Lucy, Robert, Crse, Mary, Cbarzak, Bob, and sorry if I missed anyone, thank you for being true advocates here. I keep seeing my sexuality called a choice and a lifestyle and that's so wrong. I never chose. I was born gay. Lucy, it seems that "haters" are not going to "clear out" and they're going to keep defending each other and namecalling people like you who are trying to teach them. You and Robert are both right these people pretend to be nice but they place limits on me. These people are why I'm still in the closet. I'd like to stick around but I can't participate in this thread anymore it's too painful.
Lucy-I was really tired when I posted last night and I forgot to make this point. Why is it that you are called "petty" but Tomcat's viciouness isn't his fault?
I mean doesn't someone at some point choose his beliefs? I'll say it again I didn't think you were petty at all. I got what you were trying to do. You represent your church well you were standing for something but people with a "view from the top" could miss that.
Robert-Thanks for dealing with the terrorist stuff. LOL. Have you really raised that much money? Wow. Lucy-I feel like I'm the reason you took another hit. I'm sorry. I bet you're a great teacher. Noone's getting bullied on your watch, huh? Thanks for going to Columbus, it makes me a little embarassed that I didn't go. You're right though, fitzkelly seemed to focus only on that Tomcat guy feeling insulted about you correcting his apostrophes when everything that he said was so hateful as you pointed out. Thanks for stepping up. I liked this "Why so much pandering to the bigot in the thread?" It's a good question.
Robert- I did read the article and was really hopeful. Fitzkelly- What exactly about those homophobic and vicious opinions led you to believe these people wanted a dialog? Have you ever lived your life in the shadow of oppressive bullies? . To compare ill-thought illogical vicious scrawl to someone's accent does not make sense to me at all. What the people from your church were doing didn't sound petty to me. In fact, I was impressed with the way those identified with your church kept everything about the points of view and DIDNT call names like racist bigot or homophobe. While all these things seem true, it seemed kind of professional that they didn't go too far. Lucy- Thanks so much for the reassurance. Im guessing he is also a really really great hetero guy who just doesn't get it.
I've been following this thread for a while and was up until yesterday really encouraged by the way the Unitarians were standing up to all the hate masking as "opinion" and "dialog". It made me want to start going back to church.
However, as a gay man, the comment from the person in the church who felt the need to apologize to people spewing malice towards myself personally made me sick to my stomach. Are the unitarians really serious about advocating because what I heard in fitzkelly's comment sounded like just more lip service. When will hetero people understand that no real dialog can occur when ignorant people are encouraged to express close minded biased and uninformed opinions without being shut down? If apologies and invitations to express this kind of crap to me personally is part of your idea of a dialog, I'm letting you know, it makes me feel very unwelcome and not even sure if Im safe at a church like that.
In my world, advocacy means standing up to those who call us perverts and tell us we are going to hell, not rolling over and apologizing because what you refer to as personal attacks looks like advocacy to me.
Youngstown church welcomes gay, bisexual, lesbians to its congregation
Lucy, Robert, Crse, Mary, Cbarzak, Bob, and sorry if I missed anyone, thank you for being true advocates here. I keep seeing my sexuality called a choice and a lifestyle and that's so wrong. I never chose. I was born gay. Lucy, it seems that "haters" are not going to "clear out" and they're going to keep defending each other and namecalling people like you who are trying to teach them. You and Robert are both right these people pretend to be nice but they place limits on me. These people are why I'm still in the closet. I'd like to stick around but I can't participate in this thread anymore it's too painful.
June 24, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Youngstown church welcomes gay, bisexual, lesbians to its congregation
Lucy-I was really tired when I posted last night and I forgot to make this point. Why is it that you are called "petty" but Tomcat's viciouness isn't his fault?
I mean doesn't someone at some point choose his beliefs? I'll say it again I didn't think you were petty at all. I got what you were trying to do. You represent your church well you were standing for something but people with a "view from the top" could miss that.
June 23, 2008 at 10:48 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Youngstown church welcomes gay, bisexual, lesbians to its congregation
Robert-Thanks for dealing with the terrorist stuff. LOL. Have you really raised that much money? Wow.
Lucy-I feel like I'm the reason you took another hit. I'm sorry. I bet you're a great teacher. Noone's getting bullied on your watch, huh? Thanks for going to Columbus, it makes me a little embarassed that I didn't go. You're right though, fitzkelly seemed to focus only on that Tomcat guy feeling insulted about you correcting his apostrophes when everything that he said was so hateful as you pointed out. Thanks for stepping up. I liked this "Why so much pandering to the bigot in the thread?" It's a good question.
June 23, 2008 at 1:14 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Youngstown church welcomes gay, bisexual, lesbians to its congregation
Robert- I did read the article and was really hopeful.
Fitzkelly- What exactly about those homophobic and vicious opinions led you to believe these people wanted a dialog? Have you ever lived your life in the shadow of oppressive bullies? . To compare ill-thought illogical vicious scrawl to someone's accent does not make sense to me at all. What the people from your church were doing didn't sound petty to me. In fact, I was impressed with the way those identified with your church kept everything about the points of view and DIDNT call names like racist bigot or homophobe. While all these things seem true, it seemed kind of professional that they didn't go too far.
Lucy- Thanks so much for the reassurance. Im guessing he is also a really really great hetero guy who just doesn't get it.
June 22, 2008 at 11:03 p.m. permalink suggest removal
Youngstown church welcomes gay, bisexual, lesbians to its congregation
I've been following this thread for a while and was up until yesterday really encouraged by the way the Unitarians were standing up to all the hate masking as "opinion" and "dialog". It made me want to start going back to church.
However, as a gay man, the comment from the person in the church who felt the need to apologize to people spewing malice towards myself personally made me sick to my stomach. Are the unitarians really serious about advocating because what I heard in fitzkelly's comment sounded like just more lip service. When will hetero people understand that no real dialog can occur when ignorant people are encouraged to express close minded biased and uninformed opinions without being shut down? If apologies and invitations to express this kind of crap to me personally is part of your idea of a dialog, I'm letting you know, it makes me feel very unwelcome and not even sure if Im safe at a church like that.
In my world, advocacy means standing up to those who call us perverts and tell us we are going to hell, not rolling over and apologizing because what you refer to as personal attacks looks like advocacy to me.
June 22, 2008 at 8:27 p.m. permalink suggest removal