Tacking into the wind

[Splinters From The Pine]

This morning, WNBA star - and one of the finest women's basketball players in history - Sheryl Swoopes, revealed that she is gay.

By her own account, this was not done to get attention or to appear heroic to others; rather it was borne out of exhaustion - an understandable desire to stop hiding who she was from a nation still coming to grips with the obvious.

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[ExtremeGamer]

Great job Shawn!

[mgoblue]

Great article Shawn! I've been listening to the radio a bit today, and they're on this topic. There are way too many ignorant homophobes out there, I just don't get it. That's the reason why we won't see a NFL, MLB, or NBA player come out of the closet while still an active player anytime soon. They'd be ostracised by their teammates and fans, and it's just wrong. Just because they're different than me I'm supposed to hate them? Too much hate going on and it really stems from unwarranted, ignorant fear.

[utexas]

I disagree on the comparison of Rosa Parks to Sheryl Swoopes. Being lynched, denied equal education, not even able to use the same toilets and water fountains is something that gay minorities or Whites will never have to experience. When a minority in America goes to be interviewed for a job, everyone sees and knows who and what they are. But when a gay person goes to an interview, nobody will know what they are unless they choose to "unveil themselves". I am not saying that gays should have to hide who they are or be treated like they are less than human, but as a Black man, I hate the comparison that is being made between what minorites have/continue to experience and what gays experience.

[Shaver]

If you think that Black people in America are the only people who have been or currently are discriminated against... you need to open your eyes.

If you think that Black people in America are the only people who were ever lynched, killed, or beaten because of who they are... you need to open your eyes.

Discrimination... Hate... Separation... Exclusion... That's not merely a black issue... Civil rights is not simply a black issue... Those are the principles that Rosa Parks decision on that day stood in the face of... Discrimination... Hate... Separation... Exclusion...

Is that comparision REALLY off?

[utexas]

Quote: Originally Posted by Clay_OS

If you think that Black people in America are the only people who have been or currently are discriminated against... you need to open your eyes. If you think that Black people in America are the only people who were ever lynched, killed, or beaten because of who they are... you need to open your eyes. Discrimination... Hate... Separation... Exclusion... That's not merely a black issue... Civil rights is not simply a black issue... Those are the principles that Rosa Parks decision on that day stood in the face of... Discrimination... Hate... Separation... Exclusion... Is that comparision REALLY off?

I know the African American discrimination is not unique, many other groups have experienced bigotry, hatred , etc. But Being black(or any other minority in America) is much more of a burden then being gay, I don't like the comparison. Just like I can't compare Jim Crowism to what the Nazis attempted to do to the Jews. It is all different. What do you think about the example I gave about the job interview?

[QuasiHero]

Quote: Originally Posted by Clay_OS

Is that comparision REALLY off?

consider this:

On the Dilemma of Civil Rights

From Straight and Narrow? Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate, by Thomas Schmidt, Ph.D., InterVarsity Press, 1995:

The key issue in the link with civil rights is the issue of choice. Is homosexuality something that you are, like being black or elderly or handicapped or female, or is it something you do, like adultery or polygamy or incest? Those who practice these latter behaviors have certainly been discriminated against, economically and otherwise, but they are not linked to the civil rights movement.

The difference in the case of homosexuality has to do with public perceptions of the inevitability of the behavior. On what basis do we decide what is, or is not, inevitable when it comes to sex? ...When an adult solicits sex with a minor, we don't say, "Let him be--that's just the way he is." Is the homosexual "just that way," and does this imply that we should extend the same civil rights--even affirmative action--to homosexuals that we extend to minorities and women?

Enter the nature-nurture debate;...for public tolerance dramatically increases when people are convinced that a desire for same-sex intimacy is biologically driven. Even though most scientists dispute the accuracy or the relevance of the research to date...even though very few experts on homosexuality limit causation to biological factors...even though the homosexual community itself is divided over causation--still the mass media persistently portrays, and the public increasingly adopts, a view that homosexuals do not do, but are.

...There are at least two factors at work [here]. One is the popular myth that science deals only in absolute, objective truths ...

The second factor at work in changing public opinion is the simplification of issues for mass consumption, especially in television...Few people have the patience for a thorough presentation of a complex issue, even if such a presentation is offered. Instead...statements are measured for their value as sound bites.

Whether or not it is calculated, such reporting has a powerful, cumulative effect. It creates the impression that science is serving the cause of civil rights against ...bigotry ..."

[Shaver]

Quote: Originally Posted by utexas

I know the African American discrimination is not unique, many other groups have experienced bigotry, hatred , etc. But Being black(or any other minority in America) is much more of a burden then being gay, I don't like the comparison. Just like I can't compare Jim Crowism to what the Nazis attempted to do to the Jews. It is all different. What do you think about the example I gave about the job interview?

You don't think people have been passed over for jobs because of perceived homosexuality?