OK, Terrified Conservative Adults:
You are making me cranky AGAIN.
Gay teenagers are not unnatural. They're not mentally ill (some may be, but not because they are gay). They are not evil, or doomed, or inevitably going to die alone, broken, and riddled with disease.
And you know what? If that's the future you envision for them, because they are gay, then the compassionate thing would be to ensure that the millions of gay kids don't have to live in a world that will do that to them. The compassionate thing would be to make the world safer for these kids, rather than shutting down safe spaces and making them the object of torment and hate.
Trying to 'turn' a gay kid straight is about as effective as trying to 'turn' a straight kid gay. It doesn't actually happen. In the case of gay kids, what this sort of crap does is make them feel and often believe that they are dirty and wrong and foul and worthy only of being treated like shit.
I have no idea what it does to straight kids who are forced into being gay, because let's face it, that doesn't happen. Go on, produce an ex-straight for me. Give me a comprehensive workup of the life that led this straight kid to become a gay kid, and then explain to me why this forced-gay kid, once given freedom as an adult, wouldn't simply seek out the partners he or she prefers.
Because that's what forced-straight kids do, if they can overcome the fear and self-loathing they've been swamped with. Sometimes, they stick to the illusion, and go on to have families with people of the opposite sex, but I'm willing to bet a significant percentage of those people are quietly unhappy about a few aspects of the life they've chosen.
Please explain to me, though, what is so scary about people being gay? Nobody in the Conservative Camp has ever explained this without resorting to religious arguments, and those just don't hold up. Religion is the organised fear of being smacked down by an imaginary friend, and honestly, it's a pretty shitty imaginary friend if it would smack you down for simply being a good person who doesn't fit a precise mold.
Look, Terrified Conservative Adults, I just need you to explain it to me. Tell me exactly and logically how gay kids are the end of the world. Do your best not to retreat into hyperbole and invented statistics (I know that's difficult for you, but do try), and tell me a true story that really happened to you about how the fact of someone's homosexuality did you actual harm (not just a feeling of 'icky' or worries about some unspecified bad thing maybe happening because you didn't act immediately to light them on fire), directly and without any ambiguity.
If you can prove to me that the mere existence of someone who loves a person of the same gender does you personal and unambiguous harm, then I will agree that you have something legitimate to complain about. I may even support your cause.
Gay teenagers are not unnatural. They're not mentally ill (some may be, but not because they are gay). They are not evil, or doomed, or inevitably going to die alone, broken, and riddled with disease.
And you know what? If that's the future you envision for them, because they are gay, then the compassionate thing would be to ensure that the millions of gay kids don't have to live in a world that will do that to them. The compassionate thing would be to make the world safer for these kids, rather than shutting down safe spaces and making them the object of torment and hate.
Trying to 'turn' a gay kid straight is about as effective as trying to 'turn' a straight kid gay. It doesn't actually happen. In the case of gay kids, what this sort of crap does is make them feel and often believe that they are dirty and wrong and foul and worthy only of being treated like shit.
I have no idea what it does to straight kids who are forced into being gay, because let's face it, that doesn't happen. Go on, produce an ex-straight for me. Give me a comprehensive workup of the life that led this straight kid to become a gay kid, and then explain to me why this forced-gay kid, once given freedom as an adult, wouldn't simply seek out the partners he or she prefers.
Because that's what forced-straight kids do, if they can overcome the fear and self-loathing they've been swamped with. Sometimes, they stick to the illusion, and go on to have families with people of the opposite sex, but I'm willing to bet a significant percentage of those people are quietly unhappy about a few aspects of the life they've chosen.
Please explain to me, though, what is so scary about people being gay? Nobody in the Conservative Camp has ever explained this without resorting to religious arguments, and those just don't hold up. Religion is the organised fear of being smacked down by an imaginary friend, and honestly, it's a pretty shitty imaginary friend if it would smack you down for simply being a good person who doesn't fit a precise mold.
Look, Terrified Conservative Adults, I just need you to explain it to me. Tell me exactly and logically how gay kids are the end of the world. Do your best not to retreat into hyperbole and invented statistics (I know that's difficult for you, but do try), and tell me a true story that really happened to you about how the fact of someone's homosexuality did you actual harm (not just a feeling of 'icky' or worries about some unspecified bad thing maybe happening because you didn't act immediately to light them on fire), directly and without any ambiguity.
If you can prove to me that the mere existence of someone who loves a person of the same gender does you personal and unambiguous harm, then I will agree that you have something legitimate to complain about. I may even support your cause.