It's a "Why" Question (Not for easily offended)

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Originally Posted By: ko9
I wonder where the phrase, ppl fear what they don't understand, came from...... That may have worked in the old days like Dark Ages, but now its not them being scared its just them being ignorant.
Sorry, no offense to you, but I actually hate statements like these. I have a fear of tornadoes. Not because I don't understand them, but because they are dangerous. It's true that we can fear things as a result of not understanding them, but to generalize that to all fears is symptomatic of someone trying too hard to make a point that could probably be made more logically.
I've admitted on this board before that I have a fear of gay men. I'm not ignorant of gay men and my fear has nothing to do with not understanding them. My fear - a very subjective one - has to do with a very real experience. Not rational maybe, but not ignorant either.
(For the record, and those here who know me a little better will know this, this post is in no way an anti-gay statement. It's just an anti-silly-statement statement.)

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So in short, I think its due to religion and/or events in life that make ppl despise gays.

You fall under what I posted earlier then.

No offense taken, btw. I'm very hard to offend.

NO! You're doing exactly what I was talking about. You're equating fear with hate. I didn't say anywhere, nor would I ever say that I despise gay men. Or at least not for being gay. I mean, there is a gay man or two that I don't like, but it's for other reasons, not cause they're gay. So please don't misquote me. I was talking about fear, not hate. Not at all the same thing.

erase the despise gays part of my post and that's what I meant to post.

So, if you're saying something like life events causing one to fear gay people. That works...for me. But I'm not pretending to represent anyone other than myself.

my friends dad is a good example of my post.He was molested by his father and thus despises gays.Though his dad wasn't gay.

Thanks for all your thoughts people :o) I appreciate all the support, but I'm now at peace with my sporting talent and my body. Also, I wasn't ever really implying that there's no such thing as a gay athlete... I'm merely pointing out what seemed to be the root of my feelings. Just mine.Just to make this whole "mental illness" thing clear, I'm not talking like psychopath mental. Mental illness is quite common, according to M. Scott Peck in "The Road Less Travelled", it's the norm rather than the exception to be mentally ill, which I think means it's quite rare to be fully mentally healthy. Thanks Ntro for your comments, they seemed to be the most constructive or helpful. Somehow I'd not really considered the idea of gay people living happily with themselves (not that I thought that they had to be miserable or anything lol). The thing is, especially looking at this idea of Cause and Effect and whether I have it the right way around or not, I arrived at the conclusion of homosexuality being a mental illness by digging around inside of me and trying to find the root of my insecurities. Is it the homo- feelings that are the cause of the insecurities or the insecurities that are the cause of the feelings? If I think straight, I think that the insecurities pre-date the feelings.I don't believe for a second that I've found everything, if indeed I'm right, that's caused the feelings for guys that I have. The thing is, I think that right now I have more peace in myself than I have for a while, having realised that I had the wrong attitudes to those around me (ones craving attention/recognition and such like, even though they were fairly deep inside)and tried to rectify that. It's not about suppressing attraction to guys, and it's not about ignoring it. It's about looking it in the face and saying "why?" That's the answer I found - the answer was "I don't like myself." That's where I could start changing my attitudes towards myself. But do you see? "I don't like myself" was the cause and not the effect; it ran deeper than "I shouldn't be attracted to men." That part can be seen as an expression, I guess, of the self-dislike.  Quote:It’s easier to blame the one thing we don’t understandI hadn't thought of it like that, but I think that's what made me start questioning the whole thing anyway, trying to come to the root of my feelings. This whole thing was an attempt at trying to understand my sexual orientation.I'm not saying that this is the reason all gay men are gay, or anything like that. None of this is a sweeping generalisation, it's all just personal observation...

Why on earth would you say that people aren't "meant" to be homosexual?Most species of animals exhibit homosexual behavior. Why should humans be any different?

Because animal species are "meant" to procreate????

Originally Posted By: sdpBecause animal species are "meant" to procreate???? uhhh. well then kindly explain why homosexual behavior is common in most species...i guess you don't believe in evolution, huh?because if we evolved from other species, it kinda makes sense that we would retain certain traits.like say, homosexual behavior.contrawise, if you really DON'T believe in evolution, i guess homosexuality must be god's doing.

uhhh. well then kindly explain why homosexual behavior is common in most species... IDK & don't care.. I'm not saying there is no homosexuality across all species. Most species are biologically built to pair with the opposite gender in order to procreate. Many people see this as an absolute which means that pairing with the same sex as very wrong. I see homosexuality as a biological anomally which is a normal part of nature and is not their fault or choice. It's just the way it is.

i havent actually read all this because there was alot...i havent been on a2a in a while but im gunna give my two cents anyway....the first thing i would like to address is my opinion from the biological point of view...it is wrong. period. this only applies if you believe in evolution many do but some dont. i sorta do however but to an extent. evolution did not spend millions of years crafting separate genitalia for no reason. a human is hard wired to be attracked to the opposite sex. yes over population is a problem but humans are the only organisms that are excluded from darwinian evolution. just about every other species on the planet exists and is limited by the "survival of the fittest" the strong live and the weak die. but humans have medicinally found ways around this im not saying this is bad thing im just saying by our use of medicine and lack of use of self-control and planning we have over populated our planet. its our own fault and we have to deal with it.biblically its wrong. black and white. many ppl spin the bible like some one who knits spins yarn. they twist out of context and try to make it something its not. homosexuality is clearly outlined as wrong but masturbation is not. actually God only seems to care about your cleanliness seeing as semen is a great way to transmit diseases. leviticus 15:16 says "If a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body. He will be unclean until evening" it basically just says go wash your hands and says nothing about having to be with a women there is actually a separte verse for emission with a woman but basically says the same thing. wet dreams are also touched upon in Deuteronomy 23:10 "If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not reenter the camp.-Deuteronomy 23:11 "But it shall be when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may reenter the camp." no where in any of these scriptures does it says that it is wrong. to me it appears its more about cleanliness then the actual act.and as for society. SCREW IT!!! ppl are always saying that society makes us do this or tells us this. thats a buncha BS. if you listen and are more concerned about what other ppl are saying then you are at just as much fault as they are. i dont see why so many ppl get angry and decide to have rage wars about other ppls beliefs. getting angry and yelling at them is not gunna change anything itll quite possibly just compound the problem. forge your own path and discover what is right for you. dont listen and dont care what others think. be an individual and dont just follow the others lemmings to your own inevitable doom. do what you feel is right not what other tell you is right. if for you homosexuality is wrong then it is but for you if its not its not. and if you dont care then you just flat out dont care. stop bothering other ppl

I'm really confused as to why you went off on a tangent about the Bible and masturbation...?

because alot of the time ppl talk about homosexuality in conjunction with the bible and masturbation. i was just covering my bases.