I read that the most banned book in the USA today is a children's book. Now what, I hear people wondering, could have parents in such a state? Is it nudity? Violence? No, nothing so mundane and ordinary I'm afraid. They have banned a beautifully illustrated children's book about two gay penguins who adopt an orphaned chick. Quite a sweet touching story, except that it teaches tolerance for diversity and that same gender couples are also families.
The result? Most mainstream bookstores in the USA are now too nervous to display the books on their shelves in case James Dobson or one of his colleagues decides to hit them with a boycott and blame their fine stores for the moral decline of the American youth and destruction of 'the family' and civilization. Apparently many of these same stores still hold stock of this book - but they keep it out of sight and provide it only on request. They are playing it safe. I suppose in a country nearly as conservative as Nazi Germany back in the 1920's and 30's this is quite prudent. After all, the next steps to follow banning books is burning them - and after that, burning people.
Ironically here in South Africa we have a couple of real-life gay penguins of our own. At a zoo. There are females present, but these two love birds have been inseparable for more than six months now - and we all know penguins mate for life. They just made the news headlines over the weekend, along with a few gay ducks in China.
Whoa. Gay penguins? Gay ducks? Hmmm. Now if it occurs in nature, then how can it be "unnatural"? Now often, Bible thumping gay-haters will object and say that people are not "animals" (I'm sure my biology teacher would choke on his coffee at this point) and insist that human beings have "choice". Oh, so being gay is natural - but people should "choose" not to be gay? Why?
Aside from inadvertently and unintentionally admitting that sexual orientation and gender identity are inborn and 100% natural, these fine folks are arguing that people should for some unfathomable reason fight against it because some bearded bloke sitting in a desert half a world away and didn't even know the world is a sphere said so for cultural and political reasons applicable to his time three thousand years ago? Right - I can see why I should believe that.
I think together the documented cases of gay penguins, ducks, geese, monkeys, lions and the whole gay menagerie make an excellent statement about inborn sexuality and the nature vs nurture argument - and I think this is one of the two reasons the bigots oppose the education of children in matters of fact, truth, open-mindedness and tolerance:
1) Because ones sexuality (and gender identity) is NATURAL and INBORN
2) It proves them and their rhetoric WRONG.
Not only are they ignorant but they are gratuitously ignorant - meaning they are grateful for being ignorant, intend to remain so - and to submerge their children in the same darkness.
Present them with facts and evidence and they turn their noses up at it saying 'just because it is natural doesn't make it right'. These same people claim to be educated, regardless of their field of employment, and yet they demonstrate the greatest level of ignorance while simultaneously claiming to know everything.
"I am educated" they sneer - "You are born either a man or a woman".
Shows what you know, doesn't it? Science has simply proved what we as GLBT have always known. Are they seriously claiming to already know everything? Perhaps they should ask for a refund?
"Homosexuality is a sin" - so they say. "It says so in the Bible", they insist. Perhaps it does - until you take into account the amount of censorship, editing and manipulation that dodgy document underwent over the past three millennia.
Science on the other hand presents fact, not speculation - that is the domain of religion.
But in any case, if it is a sin to be gay, so is eating pork, shellfish and wearing cloth woven from two materials. Will you go to hell for eating a nice juicy pork chop?
No?
Why not?
But we will supposedly go to hell for being born GLBT or I, even if we are Christians or Christ followers?
I find such statements of utter ignorance and sheer intolerance and hate simply staggering.
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