I agree that all these statistics of diseases and ailments do point to problems in the gay community (seemingly more so in the US than Europe or
Australia), and that certain sections of the gay community need to adopt more responsible lifestyles.
But statistics can show a lot of things.
We always hear how the US has a high obesity rate, and the likelihood of people dying from diet-related illnesses before they reach forty. Coupled
with a range of TV programs on US issues with fat, the image really arises that they are not just unhealthy, but spreading their bad dietary
lifestyles to other countries through their fast-food chains.
Vegetarians have long preached that their diet has less environmental impact, less chances of spreading animal viruses to humans (like HIV or Bird
Flu), and lower rates of heart diseases and cancer.
If statistics make a group of people "bad" by judging some statistical problems and behaviors, then why stop with the gay community?
Never even mind our heterosexual HIV/AIDS pandemic in southern Africa (apparently 98 percent of global infections), but African Americans account for
40 percent of HIV, despite being a minority of 14 percent of the US population.
www.cdc.gov...
I see some churches in the US now openly encourage black women to be tested for STDs.
While most of the risky behavior is heterosexual, there appears to be a group of bisexual men who do not regard themselves as "gay" and live on the
"down-low" (with both female and male partners).
Are African Americans singled out through "Christian love" by having STD statistics shoved in their faces?
Would a thread on this be racist? I'd like to see one of the "caring Christians" make such a thread with "deep concern" for another minority group by
quoting shocking statistics.
Especially with HIV there are certain intersections of transmission.
Documentaries point out that prison and drug shooting are two such intersections, notably encouraged by officialdom.
And yet, there is no access to condoms in US prisons, and clean needles are also countered by conservative politics.
Some atheists have long cited examples that the most religious countries have more violence, crime, addiction and rape. In the US I've heard that the
more liberal "blue states" have lower rates of divorce than the the more conservative "red states". I don't know about all that, but state homophobia
in African countries like Zimbabwe has certainly not prevented HIV/AIDS. I really can't think of a desirable modern country with state homophobia.
It's good to recognize a gay minority and their sexual orientation, and spread a message that encourages responsible sex and monogamous relationships,
like gay marriage.
However, if one just quotes statistics to demonize a community, then that's not love but opportunism.
If one addresses gay people as in need of healing simply for being gay, instead of encouraging responsible behavior and forms of being gay, then one
is encouraging stigma and driving homosexuality underground (the "down-low"), where it cannot be reached by campaigns for responsible sex.
So, instead of focusing on a gay identity or orientation, one should rather focus on certain risky acts and behaviors.
Despite what some radical homophobia says, gay activists and doctors did much to prevent HIV from infecting the blood supply.
The gay community is diverse, and despite internal debates, it does not encourage unsafe sex through any accredited organization.
So my feeling is that some Christian groups are pushing dated, regional and shocking statistics that are supposed to scare gay people out of being
gay, rather than encouraging productive gay lifestyles.
Rather than pushing proven public health solutions they've pushed abstinence campaigns, thus reversing some of what had been achieved in the late
1980s. In some countries they've gone as far as burning condoms.
They've really used STDs and especially HIV to spread a neo-colonialist form of Christianity.
It's not good enough to say everyone must settle with one heterosexual partner for life, and base policies on that.
Extra-marital sex, prostitution, sex between men, sex in prisons and shooting drugs must be addressed as realities, or epidemics will occur.
Apparently the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer in women and anal cancer in men can now be partly prevented with a vaccine. So such statistics
are likely to fall.
Generally I'd like to see more focus on "minorities" in US discussions, since I read yesterday that especially Latino and black "minorities" in the US
are statistically younger and more likely to get pregnant than whites, and their birth-rate already outnumbers white Americans.
www.telegraph.co.uk...
So, when Christians mention statistics in the gay community, could they please break them down and compare them to all current population groups based
on race and gender, both in the gay category and amongst heterosexuals?
At least that would counter feelings of forced gay demonization at all costs.
edit on 18-5-2012 by halfoldman because: (no reason given)
