>How do you know people don't
>CHOOSE to be black?
>Because it is something genetic.
>Why are you convinced homosexuality is
>different?

My statement was made to draw attention to the lack of dispute about race, gender, etc. compared with homosexuality. Am I convinced homosexuality is not different? Well... for the moment, yes. I'm trying to keep an open mind; the idea for this post comes out of trying to understand what exactly homosexuality is.

>(before we get
>into the specifics of blackness,
>imagine any trait, dominant or
>recessive or traits that skip
>generations, whatever you like...someone who
>didn't KNOW the genetics of
>it might have a tendency
>to say there is NO
>order to it, or may
>even ascribe it to choice.

I'm sorry, I really have a hard time imagining that any large number of people in history have assumed skin colour and other genetic traits to be a choice. Think about when people used to kill "freak" children (those with physical or mental handicaps); they usually blamed it on the devil, not the child's free will.

>In fact, lets consider left-handedness.
>At one time, this was
>a frightening disorder that crippled
>many American children...parents and teachers
>tried to beat this abberation
>out of their kids.
>Oooops! (now, do you want
>to catch yourself saying the
>same thing if/when you find
>out the same thing applies
>to homosexuality?)

Again: weren't the beatings to stop the child from following their natural inclinations (which were thought to be wrong)? Or did parents feel that kids just wanted to spite them?


> And of course, there
>my be some mixture...where it
>wasn't before, cancer is now
>understood to be genetic, but
>is also environmentally controlled.
>The point is that there
>isn't a good reason to
>believe there is a simple
>answer to it...and if there
>is no simple answer, there
>is no simple judgement without
>concideration)
>If you ask someone when they chose to be heterosexual/homosexual, they will look at you with the same gaze as if you ask them when they chose to be <insert trait>
>

I once heard some suggest that finding a gene which causes homosexuality would not make it right because there are biological explanations of tendencies towards depression and other mental problems which can be dealt with or fought through treatment. I WRITE THIS TO FIND OUT PEOPLE'S REACTION - not because this is my personal belief. I think it is something to consider...