quote:
Originally posted by meanasasnake:
Wheather you are gay or straight, male or female "no" means NO. Thankfully straight women don't shoot every time men hit on them - there would be lots of dead men and lots of women on death row. I have been hit on in malls, grocery stores, and even the Post Office. I have also been followed and harrassed by straight men. This is not just a "gay" issue. From another perspective we must remember that male on male rape is very rare and, like all rape, really has nothing to do with "sex", but has more to do with control, humiliation and violence.
The whole issue of "cruising" in public parks has been around for years. In the mid 90s the Florence police did a sting and arrested 30+ individuals soliciting sex. Initially they were going to publish all the names in the paper as a deterrent. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the men turned out to be married with families. I vividly recall the police officer being interviewed saying "we are not trying to invade anyones privacy, or ruin their lives. We just want to stop the park "cruising". Most of the gay people I know are in relationships. Those who are not have discovered more civilized ways of meeting people. As the whole Larry Craig story has pointed out - for married men who lead double lives, and are from a generation accustomed to lying about their orientation because it was more socially acceptable than being "out", there is a whole culture involved in clandestine sexual activity. I must remind everyone, however, that this promiscuity is not just a gay man "thing" - it is a MAN thing. Straight men are worse simply because there are more of them. Casanova, Wilt Chamberland and Warren Beatty (among many others)all had over 1000 *women and they were/are straight.
As we know, there are those who would do harm to gay people for no other reason than they exist. I have always been an advocate for everyone knowing how to properly defend themselves against violence. If you feel threatened let someone know. Call the cops, yell, make a scene - do what ever is neccessary to protect yourself. If that means carrying a gun - so be it. It would be an idiot that would assume that gay people are incapable of defending themselves.
*Women are pretty bad too. It takes two to tango.
I have to agree on this mean.
I am a young female and I can't go anywhere without seeing "elevator eyes" or being howled/whistled at. I'm a married woman now and that seems to make it even worse! I can be holding my husband's hand, and I find men are staring and trying to make gestures at me.
I have been hit on by lesbians only once or twice in my life. And when I explained to them I was in a long term relationship with a man, they understood. It didn't stop them from being nice people or us being friendly. They understood WHY I wasn't interested and it took away the "mystery". Also, they didn't hit on me in some flamboyant, predatory way. It was casually and they were just trying to figure out whether I was gay or straight. All I had to do was tell them and it was left at that. Nothing hard.
It's so funny reading some of the posts on here. I can just picture some of the posters finding out that someone they are having a conversation with is gay. I see them running and screaming as if it were "The Blob" or some cheesey sci-fi movie. Hilarious.
You can't "catch" homosexuality. It doesn't work that way. Children don't "learn" it either. They may understand homosexuality more because of who their parent is, but that will not make them gay.
Sadly, I predict more acts like Matthew Shepherd because there are still many homophobes that exist. If more people who threaten homosexuals become lawmakers, it might even become legal to kill homosexuals.
It scares me at the extent that some people are able to hate. I didn't really know HOW to hate growing up. I didn't like things or people, but HATE. I just never experienced that. I get so terrified reading some of the posts on this forum.
Imagine someone coming out on this forum?!? Talk about bloodshed....
I have to agree with Neal. It sounds like a lot of people are not very comfortable with themselves. I guess it could be the fear of the unknown as well.
