Ladies and gentlmen, I welcome you to Insights in which I try to throw a little of my own perspective light onto topics which people mail me with.
My best friend wrote to me explaining how my Insights topic on women got him to thinking (which pleases me, since that's what I'm hoping it will make everyone do) about the man and woman thing. Which soon led him to wonder about my views on homosexuality. At first, I thought "no problem". Then I realized that I've never done any real thinking about it. I've always taken it as is. So what follows is pretty much everything I've thought about in the last two weeks:
First of all, I don't believe it's genetic or that it depends on where or with whom you've grown up. It's obviously not a disease or a screw-up of the brain. So why are some men attracted to other men while others aren't? The same reason why most men hate shopping while others enjoy it. Why a majority of men love football and sports games while I, myself, don't. It's why some men thrill for the kill of hunting, while others remain passive. Not one of the above traits has anything to do with how you grew up (I hate hunting, but my brother and father love it) or anything like that.
After generation after generation, deep inside of everyone, we have all these characteristics merged together. Most of them conflict with each other, so one of the traits has to show more than the others. How is it decided? You got me on that one. Give me another year or so to take a genetics course or microbiology, and I might have a worthwhile answer. So where did it come from? Most would think back to the Romans.
The Romans did a lot for the world, but they're stuck with the fact that little boys were used for sexual pleasure. So did homosexuality start there? Why do people focus on that when you could just as easily say "did pedophilia start there"? In both cases, I'd say no. The Romans were probably just like us. Some liked it, some didn't. Their society was different and thus, it was more acceptable. I guarantee, with our society, that if we were that sexually acceptable with our practices, mocking the Romans would be a thing of the past.
Me? I think it dates back to the prehistoric era. I know from experience that a man's sexual drive is a powerful urge. Heck, most men today can't keep it under control which is why prostitution and rape is at an all-time high. Back then, with no society to restrict actions, I'm betting men would have taken advantage of anything for sex. Including other males. So personally, I think homosexuality dates back as far as you'd like to trace back.
Now that we've hit upon origin, I know the bigger issue people want to know about is whether it's right or wrong. Well, there's a variety of right and wrongs out there. Is it sexually right? Well, since sex is mostly for pleasure, and if having sex with the same gender is pleasurable for them, then sure, it's right. How about ethically right? Who's harmed by it? If both members are consensual about it, then it affects absolutely nobody else. What if their families can't handle it? Then that's the family's fault. If you blame the homosexual, then you're just as bad as the lady who sued McDonalds over the hot coffee. Let people live their own lives.
I'll add on that procreation is impossible, thus, homosexuals are helping out the overpopulation of the planet. I mentioned this to a friend at work, and he replied with the fact that homosexuals are the main cause of AIDS. I found that to be an interesting point. Is AIDS bad? Sure. But completely bad? No. It's made people more consciencious about safe sex. Safe sex means less births. See above, about the overpopulation thing. Plus, it's killing off people. Personally, I think the world could use a plague to kill off around half the people. If I get included among them, so be it. As long as it could happen without the smell. But I digress.
As with the women topic, I may be a bad judge for this. True, I'm not one myself, but I can't determine if someone is gay or lesbian unless they pretty much come out and say so. I knew Joe for over a year and a half before I found out he was gay. I've probably encountered over a dozen in my life that have been close friends and I haven't noticed it. Perhaps that's why I'm so cavalier about the subject. I say let people derive happiness from where they will. If a man wants another man, so be it. If he likes sheep, suit himself. Who am I to mock one man's enjoyment over another? And honestly, if everyone felt that way, we'd be in a lot better shape as a country.
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