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Lawmaker Warns "Don't Ask" Repeal Means Talking to Kids About Homosexuality

CBS News (LINK (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20007160-503544.html))
June 8, 2010

Conservative Missouri Democrat Rep. Ike Shelton, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said today that the military should keep the "don't ask, don't tell" policy intact in part to avoid parents having to talk to their children about homosexuality.
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"What do mommies and daddies say to their 7-year-old child?" he asked.

Skelton, one of the 26 Democrats who opposed repeal in the House, added that his "biggest concern are the families."

Doesn't that wrap it up nicely in a nutshell? 

"How do we, grown adults, talk to children about something we are so embarrassed to talk about?  Surely they will know we are filled with shame and guilt for being so filled with prejudice."

As usual, it's the adults who project their prejudices on children then turn it around as if it's the kids who have the problem.

Children LEARN prejudice.  Children LEARN hatred.  Children LEARN to discriminate.  And we can thank people like Shelton for teaching them those things.  But I don't completely blame him.  After all, he most likely learned it from his parents.

Why would repealing DADT suddenly cause kids to pop this question?  That's one heck of a non sequitur going on.

Some people want that kind of relationship with people of the same sex/gender, some want it with another sex/gender, and some are not that particular.  If you see them as normal human beings, it shouldn't be particularly harder to answer a question about gay/bi love/couples as it is straight love/couples.

People will stoop to any level to try and win their argument. What the heck to children have to do with DADT??? What a *shameful* tactic to employ!

Of course, they should learn about it from their paedophile relatives like the family always have???
And sex education can be learned from your equally ignorant school friends behind the shelter sheds. 

Can I please be left in a room with these peanuts and a base-ball bat for a few minutes?

People like this have a lot of baggage they are carrying. They are the type that if someone uses "swear words" they will respond with shock or you will see their face blush.  They have a problem with that dirty little word called sex.  And they project that on children.  Obviously, if grown adults have a problem with homosexuality or transgender then it only stands to reason children will.

What these myopic people can't see is they teach children to be afraid, shocked, appalled and confused.  Kids learn what they live and if they grow up in a household of phobic people, they too will become phobic.

Maybe we can start with the boogieman and show these grown men how that too was just something to scare kids.  They might begin to get the idea then.

"Politicians hide behind the flag, the Bible, and children." -George Carlin

Do we still have time to score the trifecta?  Does the guy's tie count?  I mean, he is literally behind it.

I don't know what it has to do with children, but even so, what's wrong with having kids who are aware of homosexuality? I mean, it certainly exists and there's no good reason to have kids in the dark about it.

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

Sinclair Lewis (attributed) though more likely it was Huey Long.

Using children as an excuse for bigotry is probably the oldest most worn-out tropes in all of politics. It's also one of the most offensive.

But I'll give these people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they really don't know what they'll say when little Johnny comes asking them about the gays. So I'll help them out. Here's an example of what they can say in this delicate situation:

"Well, Johnny, some people are gay, which means they tend to fall in love with people that are the same gender as they are. Your mommy and daddy hate people like that, because we are horrible pathetic excuses for human beings who try to prop up our paltry self-respect by pretending that we are better than other people. One day you will understand that, and then you will move to San Francisco or New York or Lincoln, Nebraska -- pretty much, any place away from your parents will do -- and rent a tiny, squalid apartment with three other disaffected twenty-somethings, and spend your evenings venting your long-held frustrations about the closed-minded ignorant jerks that raised you."

He must have been misquoted or else I am missing his point.

"Parents say to a 7 year old?" I didn't realize that the US Armed Forces accepted 7 years olds.

Now 17 year olds are a different story.

Just curious now, how many kids (such as 7 year olds) asked about homosexuality before DADT?

My four year old granddaughter asked about the pictures of the man with a goatee holding her when she was an infant.

I said that it was grandma Sandy when she was a boy and had a beard.

She said "Ok" and went on playing with her toys.

It wasn't a big deal then, it's not a big deal now.

She thinks that Grandma Sandy and Grandma Pat kissing each other is cute.

I'm sorry that this homophobic, scum sucking, bottom feeder claims to be part of the human race, let alone represent us in congress.

I feel that once he comes out of the closet and accepts his homosexuality, he'll be much better off.

-Sandy

Personally, I would much rather attribute homophobia to a lack of character (not being able to demonstrate leadership against a hostile force that wants to subjugate others) than being in the closet.  It feels more accurate, and poetic with respect to the committee he "serves" on.

Quote"What do mommies and daddies say to their 7-year-old child?" he asked.

Skelton, one of the 26 Democrats who opposed repeal in the House, added that his "biggest concern are the families."

And you don't think Child molesting priests aren't?  I would rather explain about Homosexuality, than why we can't trust God's ministers.  Which of course we can't.

Quote from: Janet Lynn on June 11, 2010, 06:19:18 PM
And you don't think Child molesting priests aren't?  I would rather explain about Homosexuality, than why we can't trust God's ministers.  Which of course we can't.

Not that they are God's ministers.

Not that they are God's ministers.

Pretty hard to be a 'minister' of something that does not exist in the first place.  In Grateful Dead land well call that a 'hallucination'.

It's a pity that the ability to think logically is not a mandatory job requirement for Parliamentarians everywhere.  I resigned my membership in the National Party here, due to the leadership being really, really stupid.

Out, Gay men are interested in other Out, Gay Men, not children, or straight men. 

You know what I think is fascinating, is that I've read this board sober, drunk, on LSD (and damn good stuff at that) and 'shrooms - and as long as I'm here, I can't tell the difference.  Take it for what its' worth.

Quote from: tekla on June 12, 2010, 01:57:01 AM
You know what I think is fascinating, is that I've read this board sober, drunk, on LSD (and damn good stuff at that) and 'shrooms - and as long as I'm here, I can't tell the difference.  Take it for what its' worth.

Kat, that is one of the most profound statements I have ever heard you say.

And may be one of the most profound statements ever.

No funny stuff, just really profound.

-Sandy

Sandy, that is a perfect example of what the local Maternal Nurse said to my wife and I about the subject of sexuality,  when our first daughter was young.

They will take in what they are capable of and the rest goes through to the wicket keeper.

I was going to rhetorically ask what the Rep concerned would say, then I thought a  cricket bat would do the job just as well, as there are obviously no brain cells  to damage!

It seems to me there is a  difference between Conservative, as I personally understand it and Right Wing Fruit Bat!

Take Shelton's statement and mix in some of the comments other anti-DADT politicians and religious leaders spew and you can better see the motivation for this absurd perspective.

Many DADT opponents have stated they feared gay men would be sneaking into the beds of straight men and taking advantage of them while they are sleeping.  Now I could see a straight guy hoping to do the same with a woman but really folks, how many of us will remain asleep during sex?  Especially if it's good!

The Sheltons of this world can only see things one way, through the window of prejudice and bigotry.  They believe the fairly tales because it's easier than actually educating themselves AND their supporters.  And that's an important point that can't be lost in any of our attempts to educate them - they are trying to keep their jobs and part of that effort includes saying what their supporters want to hear.  They may not even believe in what they purport to stand for.  They say it just to keep their jobs.

Politicians have to be skilled in only one thing to remain employed - they have to be able to get votes.  Religious leaders have to be skilled in only one thing to remain in power - they have to be able to get donations.  Whatever it takes to do these things doesn't matter.  As long as they do them well they will enjoy the riches and power that comes with them. 

BP's Tony Hayward is learning the value of the artistry of the spin.  These people excel in it.

This Shelton coot obviously hasn't realised that anyone who is stupid enough to commit a homosexual rape in barracks is going the get the living sh1t beat out of him, if not "accidentally" shot!

What an idiot, is all I can say.  In real life there is a fair chance that a gay soldier's mates would be pointing out other gay guys who fancy him. 

I'm not even going to touch the rediculousness of this topic, as everything has pretty much been said.   I will share how my parents handled the question.

When I was 9 or 10, we went on a family vacation to cape cod which included a day in Provincetown.  (I can imagine the right-wingers reaction, Children shouldn't be allowed in P-Town! They will be scarred for life!) I remember we were on the beach when I saw 2 men holding hands.

Me-"Daddy, why are those 2 men holding hands like that?"
dad- "Because sometimes men have very special friendships with other men instead of women"
me-  "Like how you and mommy like each other?"
dad-  "yes, just like me and mommy"

Quote from: kyle_lawrence on June 12, 2010, 10:55:25 AMMe-"Daddy, why are those 2 men holding hands like that?"
dad- "Because sometimes men have very special friendships with other men instead of women"
me-  "Like how you and mommy like each other?"
dad-  "yes, just like me and mommy"

And then you probably went back to playing on the beach and enjoying the day.

Turn the tables and imagine the same scenario with Shelton as your father...

Me-"Daddy, why are those 2 men holding hands like that?"
dad- "OMG! Don't look! That's awful! How disgusting!"
me-  "What do you mean daddy? They seem happy?"
dad-  "Quick! Pack up your things! We have to go! These horrible people have made a pact with the devil. Sinners!"

And then you would have been scarred for life.