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isnt the small minority of people trying to oppress the majority by trying to force them to accept something the majority finds sinful? i agree that no one should be oppressed, but remember that oppression comes in many forms. just because one disagrees with anothers stance does not mean that either is being oppressed.
NO ONE is forcing you to be GAY.
Aside from that, whether someone is gay or straight is NONE OF YOUR CONCERN.
It's not "oppressing someone" to tell someone to "pay attention to your business and keep your nose out of my private life".
What part of that do you not understand?
I don't know. I think it plays a role as well. There are a lot of right-wingers who through ignorance rationalize their bigotry and hatred by ascribing ridiculously nonsensical and nefarious characteristics to homosexuality, calling it "deviant" (a word that projects nefarious undertones) instead of using honest and descriptive characterizations, such as "alternative" and "uncommon".
No, bigots wanted this law - not business owners, not people of faith - bigots. Business groups have almost universally come out against and now so are many churches, church-based universities etc. The ONLY people who want this law are the bigots - that's it. They can try and wrap their bigotry in the cloak of religion, but all but the dimmest see the law for what it really is.
If you don't approve of gay marriage don't marry a member of your own sex. It's as simple as that. Aside from that, what other people do is not up to you. You are either in business to serve the public or not. Being a business owner doesn't give you the right to refuse service to gays any more than it gives you the right to refuse service to blacks or Jews or Muslims.
Anyone can choose to be a bigot in the privacy of their own home. In the world of commerce, you serve EVERYONE.
Ken
There are a lot of progressive leftist churches now, whether Presbyterian, non-denominational, Unitarian, or other, that don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Leading Christian lives, however, means saying No a lot, and someone's feelings are going to be hurt.
Romantic thought and activity also isn't like a lot of other centers of human consciousness. It's not artistic, not mathematical. It's why they put locks on bedroom doors. There are also Biblical proscriptions against certain carnal pursuits.
This law arose because gays recently began demanding wedding cakes from proprietors that happen to provide services for sacred rituals whether the latter felt spiritually comfortable with the idea or not. There were earlier analogs where Christian book stores were prevailed upon to hire individuals who didn't share Christian values. These are not academic exercises, they have real world implications for people who don't subscribe to what they see as libertine disregard for natural law.
You're either a customer of businesses you don't like or you're not.
I have been to gay clubs with my cousin and her wife where I was refused entrance because I was a straight man.
What court found in the club's favor when you sued? You mean you didn't sue? So you didn't actually assert your rights? Uh huh. What they did to you was illegal and you just accepted it and let them get away with it. Why do you think that that means everyone should just give up their rights and dignity the way you did? To be fair, not everyone has to be superman and right every wrong inflicted on them. But that's a choice you made because what you were denied probably didn't impugn your dignity, because it wasn't saying you're not good enough as a person to be there, and as such you incurred no harm. But heck, if you were insulted you should have sued.
I don't know. I think it plays a role as well. There are a lot of right-wingers who through ignorance rationalize their bigotry and hatred by ascribing ridiculously nonsensical and nefarious characteristics to homosexuality, calling it "deviant" (a word that projects nefarious undertones) instead of using honest and descriptive characterizations, such as "alternative" and "uncommon".
You don't "through ignorance rationalize" anything. Rationalization is a function of intelligence. RATIONAL. It's a THINKING process. Certainly religion can be used to rationalize many things, some good things, some indefensible things. But it's not a function of ignorance to use religion in this way. Human beings rationalize their behavior and their beliefs all the time. Human beings at every level of measurable intelligence.
Again with the bashing Arkansas. People's bigotry against Arkansas is bigotry. Just like bigotry against gay people. Arkansas is a beautiful state, and there are many fine people who live in Arkansas.
You don't "through ignorance rationalize" anything. Rationalization is a function of intelligence. RATIONAL.
Uh. No.
Rationalize means making up excuses that aren't necessarily logical or reasonable. A rationalization is effectively an irrational justification. It hinges on ignorance.
You know, I've given this question you keep raising a lot of thought. I see where you are coming from. And I agree that in most places in the US these days that the nastier manifestations of discrimination are rare, and when they come to light, the perpetrators are pretty much shamed (not slammed - darn spell check) into oblivion.
I was 10 years old when I saw the footage of bull o'connor's dogs and water cannons. I've never forgotten that, or the spitting white people in boston, or many other manifestations of threatening and violent bigotry. It wasn't all that long ago, and I seriously doubt that we have reached the point where we can safely assume that it could never regress.
I think that in the end, just as it is government's basic job to defend the nation, it is also government's job to ensure that all citizens are free to participate in the public marketplace of goods and ideas.
This does not mean that everyone has to approve of everyone else. I have no intention of giving up my right to castigate people I disagree with, and I certainly expect castigation in return. What it does mean is that when I walk into a store, that a store owner who has religious objections to a feminist atheist should still treat me civilly and take my money. As I would do if the tables were turned, and a person who has called me witch and ***** in public walked into my store. In a big city, this is pretty much a non-issue - there is always someplace else - but in smaller towns, it is a very big issue indeed. But it seems to me that we have to have some basic standards of behavior toward each other, no matter how profound our differences are.
It still comes down to the fact that it's about protecting feelings, and I don't feel that government should have the power to force associations to stop people from having their feelings hurt.
BTW, thank you for addressing the question and doing so in a civil way. I appreciate it.
I don't know. I think it plays a role as well. There are a lot of right-wingers who through ignorance rationalize their bigotry and hatred by ascribing ridiculously nonsensical and nefarious characteristics to homosexuality, calling it "deviant" (a word that projects nefarious undertones) instead of using honest and descriptive characterizations, such as "alternative" and "uncommon".
I don't engage in political correctness.
I call it as I see it.
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