It would appear that I am back from my time off. To whoever is responsible for bringing me back, thank you.
When I registered at SSP, I came here to express my interest in urbanism and architecture. I arrived with no desire to disrupt the prevailing peace and harmony of the forum. Insomuch as I have, I apologize.
Furthermore, it is possible that the spirit of my position regarding the earlier topic at hand was misunderstood. I place a fundamental, personal belief in the self-evident innate equality of all individuals, and strive to endorse their universal human rights. This applies to sexual orientation.
I have worked with gay people. I have interacted with them socially. I harbor no malice toward them; nor do I despise them. I view them and treat them as my equals, and would readily lay down my life to protect their civil liberties.
All of this being taken into consideration, my opinion of their cause(s) is not necessarily positive; and yet I believe that one of the things that makes free, liberal thought work well is that we can dislike each other (or other points of view) without disrespecting each other (or differing points of view).
Again, if my comments caused any individual here to conclude that they were delt with a posture of designed disrespect or premeditated divisiveness, I apologize entirely; and as I never came here with a desire to initiate debate anyway, I am more than happy to promise that in all future proceedings, I will act with more care and sensitivity.
I unilaterally acknowledge that personal views and opinions which I may hold and on occasion express could be (and at least occasionally probably are) misguided or wrong. That doesn't mean that I will stop believing in them; but it does mean that I fully respect those around me who choose to disagree with - or even revile - my opinions.
I reiterate my thanks for the second chance on this board, and trust that - gay and straight alike - we will move forward in a spirit of common interest and friendship.
- Joshua Howard
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...=1#post4923524