As a Mormon, I would like to say that Jesus commanded us to love one another; he also told us who are Christian to love our enemies. In short, Christendom ought to be loving toward the LGBT community on this decision, because the State has ruled for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender People.
Thus any hatred against the LGBT is a bigger moral sin than homosexuality itself. If a gay couple is harmed because of this decision and it is found that a Christian did it, then he is anathema to Christendom, because he violated Jesus' commandment to love one another.
However, this is merely my opinion and it is mine to maintain and treasure. While everyone quibbles about the black and white aspects of this decision, my respect for the LGBT community is colored like the rainbow.
Showing posts with label homosexuality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homosexuality. Show all posts
20140204
You Whipper Snappers Need to Listen Good (satire)
I like getting old. People avoid me, because I might say something like "Back in the day, when I was in high school, nobody was gay."
WTF happened over the past 38 years? Oh, right. Population density promotes homosexuality? I don't think so. That means there should be more gay people in India and China. Maybe all the gay people in the world just don't want to be outed because of how short their lives might be.
I mean, if it had to do with population density, then when was the last time Tokyo had a Pride Festival???
Think about it. Most people who know they are gay don't out themselves among the heteronormative folk like you and I because the anti-gay rhetoric in some straight circles implies that the life expectancy of an outed gay will be less than expected.
Gay people are smart enough to figure that out, especially when mean heteronormative people not only out them but post it on Youtube, which might cut short a promising life.
IMO such people who cause a gay person to consider suicide should be arrested for a hate crime and be held responsible for the gay person who is kills himself due to their anti-gay behavior. Manslaughter is a justifiable charge.
I am not saying this because I am gay but because sometimes it is the insensitive heteronormatives who are most harmful to the LGBTi community, especially the transgender and intersex people.
Perhaps one day in the future, the world may become more enlightened and more compassionate than they are today, even if this meant less organized religion promoting the anti-homosexual propaganda based on ignorance, fear and awe.
One day, Frank the Pope will issue an edict that will tell the Catholics to tone down the anti-gay rhetoric. Hopefully the Protestants will follow suit, instead of continuing to oppress someone just because they are in a same-sex relationship.
IMO it is a form of satanism to be down on gays. There is a special place in hell for them, and there they will have to be of service to the gays they oppressed, who shall be awaiting them in hell.
That is, if I believed in a Christian hell.
But I feel that if I properly prepare myself for the afterlife, then I shall be reborn in a Pure Land that exists outside of the six desire realms and all the Buddhist heavens and hells. Such a wonderful destiny!
Don't mind me. I'm too spiritually minded in my old age.
20140128
Confession of a Japanophile (satire)
Genetics does not explain why I am obsessed with martial arts, ninjitsu, yakuza and samurai. For I am a Japanophile not just because I am Japanese, but because I — a Westernized Canadian-born Japanese person — am interested in my ancestors' culture.
Genetics likewise does not fully explain why I am usually heterosexual, and like mostly women and very few men. Being born male is only a part of the reason.
Perhaps society — being mostly heteronormative — subtly favors males who are heterosexual, though the LGBT lobby has a positive cultural, political and social influence on consumerism today. Before modernization, and even today, Japanese culture occasionally discouraged open practice of homosexuality yet condoned the practice, provided two people who are in love keep it discreet.
Indeed, none of the major Japanese religions were openly hostile to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.
Even so, the modern-day Japanese government, being conservative, does not guarantee civil rights to LGBT persons. As a result, in cases of spousal abuse, the victim does not have a refuge into which to flee.
In Japan, gay marriage isn't going to be in the Japanese law books for now.
The occasional admiring of a buff male body isn't genetic as much as physiological and an honest desire on the part of the observer to compare physical attributes, which is similar to a pissing contest.
Like the majority of Japanese males, my libido is repressed, due to cultural, physiological, psychological and religious influences. Being essentially in a culture where shame is used as a tool of social control, the behavior of a Japanese person may range from almost schizoid lack of sexual expression to discreet displays of sexuality tinged with shame and the fear of exposure of sexual deeds and the embarrassment resulting from such exposure.
With respect to animé and manga, which I read from time to time, yaoi and yuri are the same-sex flavor of relationships, along with mecha (robots), magical girl and harem genre. While yaoi and yuri present displays of sexuality for mass consumption by fans, robots may represent the hidden aspect of the libido with less overt sexuality; the magic girl, the fantasy element with humorous depictions of awkward moments involving sexuality; and the harem, the fantasy of a man with a lot of potential girlfriends.
Perhaps animé and manga could end up saving the world from utter boredom and anguish for teens and young adults. So I urge my fellow Japanophiles to help spread the word. 0_o
Returning to my confession of being a Japanophile, it was in my youth that I first discovered Shin Buddhism to be meatier than the teachings offered after Sunday service at the Central Fraser Valley Buddhist temple.
This discovery of the roots of Buddhism inspired me to learn Japanese so that I could recognize the characters. In addition, I developed an admiration for martial arts, particularly ninjitsu, as well as respect for samurai and the Yakuza.
Samurai are of interest to me since there were rumors that my father's ancestors may have been related to samurai. Indeed, this is most likely since my grandmother's maiden name was Tanaka, and my father's eldest sister married into the Nakamura family. For both Tanaka and Nakamura are well-known clans of Yamaguchi Prefecture.
As for Yakuza, it is rather interesting that a bad hand in Gaji — a popular Japanese flower card game — became the slang for Japanese criminal societies. However, mass media representations of Yakuza are often exaggerated for the blood and guts on film and in books — especially in manga, and on TV.
As well, the reports that when the city of Kobe was shaken by an earthquake some years ago, it was the Yakuza who first responded to the crisis before the municipal government did. However, I am not so naïve as to consider them to be the "good guys" as long as overt violence continues to be associated with the Yakuza.
Today, as a Canadian-born Japanese who is also a Japanophile, I do not favor the Japanese culture over the Westernized moderation of that culture which I internalize. While it would be admirable to be a perfect blend of Eastern and Western mores, I prefer the simpleness of the "less is more" philosophy with regard to both aesthetics. Thus, the less I try to be Japanese and Westernized, the more I emphasize the subtle qualities of both cultures.
Indeed, the blend of East and West is imperfect within my psyché yet useful to my life due to its simplicity.
Originally posted on January 25, 2004 at 0137H
Updated on February 12, 2013 at 0415H
Japanophile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanophile
LGBT rights in Japan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Japan
The Tanaka & Nakamura families of Yamaguchi Japan: http://www.tanakamura.com/
Samurai: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai
Yakuza: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza
Animé: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime
Manga: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga
Genetics likewise does not fully explain why I am usually heterosexual, and like mostly women and very few men. Being born male is only a part of the reason.
Perhaps society — being mostly heteronormative — subtly favors males who are heterosexual, though the LGBT lobby has a positive cultural, political and social influence on consumerism today. Before modernization, and even today, Japanese culture occasionally discouraged open practice of homosexuality yet condoned the practice, provided two people who are in love keep it discreet.
Indeed, none of the major Japanese religions were openly hostile to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.
Even so, the modern-day Japanese government, being conservative, does not guarantee civil rights to LGBT persons. As a result, in cases of spousal abuse, the victim does not have a refuge into which to flee.
In Japan, gay marriage isn't going to be in the Japanese law books for now.
The occasional admiring of a buff male body isn't genetic as much as physiological and an honest desire on the part of the observer to compare physical attributes, which is similar to a pissing contest.
Like the majority of Japanese males, my libido is repressed, due to cultural, physiological, psychological and religious influences. Being essentially in a culture where shame is used as a tool of social control, the behavior of a Japanese person may range from almost schizoid lack of sexual expression to discreet displays of sexuality tinged with shame and the fear of exposure of sexual deeds and the embarrassment resulting from such exposure.
With respect to animé and manga, which I read from time to time, yaoi and yuri are the same-sex flavor of relationships, along with mecha (robots), magical girl and harem genre. While yaoi and yuri present displays of sexuality for mass consumption by fans, robots may represent the hidden aspect of the libido with less overt sexuality; the magic girl, the fantasy element with humorous depictions of awkward moments involving sexuality; and the harem, the fantasy of a man with a lot of potential girlfriends.
Perhaps animé and manga could end up saving the world from utter boredom and anguish for teens and young adults. So I urge my fellow Japanophiles to help spread the word. 0_o
Returning to my confession of being a Japanophile, it was in my youth that I first discovered Shin Buddhism to be meatier than the teachings offered after Sunday service at the Central Fraser Valley Buddhist temple.
This discovery of the roots of Buddhism inspired me to learn Japanese so that I could recognize the characters. In addition, I developed an admiration for martial arts, particularly ninjitsu, as well as respect for samurai and the Yakuza.
Samurai are of interest to me since there were rumors that my father's ancestors may have been related to samurai. Indeed, this is most likely since my grandmother's maiden name was Tanaka, and my father's eldest sister married into the Nakamura family. For both Tanaka and Nakamura are well-known clans of Yamaguchi Prefecture.
As for Yakuza, it is rather interesting that a bad hand in Gaji — a popular Japanese flower card game — became the slang for Japanese criminal societies. However, mass media representations of Yakuza are often exaggerated for the blood and guts on film and in books — especially in manga, and on TV.
As well, the reports that when the city of Kobe was shaken by an earthquake some years ago, it was the Yakuza who first responded to the crisis before the municipal government did. However, I am not so naïve as to consider them to be the "good guys" as long as overt violence continues to be associated with the Yakuza.
Today, as a Canadian-born Japanese who is also a Japanophile, I do not favor the Japanese culture over the Westernized moderation of that culture which I internalize. While it would be admirable to be a perfect blend of Eastern and Western mores, I prefer the simpleness of the "less is more" philosophy with regard to both aesthetics. Thus, the less I try to be Japanese and Westernized, the more I emphasize the subtle qualities of both cultures.
Indeed, the blend of East and West is imperfect within my psyché yet useful to my life due to its simplicity.
Originally posted on January 25, 2004 at 0137H
Updated on February 12, 2013 at 0415H
Japanophile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanophile
LGBT rights in Japan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Japan
The Tanaka & Nakamura families of Yamaguchi Japan: http://www.tanakamura.com/
Samurai: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai
Yakuza: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza
Animé: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime
Manga: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga
20131228
To be Happy and Gay (satire)
In Western history, we have to go back to Byzantium when the Emperor proclaimed the mother of all future anti-homosexual edicts, which was aimed at keeping the Greek church free of homosexuality among bishops and priests,.whereas most of the flock were monogamous heterosexuals.
There were social penalties for being homosexual and powerless due to a misinterpretation of Biblical anecdotes.
It threatened the church because one gay couple == no new generation of tithe givers and reduced chance of property passing onto the Church.
However, nobody was homosexual at that time because everyone followed heteronormative behavior not because of Church propaganda but because there were less people living in those days.
As well, homosexuality only arises during times of plenty in world history. Sodom and Gomorrah were probably cities of splendor. Constantinople was a successful city with a population consisting of Romans, Greeks, and many nations from Albania to Zanzibar. Though homosexuality is a sexual pastime practised during times of plenty.
Therefore the edicts against it were due to abuses of power by the Greek clergy and the hypocrisy seen among the less affluent Christians, most of whom were heterosexual because they didn't have the means to become homosexual.
Today, all of Christendom is anti-gay for moral reasons, but give lip service to support of gay rights. By doing so, they indirectly influence right-zing radicals to commit hate crime against open displays of homosexual behavior while also condoning hate crime against women when the next quarterback of a Christian school gets his girfriend pregnant but she is punished while he gets the scholarship.
However, I do not write this article to criticize Christianity but to satirize one aspect of human behavior: our willingness to hate others just because they are different. I also showed that there are social benefits for homosexuality (zero population growth) and that homosexuality is prolific in times of plenty.
This is why homosexuality is repressed in the Middle East: most Muslim nations are kingdoms where wealth is controlled by elites based on their historical claim to power over the 99.9 percent, most of whom may live in poverty. Those in poverty should not be homosexual because of a moral code that highly esteems many sons and deems many daughters a tragedy. Thus, the anti-homosexual laws of the Middle East are complemented by what amounts to hate crime against gays and women.
I would have a field day attributing all of this to narcissism, considering how the Muslim boy lives in a world of entitlement and how the culture leads to such a lad feeling like he rules over all women, especially in light of the fact that sharia belittles the intelligence of women.
However, it is less offensive to mock Christianity for its anti-homosexual laws. Besides, the fact that sometimes Afghan men will abuse dogs to death in between abusing their women and engaging in covert pedophilia with boys on Thursdays is suppressed in the West because the roots of it is not in Arab culture but is the legacy of Alexander the Great. Since it is endemic in Afghan culture, but the West also inherited Greek culture, the truth is, heteronormative behavior is practiced due to poverty, be it economic or moral.
To be happy and gay in society today, one is merely trying to keep up with the Joneses.
YMMV
There were social penalties for being homosexual and powerless due to a misinterpretation of Biblical anecdotes.
It threatened the church because one gay couple == no new generation of tithe givers and reduced chance of property passing onto the Church.
However, nobody was homosexual at that time because everyone followed heteronormative behavior not because of Church propaganda but because there were less people living in those days.
As well, homosexuality only arises during times of plenty in world history. Sodom and Gomorrah were probably cities of splendor. Constantinople was a successful city with a population consisting of Romans, Greeks, and many nations from Albania to Zanzibar. Though homosexuality is a sexual pastime practised during times of plenty.
Therefore the edicts against it were due to abuses of power by the Greek clergy and the hypocrisy seen among the less affluent Christians, most of whom were heterosexual because they didn't have the means to become homosexual.
Today, all of Christendom is anti-gay for moral reasons, but give lip service to support of gay rights. By doing so, they indirectly influence right-zing radicals to commit hate crime against open displays of homosexual behavior while also condoning hate crime against women when the next quarterback of a Christian school gets his girfriend pregnant but she is punished while he gets the scholarship.
However, I do not write this article to criticize Christianity but to satirize one aspect of human behavior: our willingness to hate others just because they are different. I also showed that there are social benefits for homosexuality (zero population growth) and that homosexuality is prolific in times of plenty.
This is why homosexuality is repressed in the Middle East: most Muslim nations are kingdoms where wealth is controlled by elites based on their historical claim to power over the 99.9 percent, most of whom may live in poverty. Those in poverty should not be homosexual because of a moral code that highly esteems many sons and deems many daughters a tragedy. Thus, the anti-homosexual laws of the Middle East are complemented by what amounts to hate crime against gays and women.
I would have a field day attributing all of this to narcissism, considering how the Muslim boy lives in a world of entitlement and how the culture leads to such a lad feeling like he rules over all women, especially in light of the fact that sharia belittles the intelligence of women.
However, it is less offensive to mock Christianity for its anti-homosexual laws. Besides, the fact that sometimes Afghan men will abuse dogs to death in between abusing their women and engaging in covert pedophilia with boys on Thursdays is suppressed in the West because the roots of it is not in Arab culture but is the legacy of Alexander the Great. Since it is endemic in Afghan culture, but the West also inherited Greek culture, the truth is, heteronormative behavior is practiced due to poverty, be it economic or moral.
To be happy and gay in society today, one is merely trying to keep up with the Joneses.
YMMV
20120514
The Terrorism of Sexual Intolerance
In this rant, I use hyperbole by replacing "oppression" with "terrorism".
Sexual intolerance is a form of terrorism. It does not matter if you are a homophobe or a gay or straight extremist targeting bisexuals.
Both gay & straight extremists are terrorists practicing sexual intolerance against bisexuals through false confusion. An example of this is when either gays or straights call bisexuals 'confused', and project their confusion about them.
Homophobes practice the same form of terrorism against homosexuals through homophobic acts, usually involving violence.
In 1892 the words "heterosexual" and "bisexual" were coined in their modern definition by Charles Gilbert Chaddock's translation of Kraft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis.
Though much of the 19th Century was full of nations decriminalizing or legalizing homosexuality, In 1910 the first step into politics was taken by Emma Goldman, an American anarchist who championed lesbianism.
In 1933 the first sex change operation was made in Germany at the Institute of Sexology. Because of the Institute's stance on transexuality & transgender, and positive outlook regarding sex education, contraception, family planning, treatment of STDs, women's emancipation, and the call for civil rights and social acceptance for homosexual and transgender people, the Nazi Party targeted it to deal with the "homosexuals".
However, there was a quiet legalization of homosexual acts, throughout the Great Depression. By the time the war era arrived, Iceland, Switzerland and Sweden decriminalized homosexuality. In Surinam the legal age for homosexuals and heterosexuals was 20. Near the latter part of the 1940s, Poland makes the age of consent 15 years of age for all sexual acts, homosexual or heterosexual, thus bucking the trend in Russia when it had gone illegal again in 1934, possibly due to pressure from the Russian Orthodox church.
In the 1950s, anti-homosexual sentiment peaked in England with Alan Turing's suicide in 1954 by cyanide when faced with the prospect of two years in prison or libido-suppressing hormone treatment. This was due to the false scientific rationalization that homosexuality was a sickness rather than the normal part of the spectrum of homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality.
Two years prior to this event in England, the world's first transexual operation happened when Christine Jorgensen, who was born male, was surgically altered to be female. Her change from man to woman started first hormone replacement, and later surgery.
Regarding Christianity and homosexuality, while the Bible and many denominations condemn it, there was no punishment proscribed. Indeed, any violence against a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual person conflicts with the message of peace that Christians live by. For it is not a failure of character that makes a person become oriented towards his or her choice of partner. Rather it is genetics and nurturance which leads to the choice of homosexuality. Indeed, this choice is a neutral choice, but it has led to the assumption that a person should be either homosexual or heterosexual, lesbian or heterosexual.
This assumption is an invalid one because it uses the either-or fallacy to be imposed on a person who may be from any part of the spectrum of homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual; the crossing-over (male to female and female to male) of transgender and transsexuality; and the spectrum of lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual.
Once their sexual identity is confirmed, there may be a handful of homosexual and heterosexual extremists who are confused by the bisexual. This confusion is projected onto the bisexual, and leads to bullying not only from heterosexuals but also from homosexuals.
In an ideal world, with all people being equal, the bisexual professes to love both male and female adults of like-mindedness equally. However, the solution is to make your own choices which you can live with, and to accept the fact that the world is actually more open-minded about you as long as you be calm and loving without radicalizing your sexuality.
Militancy within the LGBT only attracts the radicals who may use the same tactics available to the heterosexuals. Gay pride is fine, but using that militant bravado to be divisive within the community led the bisexuals to quietly form their own community, far apart from the madding crowd.
In short, the world accepts the LGBT community provided that they follow the same rules the heterosexual does: be discreet, no bragging about sexual conquests, and above all, use good cheer and tact in the face of adversity.
Sexual intolerance is a form of terrorism. It does not matter if you are a homophobe or a gay or straight extremist targeting bisexuals.
Both gay & straight extremists are terrorists practicing sexual intolerance against bisexuals through false confusion. An example of this is when either gays or straights call bisexuals 'confused', and project their confusion about them.
Homophobes practice the same form of terrorism against homosexuals through homophobic acts, usually involving violence.
In 1892 the words "heterosexual" and "bisexual" were coined in their modern definition by Charles Gilbert Chaddock's translation of Kraft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis.
Though much of the 19th Century was full of nations decriminalizing or legalizing homosexuality, In 1910 the first step into politics was taken by Emma Goldman, an American anarchist who championed lesbianism.
In 1933 the first sex change operation was made in Germany at the Institute of Sexology. Because of the Institute's stance on transexuality & transgender, and positive outlook regarding sex education, contraception, family planning, treatment of STDs, women's emancipation, and the call for civil rights and social acceptance for homosexual and transgender people, the Nazi Party targeted it to deal with the "homosexuals".
However, there was a quiet legalization of homosexual acts, throughout the Great Depression. By the time the war era arrived, Iceland, Switzerland and Sweden decriminalized homosexuality. In Surinam the legal age for homosexuals and heterosexuals was 20. Near the latter part of the 1940s, Poland makes the age of consent 15 years of age for all sexual acts, homosexual or heterosexual, thus bucking the trend in Russia when it had gone illegal again in 1934, possibly due to pressure from the Russian Orthodox church.
In the 1950s, anti-homosexual sentiment peaked in England with Alan Turing's suicide in 1954 by cyanide when faced with the prospect of two years in prison or libido-suppressing hormone treatment. This was due to the false scientific rationalization that homosexuality was a sickness rather than the normal part of the spectrum of homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality.
Two years prior to this event in England, the world's first transexual operation happened when Christine Jorgensen, who was born male, was surgically altered to be female. Her change from man to woman started first hormone replacement, and later surgery.
Regarding Christianity and homosexuality, while the Bible and many denominations condemn it, there was no punishment proscribed. Indeed, any violence against a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual person conflicts with the message of peace that Christians live by. For it is not a failure of character that makes a person become oriented towards his or her choice of partner. Rather it is genetics and nurturance which leads to the choice of homosexuality. Indeed, this choice is a neutral choice, but it has led to the assumption that a person should be either homosexual or heterosexual, lesbian or heterosexual.
This assumption is an invalid one because it uses the either-or fallacy to be imposed on a person who may be from any part of the spectrum of homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual; the crossing-over (male to female and female to male) of transgender and transsexuality; and the spectrum of lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual.
Once their sexual identity is confirmed, there may be a handful of homosexual and heterosexual extremists who are confused by the bisexual. This confusion is projected onto the bisexual, and leads to bullying not only from heterosexuals but also from homosexuals.
In an ideal world, with all people being equal, the bisexual professes to love both male and female adults of like-mindedness equally. However, the solution is to make your own choices which you can live with, and to accept the fact that the world is actually more open-minded about you as long as you be calm and loving without radicalizing your sexuality.
Militancy within the LGBT only attracts the radicals who may use the same tactics available to the heterosexuals. Gay pride is fine, but using that militant bravado to be divisive within the community led the bisexuals to quietly form their own community, far apart from the madding crowd.
In short, the world accepts the LGBT community provided that they follow the same rules the heterosexual does: be discreet, no bragging about sexual conquests, and above all, use good cheer and tact in the face of adversity.
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