Thread: Sochi Olympics and the Law against Gays in Russia +

Those of you who claim to be worried about your kids, are going after the wrong group of people.

Just to be a devil's advocate, I'm prepared to admit that in some ways, Gay Pride Parades -- and gay culture in general -- can be Bad For Kids. But, more specifically, they're potentially bad for HOMOSEXUAL kids, while not necessarily being of danger to HETEROSEXUAL kids.

I mean, to the extent that gay culture encourages promiscuous behavior, for instance, it's mostly "LGBT youth" who are likely to hear this siren-song and possibly behave promiscuously; straight youth don't really pay much attention to the messages that come from gay celebrities and gay media and gay parades. (Of course, heterosexual youth are also exposed to "pro-promiscuity" messages, but in general, THEY get such messages from mainstream heterosexual culture, and not from gay parades.)

But even while there are problems within gay culture and reasons for objecting to a lot of the stuff that occurs in Pride Parades, I hope it goes without saying that I do not give the Russian government an atom of credit for acting out of genuine concern for the ~3% of Russian teenagers who are coming to grips with their own homosexuality. Rather, they're fixated on the notion that heterosexual kids will pick up the "habit" of sodomy the way other pick up the habits of vodka and nicotine -- by trying it, because they saw it advertised on TV.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Just to be a devil's advocate, I'm prepared to admit that in some ways, Gay Pride Parades -- and gay culture in general -- can be Bad For Kids. But, more specifically, they're potentially bad for HOMOSEXUAL kids, while not necessarily being of danger to HETEROSEXUAL kids.

I mean, to the extent that gay culture encourages promiscuous behavior, for instance, it's mostly "LGBT youth" who are likely to hear this siren-song and possibly behave promiscuously; straight youth don't really pay much attention to the messages that come from gay celebrities and gay media and gay parades. (Of course, heterosexual youth are also exposed to "pro-promiscuity" messages, but in general, THEY get such messages from mainstream heterosexual culture, and not from gay parades.)

But even while there are problems within gay culture and reasons for objecting to a lot of the stuff that occurs in Pride Parades, I hope it goes without saying that I do not give the Russian government an atom of credit for acting out of genuine concern for the ~3% of Russian teenagers who are coming to grips with their own homosexuality. Rather, they're fixated on the notion that heterosexual kids will pick up the "habit" of sodomy the way other pick up the habits of vodka and nicotine -- by trying it, because they saw it advertised on TV.

Most gay people I know are fed up with all the over-the-top flamboyancy too. They are just people, and they get tired of being stereotyped as "swishy" or as "drama queens" or whatever else. Those stereotypes do not speak for the vast majority of gays and lesbians, who just aren't all that "fabulous" really. They don't like being singled out. I'm sure my friends would agree that promiscuity is not a good thing to teach children. That said, there are different kinds of gay pride parades. I've taken part in some of them to show solidarity for my friends, and I didn't see any of the over-the-top, in-your-face wackiness that has been part of other parades.

But that said, I think a lot of people DO confuse homosexuality with pedophilia and have unfounded fears that gay people want to molest their children. That was the main point of my comment, because it seems that pedophilia is accepted and even condoned in some quarters whereas homosexuality is scapegoated and largely misunderstood. The individual who was bragging about all the little baby girls he slept with in Thailand, said that there are many men who are exactly like him, and I don't doubt it. I do not want to downplay the danger of allowing pedophiles to run free under the guise of it being "natural" to have sex with little girls. I found it disturbing that I was the only one on that thread who disagreed with him and told him how disgusting he was. I hear so many people say they are worried about their kids, and yet not a single person other than myself, was upset or concerned about this guy who was openly and proudly a pedophile. But mention gay rights and suddenly all hell breaks loose!