South Carolina officially bans gay marriage; New Hampshire takes step toward civil unions

[mmarlo 1]

Those would be some exhausted soldiers!

[Robor007 0]

The amount of homophobia on this forum astounds me. Still these threads are useful for me to determine which members I should simply ignore or block in the future.

It's not this forum it's society in general. Of course it's much more prevalent among the 'god made Adam & Eve, not Adam & Steve' fun-dumb-mentalists in the bible belt. Yay for bigotry and hate.

[DeadPoolX 9]

you're quite welcome.

btw, given how aids can be transmitted, do you want to be hooked up to a blood donar who has engaged in gay sex? that's another strike against gays in the military

Actually, heterosexual sex is responsible for the bulk of new HIV transmissions. This isn't 1987, you know. The person who is most likely to contract HIV these days is a heterosexual black female. I suppose we should throw THEM out of the military too, eh?

I'm just wondering something. You say that the person most likely to contract HIV/AIDS these days is a heterosexual black female. Okay, but where, exactly? Do you mean in the United States? In Canada? In Europe? In Australia? In Africa? The "where" is very important, because it tells us about the society in question.

Take for instance: Africa. In many parts of Africa, HIV/AIDS, and a number of deadly diseases, are running rampant. This is in large part due to cultural norms and societal values. Women aren't considered much there and in fact, many are raped by men. "Safe sex" is practically unheared of (or devalued) in many parts of Africa and therefore, disease is spread quite easily.

So perhaps before we all just take in the information as "heterosexual black females are contracting HIV/AIDS" we need to look at "where." Because the location of this thread is the United States. Not any other place in the world. We're not talking internationally -- we're speaking about South Carolina and the U.S. military.

Oh, and just incase anyone is interested... I don't really give a damn whether or not homosexuals are allowed to marry or openly serve in the military. It doesn't really affect me one way or the other. A gay couple (male or female) getting married isn't going to ruin my day; likewise, I sincerely doubt that an openly gay man or woman in the military is going to serve his or her country any less than a straight man or woman.

[homesick_american 1]

you're quite welcome.

btw, given how aids can be transmitted, do you want to be hooked up to a blood donar who has engaged in gay sex? that's another strike against gays in the military

Actually, heterosexual sex is responsible for the bulk of new HIV transmissions. This isn't 1987, you know. The person who is most likely to contract HIV these days is a heterosexual black female. I suppose we should throw THEM out of the military too, eh?

I'm just wondering something. You say that the person most likely to contract HIV/AIDS these days is a heterosexual black female. Okay, but where, exactly? Do you mean in the United States? In Canada? In Europe? In Australia? In Africa? The "where" is very important, because it tells us about the society in question.

Take for instance: Africa. In many parts of Africa, HIV/AIDS, and a number of deadly diseases, are running rampant. This is in large part due to cultural norms and societal values. Women aren't considered much there and in fact, many are raped by men. "Safe sex" is practically unheared of (or devalued) in many parts of Africa and therefore, disease is spread quite easily.

So perhaps before we all just take in the information as "heterosexual black females are contracting HIV/AIDS" we need to look at "where." Because the location of this thread is the United States. Not any other place in the world. We're not talking internationally -- we're speaking about South Carolina and the U.S. military.

Oh, and just incase anyone is interested... I don't really give a damn whether or not homosexuals are allowed to marry or openly serve in the military. It doesn't really affect me one way or the other. A gay couple (male or female) getting married isn't going to ruin my day; likewise, I sincerely doubt that an openly gay man or woman in the military is going to serve his or her country any less than a straight man or woman.

Assume if I don't specify, I'm referring to the USA.

[mmarlo 1]

DeadPoolX, nice job of taking a bunch of cheap shots at Africans and then telling us that you don't care about the topic we were arguing about; excellent form. Disease-ridden, full of inferior cultural practices, and ignorant? HIV/AIDS is a big problem, no doubt, and people are dying and children are being orphaned at alarming rates, but across virtually all of Africa infection rates have gone way down and safer sex is not unheard of. If you consider the fate of the human species to be important, the most dangerous cultural practices in the world are clearly in the west.

Edited April 16, 2007 by mmarlo

[almaty 19]

DeadPoolX, nice job of taking a bunch of cheap shots at Africans and then telling us that you don't care about the topic we were arguing about; excellent form. Disease-ridden, full of inferior cultural practices, and ignorant? HIV/AIDS is a big problem, no doubt, and people are dying and children are being orphaned at alarming rates, but across virtually all of Africa infection rates have gone way down and safer sex is not unheard of. If you consider the fate of the human species to be important, the most dangerous cultural practices in the world are clearly in the west.

bravo...applause...excellent post....dean

[eric&gen 0]

Great job South Carolina

[DeadPoolX 9]

DeadPoolX, nice job of taking a bunch of cheap shots at Africans and then telling us that you don't care about the topic we were arguing about; excellent form. Disease-ridden, full of inferior cultural practices, and ignorant? HIV/AIDS is a big problem, no doubt, and people are dying and children are being orphaned at alarming rates, but across virtually all of Africa infection rates have gone way down and safer sex is not unheard of. If you consider the fate of the human species to be important, the most dangerous cultural practices in the world are clearly in the west.

I knew you'd take what I had to say the wrong way. I assume it's because your SO is from Kenya that you're taking what I said personally and not looking at it with an objective eye. It'd be nice if you (and others in similar situations) could distance yourself from it, but I suppose it's human nature not to do so.

Anyway, I feel I might need to explain myself here. I never once took a "cheap shot" at Africans or the African culture, whatever that is. There are many, many countries within Africa and therefore, many different types of culture within the continent. Saying there's one culture is like saying there's one American culture -- which is ridiculous to anyone who knows better.

I never said that ALL Africans are diseasen-ridden. Did I say disease is a problem? Yes, I did. That much is very true, according to the studies I have read in the past and recently. I never said Africa (as a whole) was culturally inferior. I may have said Africa was, overall, culturally DIFFERENT, but that's a far cry from being "inferior." In addition, there is more than one culture in Africa, like I detailed in the previous paragraph, so even if I were assuming that African culture was "inferior," how would I know which one compared to which section of American culture? And finally, please tell me where I specified that Africans are ignorant. Africans are like any other people; some are smart, some are stupid.

As far as "safer sex" is concerned, the studies I have read report to me that those practicing it are in the minority. If your personal experiences show otherwise, then that's fine. I am going by the data I have been presented. Please do notice that I never said COMPLETELY unheared of; I merely said PRACTICALLY unheared of, in order to further push across my point.

Please learn to read between the lines, or you'll constantly come away with something other than what was originally intended.

[Amby 490]

I don't care if you let gays marry. Who cares? It's not like it directly effects any of us at all. The only people the ruling will actually effect is the people who are gay and want to marry. If they're in love let them be together.

[pedroh 21]

I don't care if you let gays marry. Who cares? It's not like it directly effects any of us at all. The only people the ruling will actually effect is the people who are gay and want to marry. If they're in love let them be together.

wrong.. if gays marry, if a kid looks at a gay couple kissing, they will turn gay automatically... plus they just want to make a gay horde, because everybody knows that kids with gay parents turn gay, and will try to push their beliefs on u, oh, and if u're a guy, doesn't matter how FUGLY u are, a gay guy will try to have ####### sex with ya.. because that's their nature.. bad bad..

LAWL

[almaty 19]

I don't care if you let gays marry. Who cares? It's not like it directly effects any of us at all. The only people the ruling will actually effect is the people who are gay and want to marry. If they're in love let them be together.

amen sister,,,,,,,,,,,,,,live and let live

[homesick_american 1]

I don't care if you let gays marry. Who cares? It's not like it directly effects any of us at all. The only people the ruling will actually effect is the people who are gay and want to marry. If they're in love let them be together.

wrong.. if gays marry, if a kid looks at a gay couple kissing, they will turn gay automatically... plus they just want to make a gay horde, because everybody knows that kids with gay parents turn gay, and will try to push their beliefs on u, oh, and if u're a guy, doesn't matter how FUGLY u are, a gay guy will try to have ####### sex with ya.. because that's their nature.. bad bad..

LAWL

:lol: :lol:

[eric&gen 0]

Let fairies be fairies let them be lol sick.

[mmarlo 1]

I knew you'd take what I had to say the wrong way. I assume it's because your SO is from Kenya that you're taking what I said personally and not looking at it with an objective eye. It'd be nice if you (and others in similar situations) could distance yourself from it, but I suppose it's human nature not to do so.

Anyway, I feel I might need to explain myself here. I never once took a "cheap shot" at Africans or the African culture, whatever that is. There are many, many countries within Africa and therefore, many different types of culture within the continent. Saying there's one culture is like saying there's one American culture -- which is ridiculous to anyone who knows better.

I never said that ALL Africans are diseasen-ridden. Did I say disease is a problem? Yes, I did. That much is very true, according to the studies I have read in the past and recently. I never said Africa (as a whole) was culturally inferior. I may have said Africa was, overall, culturally DIFFERENT, but that's a far cry from being "inferior." In addition, there is more than one culture in Africa, like I detailed in the previous paragraph, so even if I were assuming that African culture was "inferior," how would I know which one compared to which section of American culture? And finally, please tell me where I specified that Africans are ignorant. Africans are like any other people; some are smart, some are stupid.

As far as "safer sex" is concerned, the studies I have read report to me that those practicing it are in the minority. If your personal experiences show otherwise, then that's fine. I am going by the data I have been presented. Please do notice that I never said COMPLETELY unheared of; I merely said PRACTICALLY unheared of, in order to further push across my point.

Please learn to read between the lines, or you'll constantly come away with something other than what was originally intended.

Of course you are correct that HIV/AIDS is a problem in Africa, and it is a problem throughout the continent. What annoyed me about your post was that in the context of the preceding discussion you wrote a relatively lengthy piece on HIV/AIDS and disease in Africa, which is exascerbated by cultural and societal norms, and ignorance about safe sex practices. The post you were responding to was not talking about the demographics of HIV/AIDS in Africa, as the poster later confirmed, and you pointed out, after teaching us about how bad Africans are, that you don't actually care about the main topic of the thread. So I was left wondering: if you don't actually care about the topic, then what was the point of your post? To clarify the argument of the preceding poster? You could have done with your first paragraph that said "where are you talking about", but instead you went on and on about Africa, making a point that didn't appear germaine to the discussion. Hence, I got the impression that the point of your post was the perpetuation of certain myths about Africans, and I took offense to that because even though there is a long way to go in fighting disease in Africa, Africans have made very good progress, in spite of strings being attached to aid they are given and lack of attention paid by profit-driven pharmaceutical companies in the developed world, and people rarely focus on the progress made and rather talk about the continent like it's a cesspool of disease and corruption.

Let me respond to your point that I might be oversensitive to your comments because my SO is Kenyan. Maybe. But I had spent a lot of time in Africa and studying African languages before I met my SO, so that's certainly not the whole story. And it might not even be much of the story because I would have been just as offended if you had gone off about, for example, the proclivity for drinking among Native Americans, or cannibalism among Amazonian tribes. It just struck me as someone perpetuating stereotypes about Africans and taking an unfair opportunity to point out how their culture leads to rampant disease. At least you didn't talk about "corruption", too.

It's not always easy to judge intentions because people often proclaim noble intentions while doing things that aren't so good. I am glad if you weren't trying to perpetuate stereotypes of Africans and I am led to believe that that's true because you recognize that Africa is culturally very heterogeneous, a point which many fail to appreciate. So given that, I'll end it there and stop my nagging.

[DeadPoolX 9]

It's not always easy to judge intentions because people often proclaim noble intentions while doing things that aren't so good. I am glad if you weren't trying to perpetuate stereotypes of Africans and I am led to believe that that's true because you recognize that Africa is culturally very heterogeneous, a point which many fail to appreciate. So given that, I'll end it there and stop my nagging.

Yes, well... I really wasn't attempting to "put down" Africans or Africa as a whole. Maybe my post came off wrong. I sometimes have a habit of sounding harsher than I intend. If that was the case, then I apologize. As I said, that wasn't the intention.

My fiancee has been slowly changing me for the better. I used to be the classic "bull in a china shop." Thanks to her, I actually do sometimes stop and think about how I might sound to others. I have a long way to go yet, but I'm progressing.