basso is a creature of the arts so like me, I'm sure he's exposed to the gay lifestyle more than most. Although I've heard that the ratio for gay people in opera is actually lower than the acting community. go figure
OK Let me attempt an Analogy Let's Say it was a BIG LOVE Type family Party BIG LOVE is that show on HBO about the Guy with Three Wives If he did not agree with that lifestyle and chose not to go and have to Explain to his little girl why Bill has 3 mommies Would you still be as Strong in you opinion that she should go? Would you be arguing that they are as discriminated against as Gays By all accounts on the show hey ok people . . .. Let's go WEEDS Type Family Party WEEDS - the show about the family that grows pot i beleive on ShowTime Mommies why does her cigarette smell funny? Would you still be as Strong in you opinion that she should go? Would you be arguing that they are as discriminated against as Gays Let's Pull out the Satanist Card Mommy . . . Why is everything black and got blood on it? Would you still be as Strong in you opinion that she should go? Would you be arguing that they are as discriminated against as Gays The issue at hand is this DO YOU PROTECT YOUR CHILD . . .if it offends someone else [this is not to make gays = satanist/weedhead/bigamist] The point is . .. .we all make a judgement of what is good and right for our child IF someone is doing something we don't beleive is good for our child to witness or be a part of. .. . . we censor it .. . or at least we should children should be censored form something until a time they can ingest it This is not a Gay Rights issue. . it is a parenting issue Rocket River
Not at all, I think the coorelation between the left-wing nutz and the guys who attack my race and beliefs is quite clear. I mean, I understand it and don't think they are out to get me. I think I pissed them off when I called them out and showed how radical and far away from the mainstream they actually are, and a handful responded with a smear campaign, and now they are doing it to pgabriel.
Opera is muy macho. Whew, I just read through this whole beastie of a thread. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, laughs, comfusion, and wonderment. As a result of these 13 pages of loooong reading I thought, "this thread needs more words" so here goes: WS&C - I think somebody asked this already but never saw you answer...has your daughter seen these two men before? Together? Same car/house/whatever? Does she know that their child exists? If so, going to a birthday party should not be anything new or anything that she doesn't already compute. Her asking you about them having a kid is no different than her asking about why those two men (on the street) are holding hands or living together or whatever. They are gay - you will or perhaps already have dealt with that. Only addition in this situation is that they adopted. She knows what adoption is. Child needs home, people apply and bring baby to home. Any kind of commentary or editorializing you choose to do is obviously your call but she already knows things and if she knows that they all exist going to a party changes nothing. In general about gay adoption (and again has been mentioned but nobody "against" has really answered) - we have a system/culture that produces a lot of unwanted kids. The system we have set up to take care of them is garbage overall. Poorly funded, poorly supervised, often poorly trained people, etc., are all part of the foster/adoption/orphan problems. Getting children out of the system is the best thing that can be done. The longer they are in it, the less chance they have. Pity the poor souls who last until their 18th birthday when they are booted onto the street to fend for themselves. My mother has worked around these places so I know way too may horror stories and have met hundreds of kids with emotional disabilities due to their situation. As such, again, "thinking of the children" really is about getting them out of there (within reason) and putting them somewhere safe, stable, and with love. If a gay couple can provide that, then they are automatically better off, not worse just because the parents are gay. Further, NewYorker, adoption is not just about kids under 1...there are huge numbers of older kids that need homes. In this situation, having a male and female influence for early development are out the window. More recently, rhester - I take issue with your portrayal, backing up WS&C, of every homosexual you have known being somewhat pushed/convinced into it. I believe you but I do not trust your environment/context. Most likely your discussion with homosexuals has centered around your preaching. If you are talking with some who have come to you in that context. So, again, I believe you but I think your situation is unique in a way that distorts your experiences. Of course, I can counter with all of the homosexuals I have known in my life (a lot since I am another arts guy) and none of them were influenced into being gay. These are friends I have had for years, decades and have known very very well. No point in individual stories because that would get silly. Anyway, at worst we cancel out each other, so there!
basso, you seem to be a staunch supporter of gay rights. seriously, how do you reconcile that with being such a staunch supporter of the republican party. I know that no one is going to agree 100% with any party, but your support of gay people goes beyond just not having a negative opinion. you really "fight" for gay people on this site. seriously, how do you reconcile that. it seems to be a big issue for you.
what's to reconcile? i just don't buy the argument that gay rights is only about gay marriage. i've written elsewhere that in some respects, george bush is the most gay-friendly president in history (only slightly tongue-in-cheek). certainly his tax cuts have had a very positive effect for "DINKS" (dual-income, no kids). and he's put the full might of the us military into fighting a profoundly anti-gay ideology, altho that was perhaps not upper most in his mind when we invaded iraq and afghanistan. and he's put far more into fighting aids in africa than his predecessors. the net is, the bush admin has been largely favorable to gay men and women. but i suppose you mean the republican party, and really, those on the christian right who believe homosexuality is a sin. well. i'm neither a republican, nor a christian, but politics makes for strange bedfellows. and not getting blowed up is the biggest gay right of all.
ya think? my point is the hypocrisy lies in your support of gays above and beyond your faith in humanity.
I haven't read this thread, but suffice to say, you're not going to get a balanced response on this question in this forum. I haven't read past the first page and I can guarantee you that. This forum is frequented mostly by one side who has a lot of time on their hands.
This forum is frequented by sports fans in Houston, Texas. It's not a Greenpeace forum in San Francisco. There is no good reason I can think of that it's not overrun with conservatives except that, by and large, they don't know how to argue.
I appreciate you pointing this out. Because you are right and I don't want to take my small sample size and thrust it over the entire homosexual population. My only experience was reaching out to kids/runaways on Montrose in Houston, some of the homosexuals who came for counselling, those who had aids, a gay couple I knew in Angleton TX that lived next door to my brother, my step mother, some former homosexuals who are in our church (and yes there are probably some homosexuals in our church, I don't ask) and a gay business man I worked for. I realize that is a very small number. But my comments were based upon these relationships and experience. Thanks, And by the way, if the poster had no problem with taking his daughter to the party I would not have posted one objection. I just felt after I read his initial post that he was going to get a strong reaction and maybe even some piling on. This is D&D
