I really don't have any axes to grind on this issue. Please. Afterall, I'm the booby who was offended by the suggestion that Joyce Hatto's recordings were a hoax! I apologized for my indignation and admitted, publicly, that I was roundly schnookered. Taken in. Defrauded. Okay. We all screw up. On to THIS issue:
Pianistimo has a literalist view of the Bible that, in her reading, nails homosexuals to the cross of sin. We all know her Biblical mindset. The lady can be generous and withholding at the same time. To analyze why is beyond the scope of this posting.
My post is really addressed to Soliloquy.
Soliloquy, I admire your passion and intelligence in defense of an orientation that you certainly did not choose. You're a young man of today's world and you are appropriately and rightly unashamed. You have refused to be relegated to the trash heap known as The Despised. As you have eloquently pointed out, humans have always had their pecking order. As an American -- which I assume you are -- you know enough of history to have noticed that all new groups have been subjected to discrimination and devaluation on their arrival to America. Germans, Irish, Italians, Asians, Latinos, Russians, all new entries to the so-called American Dream sweepstakes were dehumanized before true integration occured generations later, if ever. Afro-Americans are still waiting for true inclusion.
But, homosexuals, interestingly, remain the classic, and ultimate, despised group. Even in the most devalued nationalities coming to America, the lowest citizens of the lowest group are always homosexuals, even within their own groups. It's outrageous, unjust and an example of the purest bigotry. Proof that humans, ultimately, must despise some group to feel better about themselves. That which is different is devalued. It's a cultural and sociological fact. To attribute it to religion only proves the bankruptcy of all religion.
Thanks, Soliloquy, for braving the attacks of the righteous and those ostensibly hyper-sensitive to cultural norms who insist on "civility" and would prevent you from challenging the allegation that you and others like you are, at the very least, "evil" and deserving of the torments of AIDS.
Your protest and position on this issue makes me proud. Nothing is more indicative of a man's stature than his ability to battle injustice. If your language gets raw, well, it's raw in a virtuosic way that any fine writer would recognize. If you upset cultural norms for the sake of shedding light on stupid, shadowy "beliefs," then I'd call you a reformer and activist.
Yes, this whole controversy went over the top. Internet forums are strange creatures. I'm not so sure I like them. They invite intimacy, yet punish those who show passion -- the greatest intimacy.
Soliloquy has done that. He doesn't deserve the revisionist censure I'm reading here.
Pianistimo -- Christianity and literalist tendencies aside -- is a woman with a heart. That this heart fails to embrace the variation among us known as homosexuality, is, ultimately, her loss. In an effort to save her own soul, she has forgotten about the souls of others. The great irony of Christianity, yes? Yet, I feel the lady has great potential. I think she has the strength and courage to change.
Let go of your anger, Soliloquy. You're young, bright and there are greater battles to face in the years to come.
Living well, sir, is the best revenge.