The gay agenda and why it bothers me: An analogy

Let me start by saying I don't hate gay people, I don't object to their activities. I'm not particularly religious, so none of that has anything to do with my stance. But I do feel there is a "gay agenda," to push social acceptance of homosexuality in media and academia. And it bothers me. It doesn't obsess me and its not something I think about night and day, but it annoys me. The easiest way to explain why, I feel, is through analogy. Think of the following as a kind of analogical thought experiment, if you will.

Imagine that gradually you start to hear an inordinate amount in the media about people who keep porcupines as pets instead of the more usual cats, dogs, etc. You might think, "huh, that's weird," but you'd probably shrug and go about your business. Live and let live, right? I mean, ultimately, who cares?

But the topic keeps cropping up in strange ways, and with increasing (and inexplicable) frequency. You start to notice that on your favorite TV shows and movies, more and more people are shown with pet porcupines, and these pet owners are always fawned over as a discriminated-against minority. Every movie now has a porcupine-owner who is a caring, sensitive, wise person misunderstood by the mean, jeering, hateful cat or dog owners. Cat and dog owners, meanwhile, are increasingly shown as backwards rednecks or intolerant haters. There is always the implication that cat and dog owners are secretly jealous of the porcupine owners, but are too backwards and riddled with hate to admit their own repressed desires to own porcupines. You start to get tired of the way this plot device is unnaturally inserted everywhere, usually off-key with the rest of the movie.

You start to notice something else weird: Novels and even children's  books are being written (and in some cases re-written) to include porcupines. Your beloved  childhood favorite "Clifford the Big Red Dog" becomes "Clifford the Big Red Dog and His Buddy Maurice the Porcupine." 

You attend a college literary course and hope to learn about the great masterpieces of Weatern literature. In one course on Charles Dickens, the prof spends the whole time bashing Dickens as an evil hater because one of his books has a minor negative reference to a porcupine. You think "who cares?," and mention in class that you really like the book "Oliver Twist,"so Dickens can't be all bad. Suddenly the prof is giving you the hairy eyeball and everyone is accusing you of "hate." You receive a failing grade for the class. 

Then you go to your art history class, hoping to learn about DaVinci's masterful use of line and shadow in his paintings. Instead, the professor spends the whole class talking about how DaVinci secretly kept a pet porcupine, despite the disapproval of his backwards society, and this inner struggle was the source of his sensitivity and genius as an artist. 

You read in the paper that your town is spending a lot of tax money replacing a sign showing a man walking a dog at the public park because it might offend porcupine owners. The new sign shows a sillohoute of a man with his porcupine on a leash. When a a car runs over a porcupine in your town one day, it's given blaring front-page headlines and sobbing local well-wishers hold a candlelight vigil. When the same thing happens to your neighbor's cat a week later, however, nobody but the owner seems to care.

When you tell strangers you have a pet dog, you find yourself compelled to add "...of course, there's nothing wrong with owning porcupines too." You start to feel that if you don't say this when you mention your dog, people might think you are a hater, and you might even lose your job. If you forget to add the little politically correct disclaimer, people scowl at you, call you a hick and a redneck and a repressed soul who bought a dog because he was too afraid to get the porcupine he really wants, deep down inside. You are annoyed at the way you are constantly having to monitor yourself and your language use. It's not that you have anything particularly negative to say about porcupines, but the need to monitor yourself verbally all the time adds stress and annoyance to your life. For example, it's no longer acceptable to say "it's raining cats and dogs." Now you have to say, "it's raining cats, dogs, and porcupines." Otherwise people will think you are bigoted and insensitive. You find yourself spending extra effort remembering little things like this whereas before you would have spoken more naturally.

Being a little peeved by all this, you go online to your favorite Internet community to let off steam anonymously about the porcupine agenda. Some people are sympathetic, but you can't believe the amount of vitriol your mild disapproval generates. Comments include "Why are you so afraid of porcupines?" and "Come on man, just admit you really want to own a porcupine instead of a dog. It's ok, you can tell us." You try to patiently explain that's not it at all, but this is just taken as further evidence of your sad and retrogressive state of denial. 

And so on. And on. And on.

This is why so many people are sick and tired of the "gay agenda." For many of us, (aside from the religious fundies, I guess) it has nothing to do with the actual fact of gayness. Instead it's the feeling of being manipulated incessantly.

I hope this makes sense to some of you, at least. For the rest of you, let the irrelevant and predictable comments abou "hate" and "being in the closet" begin...

Homosexuality is part of nature so why should it hidden? The reason why homosexuality is hated so much is because of the religious dogma that has been forced on us since birth.

Originally posted by buster2010
Homosexuality is part of nature so why should it hidden? The reason why homosexuality is hated so much is because of the religious dogma that has been forced on us since birth.

Guess you didn't read my post.

Kneejerk response, much?

reply to post by buster2010


I don't think you read the entire OP. You just jumped on to make that statement.

To OP: Good job making a point!

Originally posted by buster2010
Homosexuality is part of nature so why should it hidden? The reason why homosexuality is hated so much is because of the religious dogma that has been forced on us since birth.

Op doesnt say it should be hidden. But it shouldnt be shoved down our throats constantly either. im against gay marriage but people think i hate gays for this. im infact against all marriage....

hey im not gay myself but when somebody starts a sentence with `i dont hate gay people but`...

or `i dont hate jews but`..

then i just know whats going to come is a load of garbage hidden behind a thin veil of `but i did say i dont hate them`!

reply to post by FailedProphet


So, the "gay agenda" is to be accepted in society as a natural segment of the population... And this bothers you... Hmmm....

I love porcupines. I have dogs and cats, but if people really like porcupines that much, it doesn't bother me in the least. They're not forcing me to own porcupines or touch them or anything.

I do have concerns about the "anti-gay agenda", however... I don't understand the resistance to acceptance of what is... This is the fact. Gay people exist and are part of our society. Why fight it?

I believe in freedom.

Originally posted by FailedProphet

Originally posted by buster2010
Homosexuality is part of nature so why should it hidden? The reason why homosexuality is hated so much is because of the religious dogma that has been forced on us since birth.

Guess you didn't read my post.

Kneejerk response, much?

it has nothing to do with the actual fact of gayness. Instead it's the feeling of being manipulated incessantly.

This says it all. No one is trying to bring you out of your knuckle dragging state of mind.

Originally posted by wtbengineer
reply to post by buster2010

 

I don't think you read the entire OP. You just jumped on to make that statement.

To OP: Good job making a point!

agreed
as a straight person myself, i strongly disagree with the op
to generalise the way he did is out of order

Originally posted by buster2010

Originally posted by FailedProphet

Originally posted by buster2010
Homosexuality is part of nature so why should it hidden? The reason why homosexuality is hated so much is because of the religious dogma that has been forced on us since birth.

Guess you didn't read my post.

Kneejerk response, much?

it has nothing to do with the actual fact of gayness. Instead it's the feeling of being manipulated incessantly.

This says it all. No one is trying to bring you out of your knuckle dragging state of mind.

Yes yes yes they are. Gay parades, gay bike rides, gay characters in nearly every TV show and movie, repeated gay marriage props (which get voted down every time). All of it together equals what we call an agenda? If it isn't to try to get more people to accept homosexuality as normal then what is it for?

Have you ever seen a parade of heterosexuals with signs talking about how normal it is and how great it is?

reply to post by FailedProphet


It kind of does make a you a little bigoted though. I mean, what if they said "yes there is a gay agenda to push acceptance of our lifestyle so we no longer get beat, harrassed, made to feel inferior, or dragged behind a truck," would it bother you then?

Is it any different than the "black agenda" or the "women's suffrage agenda?"

People that say gay agenda are duuuuumb.

Very good point, and i agree, and some of my friends who are homosexual agree too.

All this does is single them out, make them stand out. It brings their sexuality to the front of their personality, when in reality, they just want to be seen like everyone else. They don't want to be singled out to be different because of their sexuality, this is infact what they where fighting against in the first place.

This is an example of how politics and media can never grasp social matters properly, it is the same with racism. Because they don't want to seem racist, they feel that they MUST have someone of ethnic minority in their production/political group, when infact that is racist in itself. When people get a job because of the colour of their skin, not because of their talent or suitability of the job, it is racist, because you are being biased bassed on the colour of someones skin, its a double standard that has completly missed the point of what people have been fighting for, to be treated as equil as everyone else.

THAT was very very funny and perfect. Thanks for the laugh man!
I like your analogy very much, it's so silly when you think about it.

Of course you are right, and I reckon it's because heteros have moved past the need to flaunt their sexuality in public, or is it maybe they want to....every one gets more confused than ever.

Wait till their (the pork e pines) are allowed to marry for real every where, I wonder if they'll have the same rates of divorce as heteros.

Just for the record my brother in law is the biggest fag/gay/poof and him and his fella are the best fun, but they hate queens, can't stand them! I think secretly he wants to dress up and dance. But that's just my opinion....



Maybe you should give it a crack and see what all the fuss is about?

Just trying to share some of the heat

X

Originally posted by jjkenobi
If it isn't to try to get more people to accept homosexuality as normal then what is it for?

See my above post.
The reason those things exist is because.. well a lot of people have gay friends and homosexuality is and has always been normal and existed. Now that being outwardly homosexual is becoming normal then it becomes normal to see on t.v. and etc.

You don't see straight parades because straight people can get married and aren't beat to death and harrassed for being straight. Teens aren't killing themselves for being straight. When people like you get over your small mindedness and people get over the fact that there are a lot of gay people out there then the parades will go. When teens aren't harrassed to suicide the parades won't be neccessary. And when gay people can get married and it's the norm the parades, you have some weird dislike for, will go.

I have gay friends.. it's normal. If you don't then there is a reason for that.. it's not because they are rare it's because of you and possibly some problems you might have.

Originally posted by jjkenobi

Originally posted by buster2010

Originally posted by FailedProphet

Originally posted by buster2010
Homosexuality is part of nature so why should it hidden? The reason why homosexuality is hated so much is because of the religious dogma that has been forced on us since birth.

Guess you didn't read my post.

Kneejerk response, much?

it has nothing to do with the actual fact of gayness. Instead it's the feeling of being manipulated incessantly.

This says it all. No one is trying to bring you out of your knuckle dragging state of mind.

Yes yes yes they are. Gay parades, gay bike rides, gay characters in nearly every TV show and movie, repeated gay marriage props (which get voted down every time). All of it together equals what we call an agenda? If it isn't to try to get more people to accept homosexuality as normal then what is it for?

Have you ever seen a parade of heterosexuals with signs talking about how normal it is and how great it is?

No, I have never seen a parade of heterosexuals with signs talking about how normal it is and how great it is!

Have you ever seen a straight person who has been murdered by a gang of homosexuals just because they were straight? No, I didn't think so!

Having read your post you seem to be upset that a natural process is taking place.

You report that you are upset that a previously taboo subject is now getting more attention. This is natural as people feel they are free to talk about it. The more its talked about the less it matters. The sooner its ignored as a normal part of society.

You seem upset that people are more free to express their concerns about stereotyping or reporting of facts as they are.

You seem threatened that your society is changing to accept all members regardless of their orientation.

Once a change takes place a lot of things have to happen before an acceptable balance is reached between under reporting and over reporting.

You are also being played by media that reports things they know will cause reactionary responses.

reply to post by Trolloks


That doesn't make any sense. I can't really believe that you have gay friends that think like that. You are saying your gay friends want to dissapear back into the closet before they are considered equal? They will never be considered normal without going through this phase of exposure and pride.

I know that and I am not even gay and I'm not admitting that as a disclaimer or weakness of character because I don't really care what people think. I am just illustrating that it's painfully obvious even to people that aren't going through it.

reply to post by buster2010


First, being straight as opposed to homosexual is NOT knuckle dragging. There are legitamite reasons to oppose homosexuality in and of itself when faced with it becoming a societal standard. Before the fall of any and every society that declines in and of itself is when birth rates fall lower than replacement rate, which is what happens in a homosexual society. That society cannot withstand it, and thus falls when the straight child bearing women cannot take the extra burden for the whole of the society.


That said, I agree with the poster who said that having to take anything to excess is in and of itself a form of racism or bigotry.

I dont care about your porcupines, but do not sit and try to teach my son and daughter to own one if it will cause the downfall of my particular species. The burden of keeping our species and societies going falls into their hands, you have shirked your responsibility.

reply to post by jjkenobi

Have you ever seen a parade of heterosexuals with signs talking about how normal it is and how great it is?

Mo Because that's just one of the many things that are forced on us at birth.