After so many columns, and so many issues, you can easily determine what I stand for. I stand solidly on the facts that all people have dignity, a right to live and a right to the utmost respect from everyone. In short, ALL women and men are created equal. These truths are the basis for my political beliefs and my education, and they are firmly rooted in my religious beliefs. I don’t think I offend too many people with these beliefs. In fact, I bet nearly everyone reading this agrees with me.
That’s why I can’t figure out why the next statement may be so controversial. I mean, believing all that makes it easy for me to say I; Paul Woody, am an ally. Ally of what, you might ask? By being an ally, I am saying that I am a straight person who supports an end to all kinds of discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.
Yes, that’s right, the banner over the quad wasn’t a fraternity joke. Oct. 11 was National Coming Out Day, and it was celebrated here and in a million places all over the country. Unfortunately, people here refuse to recall the phrase, “All men and women are created equal,” when it comes to the people represented by the Rainbow Alliance. An explanation of my beliefs will serve as my response to them.
A gay man is a human being; to this there is no argument. As stated before, all women and men are created equal. Therefore, we are able to easily justify treating this human being in the same fashion we would treat our priests, our parents and the starving child down the street.
Don’t like that response? OK, I’ll try another. I am a Catholic, and therefore a believer in the preaching of Jesus Christ. If there is one fundamental teaching of Christ, it is the obligation to love everyone. A lesbian woman is someone. Therefore I am taught by God to respect and care for her as a creation of God.
The issue is really that simple. For all of you who believe that “pro-gay” groups are about getting you to accept their sexual practices, wake up. This group exists and has my support because it is about demanding fair treatment for human beings.
Then why do they get a “pride” day or month, you might ask? Why don’t straight people get a month? The answer is very simple. Straight people have not had their pride stolen from them for centuries by close-minded hate mongers. There is a National Month for gay, lesbian, bi- and transgender people because they are still fighting to get their pride. And yet people throughout this University and around the country refuse to give it to them.
And here is what I have to say to those who do: If you are determined to hate our fellow human beings, or if you want to speak badly of people like me who recognize their human dignity, then that is fine. Join the ranks of your brothers and sisters in history. Join the legions of haters that fill our sociology and psychology books. Join those who donned white robes and pointy-headed masks. White supremacists make a decision. They decide that there is something about blacks that dehumanizes them enough, that terrorism and even murder are OK.
Join the Nazis who made a decision that Jews were less than human, to the point that it was OK to exterminate 16 million of them. Our society condemns these groups. We recognize the hate and the lies that they used to plague our culture. And keep in mind that society will come to a point where you, the haters of the new century, will be condemned as well.
This past weekend at the Museum Of Tolerance in Los Angeles I watched film clips of white police officers telling blacks that God did not hear their prayers. I heard educated men telling me why blacks were hated by God, about how blacks are the downfall of our society, how blacks are all pedophiles or rapists. They had the support of their societies. Their hate ruled for a time, but they have been put in their place and are despised for their evil.
Christ has told us again and again that God loves all of the creation, which was given to us by Holy Order. Christ never condemned any member of society, while often condemning specific problems with the ancient law that often bred hate. While the Old Testament (where most of the anti-homosexual quotes come from) seems to reject gays, it also glorifies slavery and says we shouldn’t work on Sundays. Christ had a much simpler message-a message of love, acceptance and unconditional respect for God and Gods creations. He often preached this in defiance of the Old Testament.
The fact is, homosexuals WILL NOT lead to the destruction of our families. The only part of their lives that separate “them” from “us” is the most private part. They are not anti-straight. They simply want to have a place to achieve goals that are like ours and to meet their definition of success, just like any other human being.
And finally the fact is, homosexuals are NOT monsters. They don’t prey on children any more than straight people prey on children. For those who simply can’t break away from the “sex difference,” let me share this example with you. Many say that homosexuals are “evil” because their sexual experiences are not “reproductive.” I’d like to know how many of our students are having physical experiences (involving sex or not) that are completely reproductive. Expanding the issue, how many married couples have sex only for reproduction? Are these couples evil? Are they guilty of the same crimes as we are accusing homosexuals of? Certainly not!
Education on this subject will serve to show that being gay is not a personal choice made by the individuals. By believing such a lie, those with evil thoughts are allowed to justify their beliefs. Yet, unfortunately, they will be the last to be educated on the humanity of these men and women. Their fear of what they don’t understand will hold them back as society once again does a morality check and stops the persecution of a group of people on the basis of something they can’t control.
This is not a stance I take because I am a Democrat, so don’t cop out by dismissing my comments as “liberal hubbub.” This is purely about human rights. That is it. It is only about the decision to hate or not to hate. I choose not to hate. You make your decision. Don’t become confused by the misuse of religious or sociological propaganda.
If you really want to rid our society of the evil plague brought on by gay pride then rid the world of those who respond by ignorant hate. I support the human dignity of these our brothers and sisters because I am a Christian and because I believe Thomas Jefferson’s assertion: “All men [and women] are created equal.” I support them because I support respect, love and inalienable rights.
