Accepting everyone might be worth a try

Editorial Department • Published 11 Feb 2010 09:45 17 Comments

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Dear Sir, - Last June rang in the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, an event which voiced an important, albeit aggressive message for the gay community in New York City.

Homosexuals had been treated like subhumans, abused and criminalised en masse and they weren't prepared to take such degradation anymore. Unfortunately, reading last week's news, that image of idealism and liberation was a bit tattered. Staring at a photograph of a picket sign reading "Marriage = One Man + One Woman" made me feel like I was viewing a mild Westboro Baptist picket. To argue that Susan and Francis Whites' peaceful protest was a disgrace is extremely unfair, after all everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but with that logic, an opposing view should see the light of day. However, it's important to look not at the social implications, if any, of two gay wedding planners attending a wedding fair, but at the wider argument.

People should be allowed to maintain their opinions on gay issues, but if these views are negative they should be held with dignity and forced down the throats of Northern Ireland's gay community. After all, that is the real issue - attitudes and reactions towards homosexuality. People can be opposed to anything and still be graceful about it; I'm opposed to eating onions, but I don't picket restaurants that serve them to me.

Of course, that light-hearted attitude won't get me very far, so let me be a bit more serious and supply some statistics. According to JEDI NI, a quarter of young LGBTs under 25 in Northern Ireland have attempted suicide, nearly two thirds have considered suicide and 30 per cent self-harm.

You can take these statistics and try to explain why they are so high but I think have the reason. LGBTs in Northern Ireland are massive targets for abuse, particularly young LGBTs, and so they feel rejected and alienated, being marginalised and feeling as though they aren't good enough results in such tragedies as these statistics. I, myself, have a lot of gay and bisexual friends who have been ridiculed and even physically attacked for being open about who they are.

I would love to believe that this is not a trend across all of Northern Ireland, but a study of bigotry in the West by Professor Vani Borooah of the University of Ulster and Professor John Mangan of Queensland suggests otherwise. Their study showed that Northern Ireland, along with Greece, is the most bigoted place in Europe, with our high proportion of bigots being more bigoted than those of other countries. Furthermore, this study found that homosexuals were the main targets of this bigotry, with 35.9 per cent of 1,000 respondents claiming that they would not want a homosexual living next door to them. Borooah and Mangan's findings also highlighted that men are more bigoted than women on average and the young more so than older generations - which might explain why I see adolescent males frequently giving gay people abuse, much more often than any other social group.

What people find so offensive about homosexuality, I'll never know, but bigotry is clearly getting us nowhere, so maybe banding together and accepting our entire community might be worth a try.

Yours faithfully,

Roisin Jackman

This letter appeared in Impartial Reporter 11 Feb 10

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Xenon
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Feb 11, 13:30
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''People should be allowed to maintain their opinions on gay issues, but if these views are negative they should be held with dignity and forced down the throats of Northern Ireland's gay community''

It is beyond me why the LGBT community feels the need to display with shameless vigour, their lust and depravity in the Belfast Gay Pride event. Such exhibitionism is not normal - elsewise we'd see Belfast Straight Pride... I'd say this was forcing the issue down the throats of the people of N. Ireland. Families especially should not have to be exposed to this depravity. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you haven't seen the pictures.

It is not intolerant nor bigoted to call sin what it is, and to call the sinner to repentance. We must love the sinner but hate the sin.

I do agree that those who suffer from this problem must not be unjustly discriminated against, abused, or bullied, but we can't condone this behaviour. We must show them a different way to live.

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Roisin Jackman
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Feb 11, 20:59
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Homosexuals are as depraved as individuals who shave the ends of their beards, according to Leviticus, but it seems the religious arguments against homosexuality seem to be people picking their battles.

The 'depravity' as you call it during Gay Pride is nothing worse than what you see on teenagers' late nights out in pubs, bars or elsewhere. The Gay Pride festival is a bit risque, yes, but not to an intolerable amount, and I feel that a previously (and evidently, still) oppressed social group deserve to have one day of the year to show their pride. I doubt anyone would be opposed to a Straight Pride day anyway, but it wouldn't happen because heterosexuality has always been considered the norm, straight people have never been seen as deviant or oppressed.

Loving the sinner and hating the sin is a concept I never quite grasped, because your opinion on them has to be about both. Like I said, if you degrade a part of their way of life, you're rejecting them either way.

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Xenon
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Feb 11, 21:32
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The Holy Scriptures and Tradition have condemned homosexual acts from the beginning:

http://www.scripturecatholic.com/homosexuality.html

Let me refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

___

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,140 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."141 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

___

Homosexual acts are against the Natural Law. They harm greatly the temporal and eternal welfare of the individual, and they harm society. Those who suffer from this problem are called to chastity.

Catholic Answers explains the Catholic Church teaching on this matter:

http://www.catholic.com/library/Homosexuality.asp

It behoves us all to become fully aware of the issue at hand and also the Church teaching.

The Church desires that all would be saved and it is out of genuine love for all mankind that the Truth about the human person is proclaimed. The decision to opt for a homosexual lifestyle is not one that serves any good for persons or society.

The homosexual sin is rooted in narcissism, and this page will explain why:

http://www.chastitysf.com/q_nice.htm

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Pepper
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Feb 11, 21:34
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I just think you're excessively opinionated for no apparent reason.

Sectarianism is as visible as it was twenty years prehaps more. And in my humble opinion, it is a more important topic to refer to than gay rights.

However, we shall address this letter.

As a gay in Enniskillen, I've suffered the reactions to the 'coming out' process. And unless you've experienced it yourself, you cannot begin to comprehend the turmoil it causes, regardless of any accounts that have been given to you.

Accepting the entire community will NEVER happen, you and I and other readers will know this. I commend you for taking a stance, but to actually make the change, you're going to have to do something more.

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Roisin Jackman
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Feb 11, 21:38
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Again, Leviticus also says you can't shave your beard, but you seem to be picking your battle.

No evidence has confirmed that homosexuality in any way acts in a detrimental way to society, and I don't believe that simply because websites by religious individuals and 'sacred' texts say that something is corrupt or detrimental, said act actually is.

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Xenon
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Feb 11, 21:55
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Pepper: I have great sympathy with you.

The Christians, Catholics in particular, have been demonised for their homophobia etc... No doubt, there have been people, who profess to be hristians, who have acted shamefully towards other persons, who happen to have SSA.

However, I can assure anyone who proclaims to be 'gay', that there is so much more to a person than some attraction. We are not defined by our attractions.

The whole homosexual agenda, however, and it has been successful in our society, is based on many lies.

Genuine Christians have no desire to demonise individuals. We do however speak out when governments or other agencies seek to harm the common good.

For anyone concerned, two good websites can be mentioned here:

http://www.narth.com/index.html

and

http://couragerc.net/

Charity without Truth is useless. Truth without Charity is destructive. We must therefore present the truth about homosexuality in charity and truth.

God loves us as we are, yes, but he loves us too much to leave us where we are!

May God bless you all.

PS Roisin: I'm guessing you didn't read those links I gave you.

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Roisin Jackman
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Feb 11, 22:01
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Xenon: I have read the links, but I see nothing in them that I believe or agree with.

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Xenon
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Feb 11, 22:07
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Then read the other links I gave Pepper! Narth in particular, which addresses the issues from a scientific aspect. That should keep you occupied for at least a week. There is a lot of stuff there. =p

I'd just finally ask that

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Xenon
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Feb 11, 22:09
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sorry, my post got posted before I was ready...

I'd just finally ask that folks don't assume automatically that dissenting voices against the gay lobby are automatically bigots and haters. Entertain the notion that just maybe, we have everybody's best interests at heart!

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******
Feb 11, 22:18
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Roisin Jackman
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Feb 11, 22:18
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Although I disagree that it's about everyone's best interests, I can understand that people believe that they are trying to act in the best interests of people.

But I have to stress that in that article, I'm not saying everyone who is anti-homosexuality or homophobic are bigots or haters, I just feel that those who disapprove should be dignified about their opinions, instead of the attacks and abuse put onto our gay community.

(Plus there is a typo in there, I meannt *not forced down the throats of the gay community).

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******
Feb 11, 22:25
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Xenon
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Feb 11, 22:30
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Roisin,

I thought as much when I read the letter in the paper.

Well anyway, I do agree: we must be loving and charitable. I think bullying of people does great harm, and in my view, actually leads to the development of SSA. I believe NARTH addresses this on their website. By ostracising a (guy) who is more sensitive and perhaps less masculine than others, the peers actually contribute to the persons emotional problems which manifest themselves in SSA, which is really a yearning for masculine afirmation which they were denied, which has now become sexualised. This is not surprising, given male sexuality and what we know about it. It isn't, incidentally, quack theory either. There is much support for the theory of SSA genesis which I have proposed.

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******
Feb 11, 22:34
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******
Feb 11, 22:39
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******
Feb 11, 22:45
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Pauline
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Feb 11, 22:53
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With reading these comments,you just don't understand true Christianity at all.Miss or Mrs.Jackman has portrayed the protesters as bigots,yet all they did was uphold the definition of Biblical marriage and were threatened with arrest for so doing.Please ponder this passage of Scripture which clearly shows that all are sinners:"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,who hold the truth in unrighteousness..."Romans 1:18.

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******
Feb 11, 23:07
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Pepper
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Feb 11, 23:52
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Personally, I find Ms. Jackman to be oppressing the right to an opinion for their opinion. I understand you wrote this in good faith, and I'll give you that it is very wel written. I just believe that you should accept that it was the whites' opinion and it is just as valid as yours is. And I dont believe you'd like to be threatened with arrest for expressing your opinion as they were.

Yes, the time and place was wrong, but surely it was better there than at Gay pride in August, yes?

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Roisin Jackman
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Feb 12, 00:10
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Sorry, I'm confused. At what point did I target the Whites and oppress their opinion? I recall saying I felt they were entitled to their opinion, despite being a bit disappointed in it. I don't like that people were so critical of the Whites, what I didn't agree with was the idea that statistics that I found alarming weren't being brought to the platform as quickly as consistently recited religious passages.

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Xenon
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Feb 12, 00:40
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Roisin,

Have you considered that the destructive and futile consequences of deciding to act on gay attractions give rise to despair?

We have been brainwashed to accept that homosexuality is normal and life-giving. The reality is the exact opposite.

When a person decides to act on their disordered attractions, they are, in effect, deciding to live a lie. It's difficult to convey just why this is so on a newspaper comment forum, which is why I refer you to the wealth of material on the NARTH website.

The issue of SSA is essentially one of neurotic self-pity. Emotional instability is par for the course. Unfortunately, the 'professional' psychological/psychiatric has acquiesced to the secular outlook (which ignores any idea of God or sin). This is why, under homosexual lobbying, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The reason was idealogical, not scientific.

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Pauline
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Feb 12, 11:23
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Miss/Mrs.Jackman(not Ms.)links (in peoples' minds)the Whites' peaceful witness with the protests of the extremist group,Westboro Baptist Church.This is an outrage and,in so doing,she has done the Whites great harm and a real disservice.Regarding her statistics,well they can be made to say anything a person wants them to say.Regarding the "inoffensive"nature of homosexual practice,it is a fact that STD's(including AIDS)which used to be called GRIDS(Gay Related Immunodeficiency Syndrome),is rampant in the "gay" community.So much for Roisin's "wisdom".The Bible states"for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God."1 Corinthians ch.3:19.

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Xenon
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Feb 12, 15:51
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Homosexuality is a form of idolatry, as well as a perversion of nature. It is very offensive to Almighty God and a person who opts for this lifestyle is making a grave mistake. Whilst the desires themselves may not have been consciously chosen, the decision to opt for a gay-lifestyle IS a choice, one that can be resisted. Far better for a person to take up their cross and follow Christ into everlasting life. I advise anyone struggling with this problem to visit www.chastitysf.com as well as the links I provided above.

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