorism.


#13 of 150 by edina on Thu Jul 24 15:04:33 2003:

Re 10  The question is:  why did you ask??  If you have every "right" to wear
it (and I read about your training - you have earned that right), you didn't
have to ask.  If a police officer had walked into that office, would they have
been asked to take off their gun?  No.  And if they had, the cop would have
laughed at them.  Cop yourself on, Bruce - you were looking for a way to
provoke and argument and look like the victim.

And for the record, I've often found that Ann Arbor is so liberal, it has
become conservative.


#14 of 150 by twenex on Thu Jul 24 15:09:11 2003:

Go mick!

brooke - "[A2] is so liberal, it has become conservative"?

ERROR---DOES NOT COMPUTE---

Please explain.


#15 of 150 by edina on Thu Jul 24 15:21:47 2003:

To me, liberalism goes hand in hand with accepting that not everyone feel sthe
same way, but that you can respect that people disagree.  Ann Arbor paints
itself as open-minded, but it's not.


#16 of 150 by slynne on Thu Jul 24 15:32:44 2003:

re#8 - What are you talking about? Ann Arbor isnt even the most diverse 
city in Washtenaw County! 


#17 of 150 by janc on Thu Jul 24 15:45:34 2003:

The high cost of living in Ann Arbor has certainly priced some of the
diversity out of town.


#18 of 150 by sabre on Thu Jul 24 15:50:59 2003:

RE#1
Who is competing? It's just that you are labeleing and comparing.
 RE#3
Then why are you reading it? Why are you responding to it?
Because you are a fucking dumbass that's why. I thought I was in your "twit"
filter? You lying sack of shit. You haven't posted anything of any merit..so
shut the fuck up.
 RE#9
 ROTFLMAO!!! I KNEW you were a cocksucker!
 I guess it's true..All Englishmen are fags.
 RE#10
You are the only person in this thread that makes sense..besides me.
 
RE#11
micklpkl quit jumping on the bandwagon just to fit in. You are one insecure
little dweeb. I bet you suck more cock twenex.


#19 of 150 by sabre on Thu Jul 24 15:52:46 2003:

RE#6
I will be in MI soon. I will be happy to spar with any of you pussies.


#20 of 150 by oval on Thu Jul 24 16:56:29 2003:

i often think people so quick to display their disgust at homosexuality are
often too frightened to come out of the closet.

i haven't visited the grexer pic page in a while. it, too is quite
frightening. but at least you guys have the balls to post a real picture.
especially you happyboy ;P



#21 of 150 by twenex on Thu Jul 24 17:00:01 2003:

Re #18: sabre - mick is insecure? you're one to talk!

<twenex dies laughing>


#22 of 150 by micklpkl on Thu Jul 24 17:09:26 2003:

No, I *am* fairly insecure, but not about my sexuality. I tend to avoid
conflict, especially when it's some nameless, faceless, hateful jerk online.
I'm already sorry I let this all get to me enough to speak up. It was janc's
post above that prompted me to do so, because I've often wondered about the
same thing. Everything else just reaffirms what I've come to believe about
this forum.


#23 of 150 by tod on Thu Jul 24 17:21:23 2003:

This response has been erased.



#24 of 150 by happyboy on Thu Jul 24 17:45:27 2003:

re20:  8D


#25 of 150 by tod on Thu Jul 24 17:53:54 2003:

This response has been erased.



#26 of 150 by dcat on Thu Jul 24 17:57:06 2003:

re13:  I found much of the same at Oberlin.  Politically it's very 'liberal',
that is, the main stream of thought there is several steps to the metaphorical
left of that of the rest of the country.  There's still a powerful slip,
though; it's *very* hard to be outside the local mainstream, to either side.
Ann Arbor is also much like that, although less so, since it's somewhere over
thirty times the size. . . .


#27 of 150 by sabre on Thu Jul 24 18:14:56 2003:

RE#26
Exactly...That's why your ideals are so stupid. You are out of sync.
WE HAVE THE POWER NOW. And we will keep it another 4 years.
Eat your corrupt hearts out.


#28 of 150 by twenex on Thu Jul 24 18:25:14 2003:

Mick - i know plenty insecure ppl who wouldn't *dare* admit it. I say again:
go mick.


#29 of 150 by dcat on Thu Jul 24 18:50:37 2003:

sabre, if you hate us all so much, why don't you just leave?


#30 of 150 by tod on Thu Jul 24 19:04:35 2003:

This response has been erased.



#31 of 150 by gull on Thu Jul 24 20:11:12 2003:

Re #0: I always thought the expression was, 'He could suck-start a Chevy!'

Re #4: Perhaps the people on Grex who are gay don't see any reason to
broadcast it to the world.  You don't see people running around shouting
about being heterosexual, either.  How often do sexual topics really
come up here?

Re #10: Now you know how liberals feel in the rest of Michigan.

Re #30: Bush is a draft-dodger, too, so I don't see why it matters that
Clinton was.  A lot of politicians who grew up during that era were,
including most of the people in the Bush administration who were most
strongly in favor of war.  It's also a little silly to accuse Clinton of
not tracking down the USS Cole bombers when he was out of office before
the investigation could be completed.

Don't forget that when Bush was first elected he regarded hunting Osama
Bin Laden as a curious fixation of Clinton's and a waste of time.  It
wasn't until after 9/11 that he decided finding Osama should be a
priority.  Bush actually ran on an isolationist platform.


#32 of 150 by sabre on Thu Jul 24 21:26:56 2003:

RE#29
I never said I hated anyone. I just think liberals are full of shit.
I stay here to balance out the propaganda you post.
I will continue to express my views even if EVERYONE disagrees with them.
I will not bow to the fallacy of ad- populace.
 RE#30
Heh Heh...Clinton is supporting Bush in his time of need. Now that's a wise
liberal.


#33 of 150 by ea on Thu Jul 24 22:21:05 2003:

re #10 - why would you need to wear your uniform to your wife's office?  
I had thought that, in general (possibly an unwritten rule), Law 
Enforcement officers don't wear their uniforms when they're off duty, 
and not in the process of going to/from their post.

(Unless you'd be in the office on some official capacity, in which case 
you should wear the gun, as you'd be on duty.  (However, I fail to see 
the reason a Customs/Border Patrol officer would need to be on duty in a 
non-governmental office in downtown Ann Arbor))


#34 of 150 by cross on Thu Jul 24 22:22:12 2003:

This response has been erased.



#35 of 150 by sabre on Thu Jul 24 22:46:05 2003:

Twinkie? You haven't seen my photo you little faggot. Don't be in such a hurry
to get your ass beat. I HAVE seen yours.<smirk>
I live in South Fl dude. New Yorkers come down here all the time acting tough.
They usually get that ass BEAT. You fuckers aren't about shit...just alot of
mouth and bravado.


#36 of 150 by tod on Thu Jul 24 22:54:21 2003:

This response has been erased.



#37 of 150 by bru on Thu Jul 24 23:14:57 2003:

I have to wear the uniform to and from work.  That includes wearing the gun.
I usually pick my wife up on the way home, which is why I asked if wearing
it intop the office would be a problem.  So now I just sit out in the parking
lot and wait for her.

Mickey, don't be so sensetive.

Have I sloighted you because of your sexuality?  Have I ever refused to deal
with you?  Talk to you?  Called you names?

Do I think your sexual inclinations are normal?  No, and I never will.
I also don't approve of people who have sex outside of marriage.
Or with animals, or vegetables or with any other number of variations.
But I don't discriminate against them.  I just think it wrong.


#38 of 150 by tod on Thu Jul 24 23:25:59 2003:

This response has been erased.



#39 of 150 by sabre on Thu Jul 24 23:30:58 2003:

RE# 25
happyboy is a trip


#40 of 150 by rcurl on Fri Jul 25 00:50:18 2003:

Re #37: you can say it is wrong for yourself, but you have no right to
consider it wrong for someone else. Since when have you been given rights
over others?

(Re #35: there's that jerk again with a "lot of mouth and bravado".) 



#41 of 150 by mynxcat on Fri Jul 25 02:00:12 2003:

Re 38> I ignored most of this thread, but that comment made me laugh out loud.
Call me insensitive :P


#42 of 150 by bru on Fri Jul 25 02:04:54 2003:

No.  I can say it is not normal for anybody.  That it is wrong for people to
behave in certain ways.  Thats what we do with our laws, we tell people that
what they are doing is wrong.  Doesn't matter if it is sex, drugs, assault,
or murder.

You say it isn't illegal.  That may be true, but it was at one time, adn
whether a law says it is illegal or not, it is wrong.  many things are legal
that are wrong.


#43 of 150 by ea on Fri Jul 25 02:06:31 2003:

re #37 - ok, that makes sense.  (Although, I agree with whoever earlier 
said to wear the gun, it's part of your uniform, and you shouldn't have 
to ask)


#44 of 150 by cross on Fri Jul 25 04:21:38 2003:

This response has been erased.



#45 of 150 by pvn on Fri Jul 25 04:32:51 2003:

re#40&#42:  THe US Constitution spells out the right of the individual
to tell other people what is right or wrong.  It even establishes the
mechanism whereby it is done.


#46 of 150 by rcurl on Fri Jul 25 06:30:08 2003:

Re #42: so, you consider it "wrong". Please tell us what precisely you
consider "wrong" with it. Please also don't obfuscate by saying it is not
"normal", or explain why you think it not normal while those that engage
consensually in homosexual activities find it perfectly normal. Do you
have personal experience with it to be able to judge whether it is
"normal" or not?



#47 of 150 by sabre on Fri Jul 25 11:34:58 2003:

Ha Ha I will show up in MI faggot boy. YOU look like a wannabe surfer. I'm
6'3" at 215...all muscle. I will break your scrawny neck pretty boy. I'll tie
you up and let all the grex faggots buttfuck your pussy ass. I will walk up
to you without warning. I will smile and extend my hand as if in greeting but
I will use it to break your fucking jaw. New Yorkers are pussies..at least
most of them are. I can see from your faggot ass picture that it wouldn't take
much to have you cry like a baby.
heh heh...but we will see. After you get your ass beat remember this...You
shot your mouth off and your hummingbird ass couldn't cover it. Oh
yea...twenex confessed that he sucks cock..maybe you and him can have a "butt"
party. You look like you suck alot of cock yourself.


#48 of 150 by scott on Fri Jul 25 12:10:04 2003:

Yeah, sure, pussycat, and right now you're using the computer in the gym in
between sets on the lat machine?


#49 of 150 by gull on Fri Jul 25 12:53:23 2003:

Re #40: His uniform says he has rights over others, I suppose.  I wonder
if he's stricter with people trying to cross the border if he thinks
they're "liberals".


#50 of 150 by mynxcat on Fri Jul 25 13:08:06 2003:

/shudders at the thought


#51 of 150 by spectrum on Fri Jul 25 13:14:11 2003:

Hello scotty


#52 of 150 by spectrum on Fri Jul 25 13:30:19 2003:

sabre......post something useful. I can handle your political threads.
At least they allow two diffrent views to be expressed.
This kind of thread is pure garbage. It doesn't profit anyone.
I don't twit filter you because sometimes you are amusing. Please refrain from
this kind of thread. No one can take your views seriously if you create
threads like this.


#53 of 150 by sabre on Fri Jul 25 13:34:23 2003:

RE#48
I can still beat your ass "aikido" man
RE#52
Eat shit..I post whatever I want


#54 of 150 by janc on Fri Jul 25 14:02:53 2003:

Prove it.


#55 of 150 by cross on Fri Jul 25 14:58:05 2003:

This response has been erased.



#56 of 150 by novomit on Fri Jul 25 15:00:22 2003:

Good idea. lord knows any more shit wouldnt fit in his head. 


#57 of 150 by sabre on Fri Jul 25 15:11:30 2003:

Cross I would beat your faggot ass to a pulp. You pussy faced bitch.
I will not make a special trip to NY to beat a pussy's ass like yours.
I am going to MI soon. Why don't you meet me there loser?
I'll beat your ass in front of all grexdom. You're too chickenshit I bet.
I can tell from your pussy faced picture. You act real brave in NY.
NYC is the worst city in the USA. New York is the armpit of planet earth.
You are a total pussy. I bet it comes from sucking so much cock. Tell me fag
boy do you spit or swallow?. I bet you slurp that cum right on dowm.
Go buttfuck your father.


#58 of 150 by edina on Fri Jul 25 16:16:01 2003:

I think my question is this:  what makes a relationship between two men or
two women, not normal?  Is it the sex?  If anal sex makes it not normal, does
that mean a husband and wife who enjoy and engage in anal sex aren't normal?
If two lesbians having oral sex isn't normal, if (again) a husband and wife
enjoy and engage in it - are they not normal too?  


#59 of 150 by spectrum on Fri Jul 25 16:23:30 2003:

Why do people encourage this? If he was ignored he would go away.


#60 of 150 by edina on Fri Jul 25 16:31:10 2003:

Because I want to know.  What makes a loving relationship between two men or
two women wrong?


#61 of 150 by tod on Fri Jul 25 16:57:20 2003:

This response has been erased.



#62 of 150 by sabre on Fri Jul 25 18:38:54 2003:

RE#58
Nature has grouped us into two diffrent sexes. It violates the laws of nature
to engage in sexual acts with those of the same sex.


#63 of 150 by novomit on Fri Jul 25 18:51:45 2003:

What about those of us who don't worship nature? And what are hermaphrodites
supposed to do???


#64 of 150 by keesan on Fri Jul 25 18:53:54 2003:

Normal is a statistical term.  You can define it as what 90% of people do,
or 98%.  If 98%, homosexuality is normal.  'Wrong' is what someone in one
group wants someone in another group to stop doing, not necessarily for any
good reason other than that they are doing something differently from the
first group and the first group wants to feel superior.  For the record, Bruce
was, despite being our token conservative, very accepting of his daughter when
she reversed his ideal order of marriage and childbirth.

Sometimes there are things which most people agree are wrong because they hurt
other people, such as murder and theft.  Extramarital sex can spread disease
but the chances can be kept pretty low, so maybe it is 1% wrong.


#65 of 150 by mynxcat on Fri Jul 25 19:04:54 2003:

Yes, but would Bruce accept it if his son turned out to be gay?


#66 of 150 by tod on Fri Jul 25 19:08:40 2003:

This response has been erased.



#67 of 150 by spectrum on Fri Jul 25 19:15:52 2003:

bru is the "token conservative"? I thought there was a 50/50 ratio.
That would promote a better exchange of ideas. I am a conservative also.
I take it that I'm a minority here? Does that mean that I should not feel free
to express my ideals? I hope not.  I think both groups can benifit from
healthy debate. Do you dislike bru because he doesn't agree with you on every
issue? I am new here and I'm just wondering


#68 of 150 by mynxcat on Fri Jul 25 19:25:39 2003:

No, there are other reasons for disliking bru ;)


#69 of 150 by rcurl on Fri Jul 25 19:38:47 2003:

Re #62: "Nature", if by that you mean evolution, has evolved a system of
bisexual reproduction. The has absolutly no implications concerning
anything we do with the results of evolution. There are no "laws of
nature" with any relevance to our behavior, apart from natural
consequences of our actions (separating the objective meaning of "laws of
nature" from the subjective); there are only facts of nature. Since
evolution has led to organisms that engage not only in heterosexual
relations but also homosexual relations, they are equally natural. 

The idea of "laws of nature" is bizzarre. How are they laid down, and by
what? All there are are facts of nature. The facts of nature do not
mitigate against homosexual behavior, or it couldn't occur. The concept of
"law" in regard to behavior is totally cultural and subjective. 



#70 of 150 by bru on Fri Jul 25 22:31:14 2003:

It doesn't matter how you wish to lay out the law.

If God exists, he has stated that such behavior is immoral and wrong.

If you follow nature, people have evolved into a society where most people,
95% follow heterosexual relationships.

My position is that it is wrong because it does not provide a stabe, healthy
relationship.  Now, is it unhealthy because society ostracizes them, or are
they ostracized because the activity is unhealthy?

Which came first, the homosexual or the...

Now, my personal belief is that people who indulge in homosexuality are weak
of will.  As all sinners are.

The robber is to weak to resist stealing what he wants.
The murderer is to weak to resist the taking of life.
The sexual deviant is to weak to resist the temptation of his choice.

It is indeed a character flaw, a weakness.  A giving in to temptation if you
will.  We all have them.  I have character flaws.  I am a sinner.  I admit
it.  But I am not going to tell you what my sins are, nor would I expect
society to accept my sins if you knew them.

Nor would I get up and yell my sins to the world.  It ain't your business.

But if I were to stand up and say, "I have lusted after 17 year old twins,
and thus sinned in my heart."  I would expect that part of society that finds
that particular attitude appaling to stand up and say so, and urge me to
repent and find some way to avoid that temptation.

And that is why I tell those who have confessed their particular perversion,
sin, or violation that I believe it to be wrong.

I do not deny them the right to vote.
I do not deny them the right to own property.
I do not deny them the right to free association.
I do not deny them the right to a job of their choosing.

But I will tell them they are wrong.  Just as I would any other violator.

Will you deny me that right?


#71 of 150 by scott on Fri Jul 25 22:31:54 2003:

Are you saying you're tempted to perform homosexual acts, Bruce?


#72 of 150 by tod on Fri Jul 25 22:37:50 2003:

This response has been erased.



#73 of 150 by michaela on Fri Jul 25 23:58:14 2003:

Bru - two people of the same sex cannot have a stable, healthy relationship?
Says WHO?

To flip your own small-minded coin, look at the divorce rate.  50% does not
bode well for the heterosexual camp.  Now you tell ME that heterosexuals have
a more "stable, healthy" relationship.

I'm not going to deny you your right to tell people that YOU have issues with
what they do in THEIR bedroom, but I'm sure as hell not going to sit back and
not take offense to it.


#74 of 150 by mynxcat on Sat Jul 26 00:01:46 2003:

Re 70> Wow! You're a brave one to put your narrow-minded, self-righteous views
out in public, and probably delusional to expect people to think you the
better for it.

That must have been the worst drivel I've ever heard.


#75 of 150 by tod on Sat Jul 26 00:08:33 2003:

This response has been erased.



#76 of 150 by twenex on Sat Jul 26 00:13:23 2003:

Re those posters trying to say that homosexuality violates the laws of nature:
the two of my dogs that are male shag each other regularly, expecially when
the female is horny. You don't hear many dogs arguing about whether
butt-fucking should be made illegal.
BTW. They never try it on w/ their mother. I'd say that probably gives a clue
as to the "laws of nature" re sex.


#77 of 150 by janc on Sat Jul 26 01:37:05 2003:

If it was against nature, it wouldn't exist.  Nature judges an organism by
how effectively it transmits it's genes, and what fails vanishes.  You'd think
homosexuality would be strongly selected against, but you'd be wrong.  A
strictly homosexual individual might be much less likely to have children,
but bisexuals are hardly at any reproductive disadvantage at all.  You only
have to have sex with someone of the opposite sex once to have a baby.  Humans
of all orientations have non-reproductive sex.  Lots.  All that extra sexual
energy has an evolutionary use too -- it helps cement alliances between
adult humans, and such alliances can help people raise children more
effectively.  Homosexual alliances do that every bit as well as hetrosexual
ones.

All human societies include members who don't reproduce.  Some of them might
be counted as losers in the evolutionary sweepstakes, but many are not.  If
they contribute in a positive way to the survival of their relations, then
they are still increasing the chances that people with their genes will
survive.  This means of preserving your genes is as much available to gays
as to straights.

Some people speculate that having a percentage of gays in a society
is beneficial to a society because, not being overly concerned with taking
care of their own kids, they put more of their effort into the general
welfare of the community.  I agree that it is useful for the gene pool
to throw off a good percentage of altruists, but I doubt that this has
very much to do with gays.  I expect that over the length of human history,
gays have been hardly less likely than straights to have children. 

In any case, people are still being born with gay impulses, because nature
finds it useful, or at least not particularly harmful.

I'm not prepared to defend entirely basing morality on evolutionary theory
(though you can take the concept pretty far), so I'd not take this as
evidence that homosexuality is OK, but I certainly think that the claim that
homosexuality is "against nature" is completely absurd, being derived from
a completely obsolete and silly concept of what nature is.


#78 of 150 by tod on Sat Jul 26 03:11:14 2003:

This response has been erased.



#79 of 150 by sabre on Sat Jul 26 11:31:16 2003:

RE#77
We haven't given nature enough time to deal with this behavior. What if
everybody was gay? Would our existence continue? How would we reproduce?

There is one fact I would like to point you in the direction of.
Do a "google" on the "y" chromosone DNA decay. It's interesting stuff.
I don't have time to post it here because scott just pulled my shorts down
in item#118. I have a long post to write there.


#80 of 150 by novomit on Sat Jul 26 14:40:07 2003:

The idea of homosexuality being "against nature" t me seems to indicate some
sort of intelligence on the part of nature or at least a faith in nature that
I do not subscribe to. If nature was perfect, why be they Siamese Twins? 

Nature is nearly as fucked up as mankind. 


#81 of 150 by oval on Sat Jul 26 14:50:19 2003:

bru reminds me of that guy next door's father in 'American Beauty'.



#82 of 150 by novomit on Sat Jul 26 14:53:55 2003:

Not having a telly, I canna comment. 


#83 of 150 by keesan on Sat Jul 26 17:57:50 2003:

My two exceptionally nice neighbors are teaching their daughter to call them
two different words for mama.  As far as I can tell, they have a really stable
relationship.  On my block and within two houses around the corner the
relationships are as follows:

1.  Young couple has baby, husband leaves.
2.  Couple has two kids, waits ten years, one more kid, husband leaves.
3.  Young couple without kids splits up.
4.  COuple with two teenagers splits up.  Daughter and father stay in the
house.
5.  Couple in their thirties who have known each other 8 years marries and
has two kids.  When the older kid is 6, husband announces he has been in love
with another women since before the second child was conceived, and moves out
(after draggin wife through several years of pointless therapy first to prove
something, she has no idea what).
6.  Couple in thirties and forties splits up after 18 years of marriage.

We also have one widow, and one happily remarried couple (retired) such that
the husband's son and his ex-wife come bringing the granddaughter to visit.

Around the corner is a very stable male couple.
Next to my apartment is a male couple who have been there since before 1985.
My upstairs neighbor remained friends with her first girlfriend after they
decided they could not live together, and eventually bought a house with her
second girlfriend and her daughter.

There is probably a stable homosexual homeowner couple on nearly every block
in my neighborhood.  They stay around a lot longer than the average couple.

Unspecified 'couple' = heterosexual.

On the street where I am building there is also an unmarried couple who seem
very happy together taking apart their house.  And one 'normal' couple in
their forties with two young kids plus a new young couple who moved in and
have two kids.

Judging from a very small statistical group, homosexuals keep their houses
up especially nicely and do a lot of gardening.  I forgot the two women across
the street with the big community vegetable garden to whom we gave our
pressure canner.  They give us tomato plants.  They have been together 20
years or so living all over the country, sometimes with relatives.

I think Bruce's problem is that all of his neighbors and co-workers are
heterosexual so he can only go on prejudices instead of personal experience.


#84 of 150 by rcurl on Sat Jul 26 18:36:42 2003:

Re #79: it is the very essence of evolution that adaptive mutations *tend*
to be accumulated, but that in no ways rules out the continued existence
of non-adaptive features. Evolution is of species, not individuals, so
their evolution will always have a large number of non-adaptive features
present at low levels. In fact, those non-adaptive genes function as
reservoirs of variety that may in fact provide an adaptive feature when
circumstances change. 

Homosexual love is non-adaptive from the standpoint of reproduction, but
causes no species non-adaptiveness, since there are enough reproducing
individuals that the nonreproducing ones do not have any affect. 



#85 of 150 by janc on Sat Jul 26 19:33:09 2003:

Re #79:  What do you mean we haven't given nature time enough to deal with
this behavior?  Do you think homosexuality is new?  Or even confined to
humans?

What if everyone was gay?  Yes that would be a problem (assuming you mean
so strongly gay that they never are willing to have sex with the opposite
gender).  It would be a much bigger problem if everyone was male.  (At least
if everyone was gay they could still have babies by artificial insemination.)
So is maleness "against nature" too?  At least if everyone was gay they could
still have babies by artificial insemination.

Frankly, if more people have non-reproductive sex, that can only be good for
the world.  There is not a baby shortage in the world today.  The fact that
gay sex cannot result in a baby is an argument for it, not against it.  When
gay people have babies it is rarely by accident.  Rather as a result of a
deep desire to have a child and quite a lot of effort to get one.  I'd expect
that statistically children raised by such people would do rather well.  I
bet the abortion rate (percent of pregnancies ending in abortoin) among gays
is lower than the general population too.


#86 of 150 by jaklumen on Sat Jul 26 22:52:33 2003:

Bruce, you are acting like a putz.  I am so sick of this 'liberal vs. 
conservative' shit that I am about to puke on a loop.  I mean, I 
swear, you insist on polarizing certain issues to make centrists and 
moderates appear invisible or irrelevant.  Now, I'd kindly ask that 
you get some consideration, or SHUT THE FUCK UP.  Geez.  You really 
like stirring the pot or what?

To further the point-- so twenex says he's bi.  Why does that have to 
be such a big freaking problem for you?  I think we've established 
over and over you don't condone or support that sort of lifestyle.  
But tell me this: why do so-called champions of good worry their sorry 
little heads making sure everyone else knows what they see as the 
difference between right and wrong rather than making peaceable 
relations with their neighbors and avoiding discontent?  "Contention 
is of the devil," Jesus said-- but I note that's not in the scriptures 
you read.  Take it at face value anyway and measure it by the Golden 
Rule.  You think the ends justify the means?

I can speak on this.  I can relate to him.  Myself, I just found it 
wasn't working for me, so I sought out change-- which I do believe is 
possible.  But I'm not going to bash folks over the head, 
saying, "You're queer, so you're evil, and you must change!"  If he's 
happy, I say leave him alone.  You can accept him without accepting 
his decision.  If he's unhappy and it doesn't work for him, then maybe 
he'll find a way out.  But spare the lecture.


#87 of 150 by polytarp on Sun Jul 27 01:01:03 2003:

You're the biggest biggot of them all, jaklumen.


#88 of 150 by bru on Sun Jul 27 02:45:17 2003:

"I do not deny them the right to vote.
I do not deny them the right to own property.
I do not deny them the right to free association.
I do not deny them the right to a job of their choosing."

show me my discrimination.  Go ahead.  Look at the above statements and show
my how I discriminate against them.

Problem is people, you are just so quick to jump on the bandwagon and scream;
"Look at the bigot.  Look at the bigot!" that you do not realize that I am
middle of the road.

"SURPRISE!"

What?  you don't believe me? How do I prove it?  Intorduce you to my gay
freinds?  (I have had gay freinds.)  I know.  You don't believe it.

Am I to condescending to the gay people in the forum for you to believe it?
Well, you apparently think you are better than me, is it okay if I think I
am better than you?

I believe diversity is a good thing, but not when you rub someones face in
it.  You insult me siggesting I have a fear of gays that is obviously hiding
my true gayness.  Problem is, gays don't scare me.  

So just go ahead and call me an old stick in the mud.  Wait!  Does that
suggest gayness?  Nah!


#89 of 150 by dcat on Sun Jul 27 02:49:31 2003:

It's not the fact that you're a stick in the mud that bothers me.  It's not
even the fact that you're so *offensively* stuck that bothers me.  It's the
fact that you don't seem to care about how much you offend, the fact that
you'd rather say "okay!  i offend people!  but guess what?  i don't give a
shit!" than try to learn why you are offensive and maybe even become less so.

The fact that you may be "middle of the road" does not mean anything, beyond
the fact that the rest of society are bigots, too.


#90 of 150 by keesan on Sun Jul 27 03:59:32 2003:

Bruce, in case it is not yet clear, what is offending people is your statement
about being sorry to hear someone is bisexual.  It's like being sorry to hear
they are missing one leg.  Why do you have to be sorry, and if you are, why
do you have to say so?


#91 of 150 by rcurl on Sun Jul 27 07:07:38 2003:

I'm sorry that bru can't just accept people as they are, without passing
judgements (as long as they are decent law-abiding individuals). 


#92 of 150 by twenex on Sun Jul 27 12:53:22 2003:

Re responses #86 and #87-91. thanks

Y'all will notice I haven't contributed much to this thread lately. This is
because I find such arguments boring and pointless.

I am also *deeply* offended by the suggestion that something that should be
private, between two consulting adults, can or even should be banned. We
aren't talking child abuse here people; we aren't talking rape, male rape or
sheep shagging.

I suspect that I would feel this way even if i were not bisexual, because it
is only recently that i have been able to admit this to my self. It is
probably also because I like to stick up for people who are underprivileged,
which probably has a lot to do with being in (quite a few) minority groups
myself - sexually, politically, physically, and in terms of my interests (i'm
sure a lot of us can relate to that one!).

What people who are against homosexuality forgt is that in several periods
in history, homesexuality has been respected and even revered; attitudes to
homosexuality, as with everything else, change and while i have no right to
insist that people be ok with homosexuality, i'm not going to back down
because it offends them. I don't insist on doing it in their presence, i don't
ask them to be willing 'victims'. I *do* insist that i be allowed to live my
life the way i wish to live it. If the gay lobby were insisting that straight
people were somehow weird and that heterosexuality should be banned, (a) i
would have a problem with that and (b) Bruce and his 'compatriots' would have
something to whinge about in my eyes as well as his own. It is interesting
that those who insist on people living their lives a certain way are often
those who get uppity about things like "personal freedoms" or, in Europe
"national sovereignty". They don't seem to have a problem with other people
being told to live their lives a certain way.

I despise this mindset. I have a right to despise it. It's the kind of
mindset that visited the Inquisition on Spain, Fascism on Europe and cultural
imperialism on the world.

It's the One Ring to Rule them All mentality. And it stinks.

Bru says that he:

Does not deny homosexuals the right to vote;
Does not deny them the right to own property;
Does not deny them the right to free association;
Does not deny them the right to a job of their own choosing.

But who is to say he would not *like* to do this? Because this *just* the kind
of thing that happens when a country is ruled soley by fascist bigoted
arseholes like him. That is why we have democracy and free speech, Bruce, not
so that jurassic tyrannosaurs like you, who think that being in a position
of authority gives them a right to act like Himmler and impose your views on
everyone else, can drone on incessantly about how x y and z are evil and wrong
(and you'd better invent a few more etters of the alphabet too, because 26
is *way* too few to categorize all their hangups with).

I'm not particularly interested in whether you think I'm abnormal. I have had
this all my life, for one reason or another, so it's a case of get used to
it or let it upset you every time. And if I did that, I probably wouldn't be
alive anymore.

I don't necessarily want you to be all comfortable with the idea. It is of
no consequence to me whether you are or not.

Because the truth is, we who just try and live our lives without hurting
anyone and try (not always successfully) to let people live as they want to
live are as sick and tired of you moralistic, small-minded, reactionary,
socially-restricted, jingoistic fascist bitches as you are of us. The
diference being, I know of no liberal, democratic state that has ever tried
to wipe any of *you* out. So take your opinions, Mr I'm Such A BigWig Because
I'm A Customs Inspector
Ooh-What-A-Big-Firearm-You-'ve-Got-All-The-Better-To-Shoot-You-With-Foreign-Li
beral-Faggot and stick them somewhere. Your arse would be a good place.


#93 of 150 by happyboy on Sun Jul 27 18:16:02 2003:

rotflmao!


#94 of 150 by tod on Sun Jul 27 18:48:56 2003:

This response has been erased.



#95 of 150 by twenex on Sun Jul 27 19:21:42 2003:

Errata - 88 to 91, not 87; i don't believe jaklumen is a bigot, so sorry for
the confusion.


#96 of 150 by jaklumen on Sun Jul 27 20:57:54 2003:

I appreciate it.  I've been there, and to an extent, I am still 
there.  I need not deny how I feel, although I have made a rather 
different decision about it.

resp:88 'middle of the road'?  Don't insult me.  I consider myself 
fairly moderate; much consideration finds me at that position there 
again and again.  If you're going to whine about 'conservatism vs. 
liberalism,' particularly how liberals repress conservatives, then I 
hardly believe you a moderate.  Stop fronting.

(If you were *really* middle of the road, you'd be bored of the left-
wing and right-wing arguments, wondering why everyone has to polarize 
the hell out of everything.  You're not fooling anyone.)


#97 of 150 by bru on Mon Jul 28 02:39:09 2003:

well, you see I am tired of th polarization.

I am tired of lilly livered limosine liberals yelling about the rich
conservatives spending money to support conservative causes while they swill
their champagne and toot their own hoern about how they care more about the
common man thatn any conservative ever could.

I am tired of gay and lesbians rubbing their sexuality in my face by having
marches and gay pride days and exposing genitalia out in front of God and
everybody while they troll the back alleys adn gay bath houses for fresh meat
while claiming all they want is a chance to get married.

I a tired of heterosexuals who see nothing wrong with posing in all kinds of
sexualy explicit positions so they can make a little money of their
pornography before going to the local dope den to get something to get them
high so they can forget what they just did for the last 12 hours.

I am tired of people exploiting children for their own sexual enjoyment, and
claiming that children as young as 2 should be able to experience the joy of
sexual contact and that it does no harm to these children.

I am tired of people who claim to have all the evidence in the world that pot
doesn't hurt you, and then having to talk to emergency personel who have to
clean up the mess when someone whacked on weed, alcohol, or some other drug
they feel should be safe when used responsibly.

I am tired of professors claiming to be open minded banning conservative ideas
becasue they don't want that Fascist crap in their class room.

I am tired of being insulted because I do not agree with everything liberals
think and say.  

You ahve got to understand there is a whole wide world out there  that does
not agree with everything liberal, or everything conservative, or everything
anything.

And claiming to be open minded while telling me to shut up just does not make
any sense to me.


#98 of 150 by keesan on Mon Jul 28 03:18:48 2003:

Bruce, let me know where to find God so I can parade around naked in front
of him/her.  


#99 of 150 by rcurl on Mon Jul 28 06:51:27 2003:

I thought gods could see through clothes. 


#100 of 150 by happyboy on Mon Jul 28 08:10:48 2003:

they're prolly pretty bored by now.


#101 of 150 by keesan on Mon Jul 28 13:13:07 2003:

Did God make homosexuals?


#102 of 150 by novomit on Mon Jul 28 13:21:52 2003:

Did homosexuals make god? 


#103 of 150 by cross on Mon Jul 28 13:58:25 2003:

This response has been erased.



#104 of 150 by mynxcat on Mon Jul 28 14:46:29 2003:

Bru offends, and he doesn't apologise for that. Yet, he's offended by 
that whole list of things, and expects people to change

Respect works both ways Bruce.


#105 of 150 by slynne on Mon Jul 28 15:01:05 2003:

re Resp:97 - Gosh where to start...

1) So you think that it is only ok for rich people to have opinions if 
they are conservative opinions? You dont think it is possible for rich 
people to care about poor people or for our society as a whole?

2) Imagine how many gay and lesbians feel when people rub their 
heterosexuality in *their* faces. You probably do that all the time. 
Anyhow, fwiw, I have never seen any gay people exposing their genitals 
in public but I probably dont frequent the same back alleys and gay 
bathhouses as you do. 

3) You dont read porn? Please. I could have sword I have heard you make 
references to Playboy. Maybe I am mistaken. 

4) I know. Child sexual abuse is a big problem. Most liberals will 
agree with that. A lot of republicans fuck their kids, btw. This isnt a 
problem related to political beliefs. 

5) Alcohol is dangerous. There are also dangers associated with pot. It 
is however *less* dangerous than alcohol. For one thing, no one has 
ever overdosed on pot or at least I have not been able to find a 
documented case of that happening. Anyhow, it should be legal as should 
most recreational drugs. I always find it interesting that republicans 
like to go on about how government needs to stay out of our lives. "We 
need a free market. We need lower taxes. Etc." Yet, they feel it is 
somehow important to keep a person from sitting on their living room 
couch and smoking a doobie. 

6) Well, fwiw, I have had a few very conservative professors in my time 
too. Also, none of them have ever not allowed me to express my views in 
class (assuming that my views were relevant to the subject being 
taught, of course). 

7) I am sorry that you feel insulted but in a karmic sense, I think you 
have it coming. You come online and insult others all the time. Fair's 
fair. If you can dish it out, you should be able to take it. I think 
your problem is that you typically dish out arguments that are not 
thought out well, have huge holes in them and then you get mad when 
people shoot them down.  


#106 of 150 by tod on Mon Jul 28 16:29:43 2003:

This response has been erased.



#107 of 150 by slynne on Mon Jul 28 16:47:24 2003:

Yeah. I know straight guys who have good taste!


#108 of 150 by happyboy on Mon Jul 28 16:57:07 2003:

/bows and scratches his hairy beerbelly!


#109 of 150 by edina on Mon Jul 28 16:58:46 2003:

Actually, Tod, I'd disagree on QEFTSG.  Sure, Carson is a prototypical swishy
queen - but he'd admit to that.  The other guys are pretty much just guys.
Kinda like if you get a group of girls in the room.  They're just the gay,
infinitely more talented Spice Girls.


#110 of 150 by tod on Mon Jul 28 17:31:30 2003:

This response has been erased.



#111 of 150 by slynne on Mon Jul 28 17:39:35 2003:

tod is right. even though it is a *positive* stereotype, it is still a 
stereotype. As someone recently pointed out to me, one wouldnt put a 
show on TV called "Black Dudes teach White Guys Basketball" or "Jews 
Teach Accounting" or "Asian Guide to Getting Good Grades". 


#112 of 150 by mynxcat on Mon Jul 28 17:51:59 2003:

I did read an article about how Americans had something to learn from 
Asians when it came to preparing for exams and getting good grades.



#113 of 150 by tod on Mon Jul 28 17:58:08 2003:

This response has been erased.



#114 of 150 by mynxcat on Mon Jul 28 18:15:10 2003:

Hey, I didn't write the article. 


#115 of 150 by janc on Mon Jul 28 19:18:47 2003:

You know, the last time I recall someone going ballistic about people
"exposing their genitals", it was Mark Ethan Smith.


#116 of 150 by michaela on Mon Jul 28 20:51:20 2003:

You're tired of gays flaunting themselves in your face during marches?

Fine.

I'm sick and tired of having Christmas shoved down my throat until I GAG from
about late September through late December.  The music, the decorations, the
pompous jerkoffs who look at me funny when I say I don't celebrate it, the
wishy washy feel-good specials on television, etc, etc, etc.

It goes both ways.  I stay out of their face.  You stay out of mine.


#117 of 150 by cross on Mon Jul 28 21:16:42 2003:

This response has been erased.



#118 of 150 by jaklumen on Tue Jul 29 02:15:04 2003:

on marijuana, just my two cents-- I haven't seen anything that proves 
it to be medicinally redeemable (you feel less pain because you're 
stoned; that's about it), but it is one of the more benign drugs out 
there.  Tobacco is nasty-- and it's legal.

On the marches-- damn dude, you're actually attending them or 
something?  Leave it alone!  I mean, fuck, I don't think most people 
see this stuff unless they go out looking for it or the occasional 
time it pops up in the media.  Now I will admit they do cavort about 
in lascivous ways at a lot of these events, but no one forced ya to go.

I do have my opinions about sexuality-- that often there is a lot of 
mingling emotional and abuse issues that are in the way.  Yeah, I'm 
one of those twerps that believes in reparative therapy and all that.  
But I definitely don't go around condemning the community about 
their 'sinful ways.'  They made their choice, and I made mine.  I hope 
there will be mutual respect, then.  In other words, you're preaching 
to the choir, here-- but you're not the music director.

There is a time to be principled and a time to be diplomatic.  I 
suggest diplomacy.

resp:116 Ironically, the relentless commercialism of the Fall/Winter 
season turns off some of the mainstream religious.  It seems like a 
big long profit campaign.  As far as tolerance and respect, we've 
adopted so many 'heathen' traditions thanks to the Catholic church (in 
the name of assimilation) that people should be more understanding in 
light of this knowledge.

To boot, so many are casually religious that the notion is pretty 
hypocritical.


#119 of 150 by bru on Tue Jul 29 03:13:26 2003:

I am refereing to the media and its hype of certain sexually expressive
events.
I also should not ignore the entertainment media which has found the new
"reality" tv a means to further stimulate the audience. Commercials and
advertizing are also to blame.  I realize sex sells, but does it have to sell
everything?

Okay.  So I am a prude.  i learned to live with it a long time ago.  No,
nudity does not bother me.  You could walk naked into my living room and I
would not be particularly bothered nor excited by it.  Yes, I have read
playboy.  (but just for the articles, really.)  It is the focus on sex that
bothers me. I have never enjoyed bachelor parties, nor the watching of porno
flicks with my buddies.  I don't watch them with my wife either.

On the otehr hand, I also don't call people names because they disagree with
me.


#120 of 150 by beeswing on Tue Jul 29 04:32:34 2003:

Well, I am a heterosexual female who is not in a relationship at the
moment. And I get sick of straight couples constantly flaunting their
couple-ness... holding hands, making out, or squeezing each others'
butts as they walk in the mall. The whole world gives a message of "If
you're single, there's something wrong with you." But no one complains
about that.

Meanwhile, I know a gay male couple and a lesbian couple who both keep
clean and presentable homes, don't molest kids, treat their pets like
gold, don't go anywhere naked, don't really go to pride marches, don't
do drugs, don't go to bars or bathhouses. They pay taxes, volunteer for
civic projects, and don't flaunt their homosexuality in front of anyone,
whether at home or in public. And these couples both have stable,
committed, monogamous relationships.

I know people who smoke pot regularly for recreation. They do it in
their homes, alone. They don't have kids. They don't sell drugs to kids.
They do not go out in the streets if they've smoked. Nor do they drive.
The people I know who smoke it are otherwise law-abiding people whom I
know would not harm me or any other living creature. They hold down
steady jobs and pay bills. 

They don't go to bachelor parties or watch pornos-- not to my knowledge,
anyway. 



#121 of 150 by pvn on Tue Jul 29 06:04:43 2003:

And they are probably a small minority of a small minority.


#122 of 150 by polytarp on Tue Jul 29 06:40:07 2003:

Yo, men, i was at a  "killer"  rave the other night (see how that word
just, offsets the others of its '''ilk'''?) and all the  pot heads were
not there but the people instead were methkiddies, you know, the ones
who stay up all night killing bugs?  yeah, them ones.  well, anyway,
here i were and they was there too-- right next to me-- and i shouted in
their faces,

-- drugs support terrorism!
-- nah, pulling like a pendulum some girl's underwear.

and then they all started circling 'round me, rubbing their arteries, as
methkiddies learn to do, until their hearts were all in sync.  now, as
you would believe, a reverberation started,

-- ow, man,
-- crack, said his bones

and then all the E crew started biting and knawing on me.


#123 of 150 by pvn on Tue Jul 29 06:48:47 2003:

As far as "natural law" or something being a violation of it, currently
and cross culturally the best science (aka "natural law") can come up
with is that homosexuals represent a constant 2.5% of the population or
so currently.  Be it totalitarian regimes where it is a capital offense
to tolerant regimes that value "diversity" the constant currently and
generally remains about 2.5%.  If it were genetic then how does it
breed?  If it is nurture (-v- nature) then how come the statistic is
generally constant irrespective of the "tolerance" of the particular
society?  

As for marriage, personally I have a problem with it being a state
sanctioned activity in the first place.  I would much rather have paid
individual taxes based on my individual income offset by dependant
support (which is socially a good idea) over the past years than the
current situation where not only could I not get married without state
approval (fundamental violation of constitutional rights it seems to me)
but both I and my spouse were taxed *more* because we chose to do so.
(the "child" deduction is a wash because you can claim that being
"single").  I have yet to see any gay activist calling for the "right"
to be "married" by the state address the tax issue - perhaps they
suggest they should have it both ways?  There is no legal benefit of
state sanctioned marriage that cannot be legally attained by a gay
couple today anywhere in the US legal juristiction.  Social acceptance
is another issue and one cannot legally demand it any more than one can
force orthodox jews to eat pork - or force orthodox jews to accept as
co-religionist pork eaters.  (You can't teach a pig to sing, and whats
more, it tends to irritate the pig.)  Side note: Even state required
marriage doesn't automatically bestow legal benefits, in the country
where I live lacking specific legal intructions to the contrary when I
die my "estate" doesn't automatically descend (less death taxes
naturally) to my spouse and children but is split evenly amongst them,
my siblings, and my parents. 




#124 of 150 by rcurl on Tue Jul 29 07:07:07 2003:

I look upon marriage as a contract between two persons that is underwritten
and then enforced by the state. It is therefore not possible to "get married
without state approval" because marriage is that state-sponsored contract.
If you don't want the state sponsored one, which we call marriage, then you
can enter into a private contract. It's like choosing a roofing company for
your house. Different contracts have different costs, benefits, warranties,
etc. If you don't like the terms of the state one, choose another.

I recognize that historically there were two government entities, the state
and the church, which made marriage a three-way contract. This, however,
added a lot of unnecessary strings to what is the fundamental interest of the
state in offering benefits in echange for the contract - some degree of
regulation of reproduction.


#125 of 150 by keesan on Tue Jul 29 14:09:40 2003:

Marriage can save one of the parties thousands of dollars in health insurance.


#126 of 150 by twenex on Tue Jul 29 14:18:26 2003:

Bruce - okay i accept i probably went a bit too far there, so having done i
can only sincerely apologise; you got my back up (my fault as much as yours)
and when that happens i have an unfortunate tendency to respond in kind.

I accept that you don't feel comfortable with homosexuality, but i think
perhaps you might be more comfortable in yourself if you just ignored it. I
have experience myself of being pissed off that some people can act in certain
(to my mind unreasonable) ways; i just had to accept that i can't individually
lay down the law on what people do in their private lives; i hope that at
least we can agree to disagree and accept (anybody got a thesaurus) that we
have different views on this.

I don't by any means wish you "shut up" because you have views different from
mine, or despise your position in law enforcement. What I *do* think is that
perhaps you are preaching to the unconvertible by making your views known in
such a forthright manner here on Grex; it is a fact of life that, whilst Grex
and systems like it try to be "a meeting of people with nothing in common",
as i think someone else put it earlier, there will in any community be a core
of like-minded members. That doesn't mean you should shut up, it just means
that you might get less of a favourable hearing than you would in other, more
conservative fora. I believe it was George Washington who as President made
it known that he was opposed to "factions", but he had the fortune/misfortune
to live his life in what was then a very young country, which due to its
history was still in the process of defining itself, and whose people
presumably were more concerned with what they were *not* (i.e. British) as
with what they were. In such circumstances it is easier for a community to
pull together than it is for Americans (or indeed Brits) today. Case in point
- myself and my Irish friends *never* discuss politics, because
Hiberno-English history is *very* divisive. (And yes, they are true friends).

I don't believe however that Grex or its members are in any way trying to
censor your beliefs; and if i thought it wee doing this to anyone, i wouldn't
be so supportive (spiritually) of Grex as I am. I don't see anyone deleting
threads.

A last word on my "coming out", if i may.

I believe this has been misinterpreted. It wasn't an attempt to shove anything
down anyone's face, but I am saddened that people feel that Grex has a
"party-line" culture. It was, therefore, an attempt to kickstart a process
of frankness - and it seems to have backfired.

I hope that we can agree (or agree to disagree) that people have a
*constitutional* right to express their (divergent) opinions, and behave in
amanner of their choosing *insofar as it does not injure other people*. I
think sometimes people just find it hard to judge where the line between one
and the other is, and that most of the fighting is on these fringes. It
saddens me.

Finally, i hope we can put this thread to rest - soon!


#127 of 150 by edina on Tue Jul 29 14:40:19 2003:

Re 111.  But there is a show called "Black Men Teaching White Men how to Play
Basketball".  It's just marketed as "The NBA".


#128 of 150 by twenex on Tue Jul 29 15:43:15 2003:

Re #127 - yes, but it *isn't* marketed as "Black Men Teaching White Men How
to Play Basketball". which i believe was the point alluded to


#129 of 150 by slynne on Tue Jul 29 15:56:30 2003:

Yeah, if you had a show called "Designer's eye for the hopeless guy", 
it would be quite a different show. this would be true *especially* if 
a person's sexuality werent an issue to be either the designer or 
the "hopeless guy" 


#130 of 150 by twenex on Tue Jul 29 17:00:18 2003:

Is there a show showing Asians showing White guys how to get to get good
grades? what is it marketed as? I presume you mean Japanese or Chinese, or
Indians; In Thailand kids get good grades by getting their parents to come
thru exam room windows with the answers (no, I'm not joking; it happened).


#131 of 150 by rcurl on Tue Jul 29 17:13:46 2003:

That show is called "school".


#132 of 150 by cross on Tue Jul 29 18:41:23 2003:

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#133 of 150 by twenex on Tue Jul 29 19:53:01 2003:

So Don't Do That Then! ;-)


#134 of 150 by cross on Tue Jul 29 22:20:58 2003:

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#135 of 150 by jaklumen on Wed Jul 30 05:13:28 2003:

resp:119 The media tends to soar down to the lowest common denominator 
for advertising and such.  That's also why I tend to laugh when people 
gripe about pop music.  (There's always been this kind of drivel 
around.)

I still believe we live in a sexually obsessed but very touch-deprived 
society.  The fact that a school suspends a first grader for kissing a 
girl is pretty ludicrous, and teachers aren't really allowed to hug 
their students anymore for fear of sexual harassment charges.  I think 
that's rough going for elementary and early childhood educators, 
because I think young children need tactile response.

Things have changed-- it's true.  The adult film industry is much more 
mainstream than it was in the past; insiders say they don't cater to a 
trenchcoat customer anymore.  It's much more widely available and some 
sources (PBS Frontline was one) suggested the Clinton adminstration 
may have loosened things up in that regard (I forget what the politics 
was called involving it).  Playboy isn't scandalous anymore.

resp:132 Where... i.e. which West and East side?


#136 of 150 by cross on Wed Jul 30 13:50:06 2003:

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#137 of 150 by keesan on Wed Jul 30 17:13:20 2003:

Jim taught daycare for a while and he hugged all the kids.  Nobody filed
charges against him.  The kids liked being hugged by a man.


#138 of 150 by mynxcat on Wed Jul 30 17:20:13 2003:

Most teachers wouldn't hug these days for fear of charges being filed. 
Jim didn't get slapped with a charge, but it could have happened. 

(Sometimes it doesn't matter if the kids like it or not, it's what the 
parents perceived that is the determining factor)


#139 of 150 by jaklumen on Thu Jul 31 03:24:33 2003:

Oh shit yes.  They discuss this in the Schools of Education for a 
reason.


#140 of 150 by gull on Tue Aug 12 21:27:04 2003:

Re #70: "If God exists, he has stated that such behavior is immoral and
wrong."

You mean, "if my particular God exists, and I'm interpreting his
writings correctly, such behavior is immoral and wrong."

I also think it's pretty circular to fault homosexuals for not having
stable relationships when society denies them the tools to recognize and
reinforce those relationships.


Re #119: It amazes me that you seem to somehow blame homosexuals for
everything sexually explicit in the world.  Do you really think that
only lesbians buy those "Girls Gone Wild" tapes that are advertised
incessantly on TV? ;>


Re #123: Actually there are lots of legal benefits you can't get except
through marriage.  If you don't believe me, try to get your employer's
health insurance to cover someone you're not married to.  Also, getting
the legal benefits of marriage involves a lot of effort and lawyer time
for homosexuals, while heterosexuals don't have to go through the hassle.


Re #138: No kidding.  And it's not just teachers.  Given all the
high-profile cases there have been I'd never open a day care center in
today's world; it seems to almost guarantee a sexual abuse lawsuit.  And
once you're accused of that, your reputation is ruined.  It doesn't
matter if you're found not guilty or not.


#141 of 150 by jaklumen on Tue Aug 12 22:54:48 2003:

1-2).  Once again, all sides never really come out.  We have one side 
saying, "They are sinners and will rot in hell for what they do," and 
the other saying, "It's natural, and they are wrongly oppressed."  
Nothing in between.

'recognize and reinforce'... hmmm, somehow, in my experience, and in 
those many others that I have talked to, it hasn't been about love, 
it's been about deep, sometimes unconscious emotional traumas that 
never get satisfied by a 'relationship.'  Of course others' mileage 
may vary.  Of course, we have to have steel balls sometimes, because 
we get so much grief from the one side who still regards us as sinners 
(especially when we stumble on the way) and the community that 
apparently regards us as traitors.

3) is a rather poor example because if I remember right, women don't 
go ga-ga that way when they happen to be lesbian.  They are a much 
more emotional sort from what I remember and porno usually isn't the 
schtick.  In general, the example doesn't hold because women in 
general just aren't super big on pornography.  Now men's gay 
counterparts... well, I seem to remember most enjoying gay porn to a 
degree.  Maybe you could find a difference there.

4) last time I checked, many day care providers were considered early 
childhood educators-- but I could be wrong.  Some preschools are 
considered day care centers as well.  Maybe it's just an overlap, but 
I was making that implication.


#142 of 150 by gull on Wed Sep 3 00:44:00 2003:

Recently, with the push for civil unions and gay marriage, many people
have called for us to remain true to the Biblical definition of
marriage.  Here's what remaining strictly true to that definition would
mean:

    1 Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one
man and one or more women.(1) Marriage shall not impede a man's right to
take concubines in addition to his wife or wives.(2)

    2 A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin.
If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed.(3) Marriage of a
believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden.(4)

    3 Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the
constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, shall be construed
to permit divorce.(5)

    4 If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry
the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately
does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be
otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law.(6) 

1: Gen. 29, 17 - 28; II Sam. 3, 2 - 5.
2: II Sam. 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21
3: Deut. 22, 13 - 21
4: Gen 24:3; Num 25 1 - 9; Ezra 9:12; Neh. 10:30
5: Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9
6: Gen. 38 6 - 10; Deut 25 5 - 10

(Source:
http://nuisance.blogspot.com/2003_08_01_nuisance_archive.html#1061273031022
29366
)


#143 of 150 by cross on Wed Sep 3 04:34:41 2003:

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#144 of 150 by bru on Wed Sep 3 12:27:25 2003:

That is your opinion, I do not know anyone anywhere who promotes such a
belief.


#145 of 150 by gull on Wed Sep 3 12:34:22 2003:

That's kind of the point.


#146 of 150 by bru on Wed Sep 3 21:51:56 2003:

thtas what I mean.  i could sit here and say married people have to have sex
withone foot on the floor for it to be a leagal weddig.  That wouldn't make
it so.


#147 of 150 by tod on Wed Sep 3 22:07:31 2003:

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#148 of 150 by gull on Thu Sep 4 02:53:05 2003:

The point, to spell it out for you, is that calls to remain true to the
"Biblical definition of marriage" are irrelevent; we've already gotten
away from that long, long ago.  What people currently think of as the
"Biblical definition of marriage" is really just tradition, and
relatively recent tradition at that.


#149 of 150 by rcurl on Thu Sep 4 05:25:18 2003:

Of course, the point is, it is *some peoples'* tradition. That's fine.
But it is not *all peoples'* tradition - nor is it immutable.


#150 of 150 by lynne on Mon Sep 8 17:47:17 2003:

re 148:  Hallelujah.  I wasn't looking forward to being executed.  although
watching people have to pay one shoe for not marrying their brothers' widows
sounds pretty funny.  if anyone needs to do that, I have a bunch of shoes
I'd be happy to donate.  


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