Michael Sam says he is gay; could become first openly gay NFL player

That's a pretty bold statement for you to make. How can we know what the consequences would be when there's been no precedent for this?

 

He came out to his parents last week. He came out to the world this week.

He did come out to the football team first, but coming out to friends first is commonplace. Largely because you chose your friends, not your family.

 

You think the percentage of Homosexuals is that high . . . .. . interesting.

Rocket River

 

Yes most stats I've seen put the percentage around 10%. The percentage of homosexuals is going to be same whether they are in the locker room or not. It is very likely that whether you know it or not you have been in a locker room already with a homosexual. The fact is that male on male rape is a very rare occurence. I cited stats in the D&D thread and it is only 1 out of 10 rapes are male on male. Women have legitimate reason to be worried about sexual violence from men.

 

Just to follow on my post above. There are some wildly different stats on the percentage of homosexuals with some going as low as 1% to some going over 20%. Obviously a big problem with trying to figure it out is that many are not open about their orientation or don't consider themselves homosexual even if they have had same sex encounters.

Based on the fluctuating numbers I think the Kinsey and others figure of 10% is reasonable.

 

What would happen if he somehow didn't get drafted, at all? Is that even a realistic possibility? Because I don't think the GBLT community, rights advocates groups etc. would stand for that. I just don't know what goodell could do to appease them, since there'd be no one team in particular he could punish. Fining every owner wouldn't work, and offering under the table incentives to the team who does draft isn't fair either.

No easy answers here.

 

One of the better takes on this that you'll hear, from a Dallas sportscaster no less:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Olc5C4SXAYM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

"I'm not always comfortable when a man tells me he's gay, I don't understand his world but I do understand that he's part of mine"

 

From those comments by his father I'm going to guess they aren't that close.

His dad probably should have kept his mouth shut if he was going to say something like that.

 

What do you mean?

Remember, no one cares if Sam is homosexual.... people do not think less of homosexuals....

Daddy Sam better get with the script..... this whole thing is a nonstory, no one hates homosexuals.

 

1 out 10 = 10%
So . . . if you account for the population difference . .. seems on par

The point is . . . . If someone is uncomfortable with it . . . .
it is their right to be . . .
not unlike white women clutching their purses in elevators with black men
their fear is a bit irrational but they have the right to it.

As long as Gay man don't act on his attraction
and
Straight man don't act on his 'discomfort" . . .

everyone should be ok.

Same could be said of unisex bathrooms
but
we as a society don't trust heterosexual men that much

I was listening to ND and Greg this morning
and Greg made the point.

He asked women if they would be uncomfortable with a gay man in the bathrooms with them . . .even though they know they not interested in them . . the women said yea. . it would be an issue for them.
Are they wrong and homophobic for that?


Rocket River

 

hhhhmmmmmm
Dissenter's options are either 1. Lie or 2. shut up

Rocket River

 

Quite common for people to think the percentage is that high.

Interesting articles

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics...-no-idea-how-few-gay-people-there-are/257753/

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-adults-overestimate-homosexual-population-much-tenfold

 

no way that 20 or even 10 percent are homosexuals. 10 percent are lefties. To think that being gay is more common than being a lefty makes no sense. I'd say it's probably less than 1 percent. I support homosexual rights and tolerance!

 

I do not know what the actual percentage is, and I do not think we will know for awhile because historically it has been taboo so it is something people attempted to keep on the down low or repress.

I do think it is more than 1% though.... especially over the last few years more and more people I know or have known in the past have come forward as homosexuals.

 

You have to keep in mind that this is the for the total population and most reports put that the number of lesbians is higher than gay men. At the same time the stigma still exist so many may not be willing to be out to friends or family yet may feel OK with anonymously telling a pollster. There is also a question of what is actually considered gay. There is plenty of evidence of men and women who admit to occasionally indulging in sex with the same gender yet not saying they're gay.

Without conducting my own survey I feel pretty comfortable that the 10% figure is reasonable.

Sure people have the right to be uncomfortable but that is no basis for the argument that there is a double standard because gay men (and women) can be in a same gender locker room while an opposite gender cannot be in another locker room. There is actual statistical evidence showing why women have a greater reason to not allow men into women's locker rooms than that gay men shouldn't.

That would depend on how much the women could actually know whether the guy was actually gay or just pretending to be so just so they could look at nekkid women. Anyway the difference between men and women isn't just a matter of sexual attraction. Men are in general physically stronger than women and being gay doesn't mean that you are going to be a moral person. Even ruling out sex doesn't mean women when they feel vulnerable might not want someone who could rob them or do other harm to them.

 

How are they homophobic when they are specifically indicating that the man's sexual preference has no bearing on how they feel?

 

It is definitely more than 1%.

10% to me would have to include bisexuals.

 

Official estimates place it at 2-4%. The only time 10 or 25% comes into play is when national polls ask an all inclusive sample of the population how many gays do you THINK there are.

It isn't 10% or even close, it's 2-4 percent.

 

When i heard colin cowherd making the rape argument the other day, I wondered if he'd be as okay with male midgets in a female locker room as he is with gays in men's locker rooms. Probably, since they don't pose a physical threat. No bigger threat in that respect than the lesbians he mentioned in his daughter's locker room.

 

This sounds like a negotiation. Throw in trannies and a 2nd round pick.