Quote:
Originally Posted by fenwick16
Good points. It just isn't a focal point of my life, so I honestly don't get the point (there is no sarcasm here).
Referring to the bare skin comment - there was a nude bike ride in Halifax a couple of weeks ago. This was a mixed event. I wouldn't want to see that either.
PS: I have a very strong faith in God. I don't say this simply as words but it is a feeling so strong that I feel for a fact that there is a God. Unfortunately many people in the Gay community like to mock people who believe in God.
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As do many people who are heterosexual, and in my experience, in similar proportions.
That is not to say at all that I condone people being "mocked" for their personal choices. Quite the contrary. That is in fact the exact point I want to make here though.
You have chosen to have faith in God. There have been times in the past where people have been not just mocked but in fact persecuted for their beliefs, and action was taken to re-assert those peoples rights.
I do not in any way "equate" someone being gay with being religious. However, I would make the statement that how an individual chooses to live their life, no matter what that entails, is a personal matter.
For those who are gay, there have been times in the past where they have been not just mocked but in fact persecuted for their beliefs, and actions such as re-asserting a persons "pride" in themselves were taken.
You have every right to your beliefs, every right to believe them without being mocked, and every right to also choose to not want to see a pride parade. However, such a parade has every right to exist, and no matter what the "spectacle" of it is sometimes, it fundamentally (as I understand it as a hetero) is simply about proclaiming in public that it is ok to be gay and one doesn't need to be ashamed.
Personally, I hope the day comes when we don't need such parades, not because I am against them, but because what I have a strong belief in is people's right to live their lives without judgement from others. I care far more that someone is a good person, and could care less what their own personal life choices are other than that.
The fact remains however that until the gay community stops hearing from people that what they are is wrong, a violation of the bible etc etc, there will continue to be a need for it.
The issue of "skin" is a secondary issue. As was noted above, that isn't what the parade (in particular the one in Halifax) is fundamentally about anyway. I actually would prefer to not see naked people walking up the street either (gay or straight), and I do agree that sometimes there are those in the gay community that go to far in shoving their lifestyle in peoples faces... parade all you want, dress like Dorothy and push boundaries all you want (LOL), and be proud of who you are all you want, but there is a line that maybe shouldn't necessarily be crossed in a public venue. However I also think that there are some in the religious community who go too far in other ways, and shove their beliefs in other people's faces when it is unwanted.
The long and the short is that, I believe that people have the right to their own choices, and the right to celebrate their own choices.