gay Olympic athletes

http://www.gay.com/health/fitness/?sernum=2955

 

I really don't know why some people find it necessary to broadcast their sexual preference to the world. I don't care.

 

I guess it makes for interesting news.

 

It's because the Olympics are in Greece, were better to anounce that someone is gay.

I really don't care either, but it seems like the liberal media has nothing better to broadcast!!

Rich Hartel

 

Sometimes publicity and/or notoriety equals money (unfortunately).

 

Please tell me you guys are kidding; that you're not all as insensitive to and unaware of what's going on, here, as you appear, collectively, to be.

 

Isn't that what traditional marriage is all about? Heterosexual couples broadcast their sexual preference all the time in various ways. Unless you are advocating that marriage and various other expressions of sexuality between heterosexual couples be kept secret and out of public view, I don't understand your position.

 

I'm with JoAnn. I mean, if there's one thing I hear about this sort of thing it's "I don't care, and I don't want to know"--which is really two contradictory statements when you think about it, because if you really didn't care you wouldn't mind knowing. It would be one more thing to find out about a person, sort of like knowing s/he plays soccer or uses a Macintosh. But the nice thing about all this is that as more people come out of the closet, one day it'll reach the point where most people honestly don't care.

And besides, I do care when it's a celebrity I'm interested in (not this Olympics horse guy I've never heard of); it tells me more about their private life. W.H. Auden was my favorite poet throughout my teen years, but his personal life made very little sense to me until I found out he was gay, and then everything--why he didn't write an autobiography, what poem X meant, and so forth--clicked. So yeah, if one of my favorite authors or musicians or actors or political or religious leaders or (if I cared about sports) sports figures turned out to be gay, I'd want to know it.

And then there's the other factor: What if you were gay, and nervous about the stigma that goes along with that? Wouldn't it be easier to come out to your parents if that nice man on television they watch every Tuesday turned out to have a partner of 15 years?



Cheers,

 

Why do people take such delight in announcing that they have perverted sexual leanings? I guess if they want the world to know that, they are free to do so, but you would think there would be just a little bit of shame to go along with it, rather than "pride."

BLD

 

Aunt Maud and Aunt Minnie, knitting and clucking

Dear friends:

The old ironymonger just had some exceptionally random thoughts.

Has anyone ever noticed how alike the pietas toward gay publicity and the pietas toward traditional fambly values happen to be? Both share the ineluctable sense that of course all decent right-thinking sensitive and upright folks will automatically agree and applaud. Both are mystified when other things intrude on the field of vision of us lesser mortals. Both are twins in the American tradition of Puritan idealism, in which high thinking for the in-group and moralizing preachments to the indifferent rabble go hand in hand.

Mind you, some of my best friends are gay publicitarians. Some of my best friends are fundamentalists. I can understand why they don't like each other. What intrigues me is how like each other they are.

I appreciate the highminded posts by both sides, actually. It reminds me of one of Charles Ives' symphonies portraying two brass bands approaching the town square playing two different songs on some civic holiday. Me, I sit in the Menckenian biergarten with a slug of tuica and marvel at the godawful racket of righteous America, knowing that there are worse things than noise.

Like Yanni, for example.

Happy crusading,

Janko (who is abnormally sanguine just at the moment)

 

Because we live in a society where moral relativism rules the hour!

 

BLD, I think one of the great things about folks making their sexual orientations public is that it can involve shame, and it takes courage to overcome that shame. Gay pride is more of a goal and a hope than a brute statement of fact. I hope the day comes when good people don't have to be ashamed of who they are.

One of the reasons I'm so committed to LGBT rights is because I've known enough gays and lesbians to know the huge amount of courage, sacrifice, and--most of all--integrity that can be a part of the "coming out" decision. I would like to help make a world where we reward those virtues instead of demanding that people be cowardly, complacent, and intellectually dishonest. As a fundamentalist Christian (and I mean "fundamentalist" in the original sense of the word), you should understand the dangers when you make too much of "going along to get along." Well, that's something that you in common with gays and lesbians. Whether you think gay sex is a sin or not, you should be able to relate to the stigma.

I'm happy when people come out of the closet as gays or lesbians, and I'm happy when people come out of the closet as fundamentalist Christians. I think we need more love and honesty in the world.


Cheers,

 

My position is that people should just lead their lives. I've never called a press conference or alerted the media that I'm heterosexual, because I'm sure that no one cares, and rightfully so.

There is a huge difference between expressions of sexuality and broadcasting your sexuality.

 

Tom,
For me the issue is not love and honesty. I can, and do, love gay people. I just happen to believe that those who engage in homosexual sex are involved in a sinful act. My thinking that does not in any way reflect animosity toward them (like the Fred Phelps types).

I guess I just don't see how it is courageous to brag about a perverted act. That would be along the lines of Charles Manson saying, "Hey everyone, just wanted you to know that I'm a killer and I'm proud of it." Should that be applauded? (and for those who think I'm putting gay sex on the same par with murder -- No, I am not, it's just an illustration).

Real courage would be shown if repentance were displayed.

BLD

 

Many gay people themselves will tell you they are disgusted by those in the gay community who parade their sexuality.

Most gay people I have known, worked with, and been supervised by (while working in mental health) just want to live and let live.

 

But you do realize that heterosexual couples "broadcast" their sexuality to the world all the time, right? From wedding announcements in your local paper to much more public weddings (remember the royal wedding of Charles and Diane?) heterosexual couples broadcast their sexuality and sexual orientation all the time. Surely you've seen the relationship of Stephi Graf (or Brooke Shields) with Andre Agassi played out on public television during a prominent tennis match. So, I don't see how you can say that gay couples are doing anything that is soooooo out of the ordinary when compared to the public broadcast of heterosexual relationships.

 

The relationship is "broadcast," not their sexuality.

 

I really don't know why some people find it necessary to broadcast their sexual preference to the world.

 

I know it seems incredible to consider, but the most obvious reason is that they don't make decisions based on your preferences. Moreover, the article makes no reference to SEXUAL preferences. He's talking about his relationship preferences.

It must be your inquiring mind that's adding the sexual part.

 

Turn on MTV at almost any hour if you want to see sexuality (hetero) broadcast in living color. How about a Madonna or Britney Spears concert/video? I'm no prude, but jeez, I have to fast forward through those channels when my kids are in the room.

JoAnn's point is well-taken. Heterosexuality is advertised/broadcast everywhere. One gay guy speaks up honestly about his stuggles coming out, and a thousand straights jump all over him, completely disgusted by the sexual acts that he must be performing. Flip to channel 43 in Oakland, and you can see Madonna masturbating. No big deal.