It’s not a lifestyle, it’s a life

Let me preface this post by saying that it is indeed the first of its kind on my site. Anyway, this is going to be a rant. Been a while since I’ve done one of those.

I’ve become more annoyed lately in the media (although not exclusively to FOX, they are a huge annoyance), the government, and several other outlets. All of them have some kind of strange axe to grind against the gay community. Things such as the extreme hatred against same-sex marriage, and a general annoyance toward calling being gay as a “lifestyle.”

First, I’m going to rant about the lifestyle portion. It’s not a lifestyle. Period. It’s a LIFE. Is being straight a lifestyle? Ask any straight person and they’d think you were crazy. As is already obvious, I hate it being called a lifestyle. Being gay is not something that just happens over-night. It’s not something that you just wake up one day and say “Hmm. I’m sick of all this opposite-sex stuff. I think it’s time for a change now.” People who may come out after years of being married are more likely than not just finally coming to terms with who they really are. But, I digress. Being gay is something that you are born as. Some people will say that it’s something that happens due to those around you or by your influences through life. I believe that who you are defines who is around you and what you let influence you.

Turning to the second part of this rant, is the attention to same-sex marriage. I have personally known for a long time that I would never get married. I hadn’t really thought about that until recently when it made sense. I really can’t ever get married. At least, not in the US. I could in Canada, but once I got back to the US I’d have basically no rights associated with that marriage since the US is so damn backwards on this topic. I’m reading a book that has points both for and against (mostly for) same-sex marriage. What I take from the definition of marriage is this. It’s an act of legally binding two individuals together who do promise to care for each other regardless of the circumstance. Hmm. Doesn’t make sense to me as to why that would not include same-sex marriages.

Next, is the amazing-ness that is discrimination. First there was religious discrimination which is why we are here. We came to America from Europe to free ourselves from persecution for our religious beliefs. Next, there was discrimination in the form of slavery. This finally stopped when slavery was abolished, and every the black and white races finally were equal (although many will argue that this still is not completely true). Next up is the feminine equality, with rights such as voting and many advances with relation to a
professional career and pay rates. The next movement will be in the GLBT community. The entire community is heavily discriminated against and hate crimes are all too common. The worst part is that it is NOT illegal to discriminate based on a persons’ sexual affiliation. So, if you want to go beat the hell out of someone because they happen to like people of the same sex, then you will get a ton of press and outrage against you, but it technically isn’t illegal. What a civilized world we live in…

Last, mostly because I’m tired and want to go to sleep, is the media. Ugh, the media. Mostly I hate Fox. Not just one specific channel of theirs, but all of them. They’re all horribly biased and single-minded. I strongly believe that Fox, along with people like Bush, are the reason that this country is so backwards on many topics. Fox has got to be the one news channel with the absolute least integrity and yet so many people continue to watch it.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll be posting more in the future related to these topics and more that bug me.