Posted by
Playful Walrus on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 1:57:09 PM
I have often treated with derision the misapplication of the term "homophobia". And some folks would probably apply that term to someone who finds any kind of specifically homosexual behavior disgusting. While someone who finds such behaviors disgusting may indeed be a homophobe, they don’t have to be a homophobe to find behaviors disgusting.
But why should it matter if someone is disgusted by any or all specifically homosexual behavior? Let me clarify what I'm NOT talking about here:
1. Holding hands, hugs, or a light peck.
2. Someone who deals with their disgust by harassing or committing personal or property crimes.
3. Someone trying to use government force to prevent or punish private adult citizens from of for engaging in private consensual behavior.
Even with numbers 2 and 3, the problem comes not with the disgust that someone has, but with their actions that are a violation of someone else's rights.
Different people are disgusted by any number of things, including certain body types, certain foods or drinks, smoking, chewing tobacco, certain fashions, horror movies, My Name is Earl... you name it. But who is ever sent to sensitivity training for expressing their disgust for, say, eating blue cheese? No doubt, there are people out there who would be disgusted by some of the things my wife and I do together, but I don't spend a moment worrying about it. There are people out there – including heterosexuals – who are disgusted by some normal heterosexual behaviors. I'll refrain from inserting jokes about some wives here. Heterosexual intercourse is how we all got here, but is a college student punished by school authorities for expressing a disgust of that behavior?
Yet what is likely to happen to someone - in a class or a workplace meeting - who expresses disgust towards sodomy between two men? It's likely re-education time for such a person (training, therapy). What about an elected or appointed official who expresses those thoughts? Activist groups immediately freak out. That's their right. It's silly, but that's their right. However, I think a student or someone in the workplace should be able to say "I am disgusted by homosexual behavior" without being sent to re-education - as long as Constitutional protections apply to those situations.[1]
I am not personally disgusted at the thought of homosexual behavior. I don't desire to see it - I don't want to engage in it, but the thought of it (hard to avoid, given pop culture and politics these days) doesn’t make me ill. I don't advise people engage in it; in fact, I would discourage them from doing so - not that anyone would listen to me. I'm convinced that sex is for marriage, and that marriage unites the sexes.[2]
But homosexuality advocates freak out if someone expresses disgust for any homosexual behavior. Most meat eaters don't take personal offense at a vegetarian expressing a disgust for meat-eating. Most marketers don't vilify people who are disgusted with the product or service they are promoting – they simply move on to direct their marketing towards a more receptive audience. Perhaps the difference is that someone who is selling a service or product knows that it should be someone's choice whether or not they support their business by buying that service or product. Too many homosexuality advocates are trying to bully us in to buying their "products" – a glorification of homosexual behavior; a disproportionate amount of public resources devoted to issues either exclusive to or prevalent in their subcultures; a discounting of the benefits of traditional marriage and parenting; and a neutered concept of marriage. People who express disgust at homosexual behavior are more likely to say "no". That seems to be the problem. The advocates are demanding something from others. That requires that enough of the others shut up and sit down, if they aren't supportive, in order for it to work. If the goal was simply to be left alone, there wouldn’t be so much concern about what other people think or say.
Notes:
1. (Ultimately, I believe in separation of state and most schooling, and employment freedom. This means that schools would be allowed to set a policy to expel anyone expressing disgust for homosexual behavior, and employers would be able to fire someone for the same offense. However, schools and employers would also be able to reject anyone for engaging in homosexual behavior – or for any other reason or no reason.
2. I am disgusted and do have contempt for people – regardless of sexual orientation – who make babies when they haven’t provided those babies with a marriage in which to be raised – a marriage consisting of both a decent mother and father who treat each other with love, kindness, and respect.