Editorial: Alternative lifestyles deserve our support

[katia]

Editorial: Alternative lifestyles deserve our support

The Daily Gamecock
10/9/2007

'If you aren't a member of the bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender community and have no general opinion, go out and support your fellow student. Today they need to see as many smiling faces as possible. It's not called the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Alliance for nothing.'

>sigh .. you know why, don't cha?<

[Hazumu]

I had a go at the comments to this editorial.

Karen

Thanks for the thought and gesture, it really is a huge step to have a major editorial in this paper on the topic of LGBT issues, but the use of the word "lifestyle" in both the article, and especially the title, is incredibly insulting.  Living in a fraternity is a lifestyle.  Living as a Christian is a lifestyle.  Sexual orientation, most certainly, is not. 

So, thank you, Daily Gamecock, for acknowledging such an important day to the LGBT community, and encouraging our straight allies to "come out" themselves, but please, don't simultaneously insult us next time as well.

posted 10/09/07 @ 8:10 AM EST
I think you're being unnecessarily politically correct. Anyway, dictionary.com defines lifestyle as "A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group" which would very much fit sexual orientation. I fully support the LGBT cause/community, but don't look a gift horse in the mouth when the campus newspaper decides to give support.

RE: The 'politically correct' comment.  That's a move to re-establish the framing of the issue that assumes, in this case, that as a 'lifestyle', this kind of natural-but-rare behaviour is a choice that can be made and later unmade and thus is insubstantial, frivolous and censurable.

I'm transgendered.  If my being so were a choice, choosing not to transition would have been as easy if not a whole lot easier than choosing to transition.  But the reverse is true.  Society puts incredible pressure on those outside the standard deviation tho appear to be within the standard deviation.  And so we hide our true selves 'in the closet', and wonder why there are those who will not let us be who we really are.  But, I digress...

Calling 'politically correct' is a false argument in debate, like ad hominem attacks, straw men and slippery slope arguments, used to reassert a framing of the issue with fundamental assumptions that are favorable to the arguers position (as in 'being LGBT IS a sin.')

Back to 'choice'. Try as I might, I can't choose not to be transgendered.  A gay man or lesbian woman can't choose not to prefer sexual intimacy with others of their own sex, and those whose gender presentation is outside of societies' rigidly defined and severely enforced 'boy' and 'girl' boxes can't 'choose' for it to be easier to go along with what 'everybody else' does.  But I've also found that bigots can't choose to be accepting of diversity and respectful of others who present that diversity, either.  So, I guess we're at a stand-off, for now...

[RebeccaFog]

Editorial: Alternative lifestyles deserve our support

The Daily Gamecock
10/9/2007

'If you aren't a member of the bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender community and have no general opinion, go out and support your fellow student. Today they need to see as many smiling faces as possible. It's not called the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Alliance for nothing.'

>sigh .. you know why, don't cha?<

No.  Why?     I stink at understanding subtext.

[Kate]

Editorial: Alternative lifestyles deserve our support...

>sigh .. you know why, don't cha?<

Oh YAY. Here we go again.

Well I'd attend, but I already have an engagement with my community to vote on the finer details of our lifestyle changes.

Sigh.

And.... this is exactly why that GLBT thing is bugging me so much...

~Kate~

[Lisbeth]

But I've also found that bigots can't choose to be accepting of diversity and respectful of others who present that diversity, either. 

I think you have just reframed something major for me.

Within a bigot's definition of "lifestyle," bigotry is an alternative lifestyle, and it needs our support.

"Support the bigotted lifestyle!  Help achieve the bigot agenda!"

[Hazumu]

But I've also found that bigots can't choose to be accepting of diversity and respectful of others who present that diversity, either.

I think you have just reframed something major for me.

Within a bigot's definition of "lifestyle," bigotry is an alternative lifestyle, and it needs our support.

"Support the bigotted lifestyle!  Help achieve the bigot agenda!"

Please don't think that I might be condoning what a bigot does -- I still think the kind of bigotry displayed in the Jeffrey Dahmer article to be wrong, wrong, wrong, and must be dealt with.

My re-framing just reminds me to not waste precious time trying to change a bigot.  I can't do it alone.  Identify and contain is all I can do.

Where I need to spend my time is on the folks who can change their attitudes towards GLBT (especially gender-variant,) the 20% or so that aren't already on our side who can come to accept us, given a good reason. And in increasing the numbers of people who accept us, we all will contain the outright incorrigible bigot. 

My apology for the metaphor.  It appears it was both startling and should have been diluted a bit from 'industrial strength'.

Karen

[Lisbeth]

But I've also found that bigots can't choose to be accepting of diversity and respectful of others who present that diversity, either.

I think you have just reframed something major for me.

Within a bigot's definition of "lifestyle," bigotry is an alternative lifestyle, and it needs our support.

"Support the bigotted lifestyle!  Help achieve the bigot agenda!"

Please don't think that I might be condoning what a bigot does -- I still think the kind of bigotry displayed in the Jeffrey Dahmer article to be wrong, wrong, wrong, and must be dealt with.

My re-framing just reminds me to not waste precious time trying to change a bigot.  I can't do it alone.  Identify and contain is all I can do.

Where I need to spend my time is on the folks who can change their attitudes towards GLBT (especially gender-variant,) the 20% or so that aren't already on our side who can come to accept us, given a good reason. And in increasing the numbers of people who accept us, we all will contain the outright incorrigible bigot. 

My apology for the metaphor.  It appears it was both startling and should have been diluted a bit from 'industrial strength'.

Karen

Don't appolegize.  I don't think that's your opinion.  It's just the absurd result of the bigot's arguement taken to it's logical conclusion.  And I thank you for helping me see it.

[tinkerbell]

Editorial: Alternative lifestyles deserve our support...

>sigh .. you know why, don't cha?<

Oh YAY. Here we go again.

Well I'd attend, but I already have an engagement with my community to vote on the finer details of our lifestyle changes.

Sigh.

And.... this is exactly why that GLBT thing is bugging me so much...

~Kate~

Of course I know.      I hear you and I feel you both  *sighs*

tink