arndt@smurf.DEC (06/14/84)
Ellen, how do you know that gay is ok? I mean aren't you appealing to the same kinds of arguments used by Sargent only on behalf of Gay life styles? He says potato, you say potato . . . For example, he says it's normal to be straight. You say no it's just as normal for someone to be gay. You both appeal to behaviors you have witnessed or experienced. It seems to me that all both of you are saying is that some people are straight and some are gay. Nothing is really being said about what if anything, OUGHT to be the case. Morals. Opps. Gotta run. My dog wants sex. Later. Regards, Ken Arndt
brenner@aruba.DEC (06/18/84)
>Ellen, how do you know that gay is ok? I mean aren't you appealing to the >same kinds of arguments used by Sargent only on behalf of Gay life styles? > >He says potato, you say potato . . . > >For example, he says it's normal to be straight. You say no it's just as >normal for someone to be gay. You both appeal to behaviors you have witnessed >or experienced. It seems to me that all both of you are saying is that some >people are straight and some are gay. On the contrary, sir: he said potato, I said fruit salad! :-) But seriously, Mr. Arndt, if you have the original messages before you, you'll see that Mr. Sargent was saying that straight is a legitimate orientation but gay is *not*. I spoke to defend gay as a legitimate orientation, but I *never* made any overt or implied statement that straight is illegitimate. So I am not using the same argument as Mr. Sargent at all. This world is quite large enough for everyone, and I would love to see the world adopt tolerance and acceptance of all our differences as the primary virtue. Mr. Sargent, by his statements that gays are misguided and need to be helped, is trampling on my space in the world, so I spoke to defend it. If the truth be known, as I have a very strong spirituality of my own, I was also quite alarmed that Mr. Sargent is using his concept of Deity to deny my right to be who I am; but I would never tell him his God was all wrong any more than I have said that his sexuality is all wrong. I would rather point out that Deity is also quite large enough to take on a number of names and love us all as we are. You might say my tolerance is withheld only in the face of other people withholding their tolerance. Mr. Sargent (and you, and everyone) have every right to believe what you do, as long as you don't deny *me* (or anyone else) their right to exist. >Nothing is really being said about what >if anything, OUGHT to be the case. Morals. Now *this* is a curious statement. Were you about to imply that either Mr. Sargent's stance or mine was the moral one? Or that gay/straight is a moral issue at all? I happen to believe that sexuality is *not* a moral issue whatsoever, except as much as tolerance of differences is the highest virtue in my head (as I said above). But I hesitate to read anything else into this unless you come back from your, er, interruption and continue the thought. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, I remain Ellen Brenner ...decvax!decwrl!rhea!aruba!brenner