Understanding & respect begins with dialogue and I appreciate your time.

>it is a term used loosely, imo. i agree with the concept
>because people fear what they don't understand. and fear can
>breed other emotions...resentment, intolerance, hatred, etc.
>and i only have a problem when people try to disrupt or
>disrespect my life. my sister doesn't agree with my
>sexuality...but everyone has their own opinion and i don't try
>to force mine on her. i don't consider her homophobic. and
>even though i know she doesn't agree with my sexuality, she
>accepts me, loves me, and has often acted as a buffer between
>my parents and i.

This is what I needed to hear.

Thank you.

>>3.) Do you liken the struggle of being gay to the Civil
>Rights
>>struggle (as it pertains to blacks being accepted by whites
>in
>>the 60's)? If so, why? If not, why not?
>
>people always wanna compare some shit. there are many
>similarities but i accept the differences. but discrimination
>is discrimination to me. point blank. and i'm in both of the
>struggles.

The reason I asked this, is because I made a post a while back, and the main idea of the post was how it angered me that homosexuals compare their struggle to the Civil Rights movement. I theorized that being gay is a choice. I now realize that was kind of disrespectful, but I personally can't comprehend the idea of being born gay, unless you're a hermaphodite.

All of a sudden, for feeling this way, I'm a homophobe.

I don't fear, resent or hate homosexuals, so that theory offended and angered me.

If anything, I feel that you have the right to live the way you choose, as long as it doesn't infringe upon the rights of others. That's only fair.

The same way that I don't choose to look at a whole bunch of naked straight people walkin' around in the street claiming their heterosexuality, is the same way I wouldn't choose to look at a whole bunch of naked homosexuals doing it.

I understand that gatherings of people that have like minds brings comfort and camaraderie, hell, that's why I joined okp (back when everybody on here were fans of The Roots by default - lol); but then too, some of those parades I've seen seem to celebrate the wrong aspects of that life. It gives off the impression that being homosexual is just relentless debauchery...and I don't think it is.

I have a HUGE amount of respect for homosexuals who manage to maintain relationships with their partners for years or decades. As a matter of fact, I've been tryin' to find one of my high school teachers who I believe was gay...she made a real difference in my life as a person and she's been on my mind lately.

So yeah, thanks again for discussing this with me...