Sex and stuff

Jason Collins is gay. And the really sad part is that the reaction is anything but, "So?"

I have often wondered about why some people are so absolutely certain that the presence of LGBT folks in society presages the destruction of that society. I think I have a (kind of) answer.

Some years ago Eugene Robinson became the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. One of the local radio blowhards announced that this makes this generation of Episcopalians the last generation of Episcopalians. I guess he thought that, given permission to be gay, ALL guys would be gay and thus the end. . .

The last time I checked, the Episcopalian Church was just fine, thanks. The UCC, which has been far more open to the LGBT community than most others, is also doing all right. Neither denomination had a rush of men running to other men's beds, and that didn't happen among the women, either.

So, I think that the reason that our radio bloviator, and some of the out-there right wingers, are so determined that opening society to LGBT will be our destruction is -

I don't know, but could it be that they are, themselves, gay? Closeted, to be sure, but still, gay? Could the reason that they are so certain that all would be gay be that this is exactly what THEY would do? They have no clue what anyone else would do, but they are so certain of this because. . .Just wondering.

Jason Collins is gay. The only decent response would be no response. Maybe a shrug and, "So?" Who he, or any other LGBT person, loves is their own business, no one else's. Society allows me the privilege of maintaining the privacy of my sex life. Why would we not extend that courtesy to the LGBT community?

It took a lot of courage for Jason Collins to come out as he did, and that is, in itself, a sad, sad statement, not about him, but about the rest of us.

I have been married to the love of my life for 38 years. If you allow same-sex marriage, it will not harm me a'tall, a'tall. I will awaken in the morning, when I am old, next to the person I wanted to grow old with. Why should an LGBT person not have the same privilege? If you can encourage someone else's happiness, and at no cost to yourself, why would you not?

Why must we act like our biggest fear is that somebody, somewhere, is having a good time?

I am a person of faith, specifically Roman Catholic. My own church has been trying to deal with the issue. One time at which this became an issue was at the onset of the AIDS epidemic. AIDS was, at first, identified as a gay issue; it was "their" disease. The question was, is a church obligated to provide its loving care to gays? The answer now is a resounding "YES!" The question was that much louder in parishes in, say, San Francisco, where some of the parishes may be 3/4 gay.

We haven't stopped thinking about this. Phil Donahue once noted that there are two groups within the Church to whom the Church will need to apologize one day: gays and the divorced. It won't be easy - it can't be easy - but we can't quit thinking about this. I don't think Mr. Donahue was wrong.

I have a lot of friends - co-workers - classmates that are gay. To them: you are my brothers and sisters. I have lost two friends to AIDS. To them: I pray daily that God may be good to you - better than we were.

Lots of stuff tossing around in my head about this. Thanks for hanging out while a spilled some of it.