Dec 31 2008
UN tries to legalise homosexuality
A recently tabled resolution put before the United Nations aimed at decriminalising homosexuality and explicitly extending the universal declaration of human rights to include protection against discrimination, persecution and imprisonment based on sexual orientation has split the UN.
The resolution sponsored by France and The Netherlands was backed by 66 nations including the UK, but was opposed by 60 member states. The bulk of the opposition came from African and Arab States and of course the Vatican. The United States of America were the only major western country not to explicitly back the resolution.
It would seem that much of the world is not yet ready to accept lesbian, gay or bisexual orientations and wishes to continue to discriminate against us. Homosexuality is still illegal in some 80 countries and homosexual acts between men still carry the death penalty in Saudi Arabi and Iran.
Countries opposing the resolution claimed that legalising homosexuality would “normalise paedophilia”. I don’t know about you, but I’m spitting nails at that statement!
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26 Responses to “UN tries to legalise homosexuality”
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And then immediately leads to Ethiopia wanting to ban homosexuals by making it constitutionally illegal to be gay:
http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=2958&MediaType=1&Category=24
I for one, think it’s a personal choice and that governments and religion has no part in it. It also seems as if society is not willing to respect an individual’s choice either and this is where the change need to start in my opinion.
As soon as this happens, then one can expect governments to follow, because what other choice (excuse) would they have then?
P.S. Why is it whenever I encounter a gay person they automatically assume I’m gay (lesbian)? I’m totally straight, but when I say this, they think I’m being rude? Someone please explain this to me.
To answer your question, I think people naturally assume that other people are like them. We live our lives from a first person perspective, its often hard to understand that other people may approach life, religion or indeed sexuality differently.
As to why they appear offended when you tell them you are straight, maybe this is in the way you are telling them you are straight. The phrase “I’m totally straight!” emphasises the differences between you and the gay person. You can’t bond with someone unless you share something in common, and by marking out your differences you create a social rift.
Instead of saying “I’m straight,” or “I’m not gay”, try saying “I like men” – that way you have something in common with a gay man, the conversation can then continue, because you can talk about a shared interest.
Well I don’t say I’m totally straight in such a way that I’m being rude or anything, it’s just like when I say: “Sorry, but I’m straight” that they somehow think I’m lying and continues to try and play on to me.
Now if the other person was a guy who’s gay, then this wouldn’t even be a problem, like you said, we share a common interest.
Again as I was saying, that’s the wrong thing to say. You are emphasising your differences rather than things you have in common.
You are also using negative language “but” and “not” should be banished from your vocabulary if you want to win friends and influence people.
Try to express your sexuality in a way which doesn’t directly clash with another person’s, emphasise what you have in common, instead of what makes you different.
Hmmm, I think I’ve already explained that I wasn’t rude or trying to create a clash. Respect and understanding should come from both sides.
And yes we do have different interests, but that does not mean that when I express my own sexuality, that the other person should think I’m rude. That, in my opinion, is creating the opposite effect from what the gay and lesbian community stands for.
I deserve the same rights as them. I’ve never had a problem with a person’s sexual orientation and never will. The only thing that does happen from time to time is that I get approached by people who naturally assume that everyone else could be gay or lesbian, and that is not right.
I don’t assume that everyone is straight, so why do I have to pardon my sexual interest or the way I express them (especially when I’m doing it in a very respectful way)?
As I can recall, you were the one who once said: “Assumption is the mother of all f***ups”
I don’t think you’re really taking in the remarks I have made.
No lesbian, gay or bisexual person in their right mind is going to be offended by your being straight.
However, you claim to get a negative reaction whenever you correct a gay persons assumption that you are queer.
What I’ve suggested here is not that you have been rude, but that you have used language which is unintentionally divisive. No matter how politely you phrase it, or how gentle your tone, saying “Oh, I’m not gay, I’m Straight.” or “Sorry but I’m straight,” or any variant there of, emphasises your differences with the other person and creates a social rift. This is something to avoid if you want to win friends.
Forget for a minute you are talking about sexuality and consider if you were talking about music.
Say I was chatting to someone who is a lover of classical music. She proceeds to rattle off all the names of dead composers she likes and lists a number of conciertos that I’d never heard of.
Now had I said “I don’t like classical music, I’m a rock fan.” That would have probably ended our conversation about music. However, if instead I say something like. “I find it interesting that today its films which are now promoting classical music. With composers like David Arnold and Jon Williams writing classical scores for Hollywood blockbusters”
Here I have found common ground, we have the basis for continuing a conversation and we haven’t muted our interaction by focusing on our differences.
Yes and that is what I try to do.
Given the reactions you are receiving, it would seem you need to try harder.
I haven’t done anything wrong or said anything that would offend the other person. I just don’t think I should relinquish any part of myself to satisfy another person’s wrong inclinations about what I say. Geesh if I did that, then you’d probably find something wrong with that as well.
This is why I don’t get into anything discussions with you about certain things, because you only see, hear and read the parts that best suits you and then you turn the whole conversation around so that you are right and everyone else is wrong.
I don’t have to try hard to “fit in” unlike you, I enjoy my differences and don’t need to apologize for it. I understand what you’re saying and that is exactly what I have done in the past whenever I’ve found myself in this situation. Unfortunately for me, they weren’t interested in the so called “common ground” we shared, they just wanted sex. So I’m sorry, in this case I will not try very hard to gain this person’s attention or to try and talk about things we might have in common.
Hold on you are the person that said gay people automatically reacted as if you’d said something rude whenever you make the point that you are straight.
That’s a sweeping statement and its unfair.
Now you seem to be claiming that gay people wanted to have sex with you, well frankly (as you are a woman) that doesn’t make sense unless you are talking about lesbians and if so, its also a presumptuous statement.
Frankly I don’t find anything you have said in this thread particularly credible.
I’d also add that at no point have I suggested you have to relinquish any part of yourself to “fit in” – I’ve just told you that if you want to get on with people its better to focus on what you have in common with others rather than to emphasise your differences. Unless declaring yourself to be different from everyone else is an essential part of being “you” then how does that compromise your persona?
If it is then you are destined to be disliked, lonely and miserable. But hey at least you can pat yourself on the back for being you!
im surprised at the fact that the usa dissaproves quite shocking, maybe if they could stop ignorance we might get somewhere
madame
maybe your physical features make people think your a lesbian?
dave
i dont know about you but i dont agree with my friends unless i like there opinion, and we get along fine, example: they say they dont like ketchup i would say only ****** (whatever word comes to mind, usually offencive to a group of people) then they laugh and call me gay.
as a result i have stable relationships
heres an idea, any country that dissaproves of homosexuality must ban all non straight porn, we would have gay rights within a month (i know alot of guys who are homophobic but couldnt live without girl on girl)
ben
There is nothing wrong with my physical features that would suggest I’m lesbian (believe me). And as far as I’m concerned I didn’t even want a reply from you, but you couldn’t resist throwing your insults around again. You are a bad example for the gay community.
What? Are there a certain set of physical features shared by all lesbians? Do they all have hooked noses and square toes or something?
(For the record Madame has neither.)
Of course they don’t! But listen to yourselves! You’re stereotyping… Again… Not good, it’s a quick way to piss people off. Ben to read your post we’d assume you think all lesbians looked the same. And Madame, to read your post you’d think all lesbians were butt ugly and had “something wrong” with their physical appearance. How do you thing a lesbian is going to feel reading your comment? Happy, warm and fuzzy or irritated at your small minded negative image of them?
Dave, no I didn’t imply that at all. I was correcting ben in the matter. A person shouldn’t be judged on the way they look. And I never said the things you are implying about lesbians.
I was going to post a totally different reply, but you already did that. It seems as if ben’s logic is just as flawed and ungrounded as his insults towards women in general.
Actually you did say that – I quote:
“There is nothing wrong with my physical features that would suggest I’m lesbian”
Your problem is you took Ben’s baited insult and replied in kind without thinking and wound up saying something insulting to lesbians.
Well I didn’t mean it like that. And that’s that.
I’d push for a fuller admission of your wrongness and perhaps even solicit an apology on behalf on all the hooked nosed, square toed lesbians out there, but I think I’ve made my point.
I never called them that, you were the one to assume this.
I give up!
It would seem that to you, words and their meaning are two totally different things.
it wasnt an insult! the question that remained unanswered was what made them think you were a lesbian, and i offered a solution and you come back with quite a homophobic comment, which explains why they might seem offended, you seem to be very protective about your self image to a point where its quite bitchy.
you may not like me exposing insecurities you may have, but acting like its your time of the month hasn’t helped anyone, you included
Ben, please, don’t encourage her.
And whilst you might not be trying to appeal to women, sarcastically blaming anything on a period is the number 1 way to piss of women.
Trust me I speak from painfully learnt experience. I still have the scars.
meaning my comments dont have submeanings to them, so please dont think they do
and for the record i have a similar sexuality to dave, just with a much higher sex drive, the list goes on but ill just say exibitionist and leave it at that =0
Congrats to you then. Seems like you and dave have found common ground.
yeah, just a question how do you know dave? you just dont seem the kind of person to stumble on this kind of blog.