Why do some people speak of things they cannot possibly know?

Question

What I'm talking about is the idea of non-gay persons declaring that we choose this way of life and that we are denying God and that we are hiding in a dark place....blah blah. You get the point. My question is why do those who cannot know what it is to be us can so seriptitiously be so blyth with their statements? I am not God so I do not pressume to speak as Him yet these people, knowing nothing of us, declare to know us better than ourselves.

At this point I already know what some of them will say, but it would nice if even one of them could give an honest answer. Doubtful I know but I'll still give it a try.

radical4capitalism, your answer was a dodge and you know. Don't play games you can't understand. Your statements are exactly what this question speaks to. Add to you use a specious comparison about the military which you know damned well is not comparative at all. On another note, you say even if we are born this way we should deny who we are, to that I say you first. As for Anne, one notable person who is probably bi, that's all you've got? sad

Nightstalker 1967, your answer is honest and profound and for that I thank you.

Rabbit, I do respect what you are saying but my question is pointed, how can you, non-gay person, having never been anything other than you are, tell a gay person they chose what they are or they can know the pain that is inflicted or how it feels. Your points about freud are interesting but do speak to actual question. You, a non-gay (I'm assuming of course) can never know what I am or how I know what I know. Oh, you can read books and try to empathize but you can never know. It's akin to being a single man having no children telling a parent who has lost a child, "I know how you feel", no you don't, you can't, at best you can aproximate but don't tell them you 'know' when you can't. That was the point. As I said I respect your answer but I don't believe it speaks to the question.

Rabbit, another thing, with respect again, God did not leave us the Bible, He didn't write one word of it. Please, it was written by men and as such is a flawed text with many concepts and bias on both sides. Not a good publication to be using for this discussion.

Answer 1

What crap. That's like saying that you can't speak out about the war unless you have served in the military.

Being gay is a choice. People change preferences from one side to another all the time. Remember Anne Heche?

There is no such thing as a "gay gene". It doesn't exist, it can't be passed to the child from a parent. Gay is a choice.

And so what if it is? You can't change your behavior? If a person is born with a genetic predisposition to be overweight, is he doomed to a life of obesity or can he diet?

No, people behave on pleasure or pain. They avoid things that cause them pain and do things that are pleasurable. And sex is pleasurable.

>> Dodge? No way. I am well aware of homosexuals as my grandfather was gay, my first wife chose to be gay after 10 years of marriage and 2 kids, and my stepdaughter was gay for about 6 years from her first sexual experience in high school till she was 23 y/o. So I have been around homosexuals most of my life. I do have some experience. So let me tell you a different side. Both my ex and stepdaughter tell me that it is their choice. My stepdaughter now shuns the gay lifestyle, and she thinks is gross and disgusting. (Her words, not mine). So from my experience, from what I have learned first hand, it appears to be an individual choice. Skin color is hereditary and I have yet to see people change their color, but people change sexual orientation all the time. Remember Anne Heche?

You should live your life as you want to, but don't tell people who are troubled that they just have to accept themselves, as they may need support to live life as they see best for themselves, and not for whom they have sex with.

Others might want to know they can change their life even though you are happy living your life as you do now.

Why are you scared to let people know they have options? <<

Answer 2

We all do, it is sometimes called conversation.

I never built a nuclear bomb, but learned things from reading that got a couple of people with experience to quietly ask, "How did you know that?"

I never had a baby (wrong plumbing for that), but learned enough from my first wife's pregnancy that I could help my second wife when she gave birth.

As for 'speaking for God', well, He did leave us a book. If I can quote Freud or reference a recent study, why not the Bible? I can fill this place with references to psychological studies that speak of homosexuality in ways beyond your preferred conclusions, just as you and others can probably do the opposite. You don't believe God (Bible) except when it agrees with you and you don't believe the psychological studies except when they agree with you. We all get a shot to briefly state our opinions. You've said yours, I've said mine, and a pile of others have said theirs. Conversation, all in an internet medium based on Lotus Notes. Congrats!

Answer 3

These people make statements out of a warped sense of faith, not knowledge. The problem with the people you are referring to, fundamentalist I am assuming, is that they take the word of the bible so literally. The bible was written over hundreds of years ago taken from stories passed down from father to son and mother to daughter, etc. Of course these stories became changed over time to suit the needs of the ruling religious classes. They obviously have an agenda.

I firmly believe that the real message of the bible gets lost in our everyday lives, that is to try and live with one another, help one another, respect one another, and love each other. The one thing that I refuse to believe is that God has hate for people. He does not want to see them die in wars, suffer from disease or starvation, or be punished for whom they chose to love.

I guess some people will always use religion for their own needs, not as a moral guide as to how to treat other people.

Answer 4

Some of these people you're talking about actually do it out of sheer habit and ignorance. They just think it's funny to taunt the glbt community because they hate themselves so much and this self-hatred transcends into sheer hatred toward people they deem aren't "normal", thanks mostly to the inaccurate fundamentalist evangelists and preachers in the church. I've told an ex-friend in the past that ignorance isn't bliss, but he still condemned gays... so the best is to leave these people alone cos if they aren't open to understanding and changing their mentality about gay people, they will always remain the ignorant bigots that they are.

Answer 5

Great question. All I can say is to chalk it all up to ignorance. What they dont understand scares the living hell out of them. I've always thought it quite revealing when str8 people get all up in our business and assume to know about us more than we do ourselves. It's something they should think about. Why do so many waste their time on our issues and what we do with our lives when they should be applying that effort into understanding their own lives and why they are thinking the way they do. Their ignorant thinking benefits neither side.

Answer 6

JD,
Most people are ethnocentric so they will see your side of life as normal for fear that the one with which they are familiar may not be. So help me, I try to be deferential and respectful of gays of either sex and have a few friends in that life style, but as a hetero I find it difficult to not harbor some 'fear of the unknown' and some sympathy because I fear they do not have fulfilling lives. I find that I wish they were just 'normal' for their sakes, but is that the actual reason for the feeling? Maybe I worry about what people think about me for going to an Oscar party being given by someone who is openly gay. Damn. I keep reminding myself that I am an outsider looking in but it doesn't work when I sit down with myself and think about the situation deeply. As for G-d's part in it I would not presume to ever guess about that and would never suggest that anyone's relationship with a god was in jeopardy because of a life style that in every way was ordained to them by a god or by nature. Any individual must find his own relationship with a god or not as suits him. I don't give a damn what other people think of that part of my life because I am satisfied with it. Good luck.

Answer 7

They told Galileo he was crazy when he proposed that the Earth was actually round.
The excommunicated him for challenging the RCC's views that not only was the Earth flat, but also the center of the Universe!

It took them CENTURIES to admit they were wrong!

Answer 8

The next time someone asks you, "Hey, howdja get to be a homosexual anyway?" tell them, "Homosexuals are chosen first on talent, then interview... then the swimsuit and evening gown competition pretty much gets rid of the rest of them." ~Karen Williams

Answer 9

They still say women are not equal so hey many things will never change so get use to it and Live your life the best you know how.

Answer 10

That's just it. Most people ridicule and condemn what they cannot understand. And to most of these same people, ignorance is bliss. So because they cant identify with our lifestyle, they become ignorant and judge us for it.