|
|
|
 |
Donate Here By Secure Server
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Posted on 04/13/2003 7:57:06 AM PDT by fhardesian
The Gordian knot of arguing with politically correct or leftist members of the populace is that they immediately insult you personally as a method of rejoinder. These people, that you have often just recently met, begin at once to analyze what your "real" motivations are in disagreeing with them. No, you can never simply disagree with them. Your disagreement must be due to one of the dark forces that they regard as terrorizing the earth (and thereby interfering with their favorite hobby of social engineering). They're response will be to immediately call you one of the following: a homophobe, a racist, a sexist or an elitist.
Well, I always grant out elitist because I avoid the television and spend my time reading and writing which makes me better than many of those who lead the lives of donkeys. So when called that particular name I grant it out and say "I'm elitist and proud." The other aspersions on my character I do not grant out and argue vociferously over. For the purposes of this essay I'd like to address only one of them which is the first name I mentioned of "homophobe."
Homophobe comes from the word homophobia which is defined by Websters 10th Edition as being "irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals." The word was derived in 1969 according to this source.
My first argument is to note that "homo" in Latin means human being. Specifically, the same source notes that Homo, is any of a genus of primates that includes modern humans. The use of homo as a prefix before "phobia" is very disingenuous to begin with. What homophobia really means is fear of humans. This is an immediate indication that whoever thought up such a bogus use of the term is highly uneducated and such a misuse of language was only allowed because homosexuals are a politically and socially privileged minority in America and people were afraid to question them then and still are today.
My second argument concerns the authorship of the term. No name is given and I've never heard anybody's name mentioned before as being the "father, mother, or androgynous creator" of the word. If we're going to evaluate whether a theory has any merit it is helpful to know something about the person who espouses it and we know nothing about them in this case.
A third argument is that 1969 was a time of sweeping social change and disruption in America and the damage the sixties has done to the United States is not something from which we will ever likely recover. Did the spurious concept of "homophobia" only get swept into our society due to its riding along with all the other excrement that embodied the sixties counter-culture? We should know the answer to this question before we accept the usage of the term "homophobia" ever again.
We should also note that "homophobia" is described as "aversion to" homosexuals. I've seen in other dictionaries that "fear of" is nowadays left out and is replaced with "aversion to" exclusively. This is very troubling as the word "phobia" is usually defined principally as an "exaggerated fear." Let's examine the qualities of an "exaggerated fear." The position of those who call people like me a "homophobe" is that I am afraid of them. This belief is patently ridiculous. I've lived among homosexuals, worked with them and know a couple of them socially and have no fear of them whatsoever. Oftentimes I disagree with them about particular policy issues and that's when I usually get labeled a "homophobe."
What's next? I disagree with the United Center over their five-dollar beer charge and get labeled a United Centeraphobe? When I disagree with socialist management of the economy do I get labeled a socialistaphobe? When I disagree with women chopping all their hair off as an enhancement to their appearance do I get maligned as a short-hairaphobe? It's all preposterous as disagreement with others does not automatically mean that you fear them.
If a person makes even a mild joke about homosexuals like: "Why don't you like homosexuals? Are you afraid one of them is going to break into your house and redecorate while you're gone?" you might get labeled a homophobe. The position is that when you laugh at them it must be due to your secretly harboring fears of them. This is another house made of sand and it quickly blows away after a few well-placed counter-examples are put forth.
I am far from a man of steel and like the rest of us, I have fears that I have to cope with everyday. Perhaps sharks are my biggest fear in life. I am not a person who'd go diving off the Great Barrier Reef as I've seen one too many "Shark Week" documentaries and can easily imagine what may happen to me if I did. However, I cannot recall one time in my life that I ever made a joke about Great White Sharks. Things like "Knock, knock who's there? Great White Shark" are not funny. As a matter of fact I don't find anything funny at all about sharks and cannot see me appreciating humor in anything involving them. To think that people make jokes about real-life phobias is outrageous and nobody should let an accusation like this go by without vigorous refutation.
"Homophobia" is a term of gay empowerment and has nothing to do with fact or the human psyche. We know this from another way in which it is used. Activists wield the term like a battle ax to discredit those who dislike their gay agenda. They try to argue that the people who oppose them are really attacking their own hidden homosexuality. This bit of sophistry is pernicious character assassination and may occasionally shut up the people who run athwart them but it should not. We know that this reasoning is false from the example of pedophilia. How many of us strongly dislike pedophiles? I'd wager every person reading this. How many of us do so as a way to attack our own inner pedophile? Not one of us I'd wager again. It is perfectly natural and healthy to despise people who corrupt and violate children. To think that our doing so is out of the fear that we may be one of them is juvenile and sick. Isn't it time we stood up to these people?
The last refutation is that by disagreeing with the gays we somehow hate them. I know I speak for many of our readers when I say that I don't hate anybody. Gays are no exception to this rule although the more virulent subgroup known as "gay activists" I do admit to strongly disliking. Any time you question anything that one of them says they come back saying that you hate them. Where does such a sophomoric concept come from? It comes from a desire to silence all dissent. The last thing they want is for you to argue with them. They want their heretical anti-gospel to be swallowed in entirety and you debating or asking questions interferes with their black crusade.
Mainstream America is not full of haters. Our nation is the most free and tolerant society on earth and it is one to which we, gays included, owe a great deal. We tolerate everybody regardless of sexual orientation but that doesn't mean gays have the right to define us out of the debate with their hysterical accusations about our "hidden motivations." Again, I write for many when I say, we don't hate you but we hate the way you misrepresent our views. I wish people who used the term homophobia would stop the fireworks and fabrications, it'll be good for the entire social fabric.
What's to be done? Well, perhaps the best refutation of all might be to corrupt one of their slogans and chant back at the person who calls you a homophobe that he's "right, he's gay, he's spreading lies today."
To comment on this article or express your opinion directly to the author, you are invited to e-mail Bernard at bchapafl@hotmail.com .
NOTICE TO WRITERS: To obtain required information prior to submitting your essay to Toogood Reports for publication send for “Commentary Submissions” guidelines. Nonconforming submissions will not be considered for publication.
April 3, 2003
RECENT COLUMNS:
04/02/03: "White Guilt?" — Go To Blazes! 03/26/03: The Democrats: Streisander Party USA 03/25/03: Smear And Whining In Chicago: Protesters Unleashed 03/24/03: The Gay Attack On Fatherhood 03/19/03: Farewell Gayborhood! 03/13/03: Self-Righteous Leftists (SRL) Confront The Reality Of PC Educational Racism 03/12/03: Sex In The Zeros: "Greetings From Stalingrad" 03/06/03: G-d And Obligation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Toogood Reports contributor and "Best of the Web" award-winning writer Bernard Chapin is a school psychologist and adjunct university faculty member in Chicago. He ardently believes in the old Santayana quote 'The best men in all ages keep classic traditions alive.' His main goal is to document the greatness that is Western Civilization. He is the author of the novel NAPALM is the Scent of Justice. Bernard is working on another novel at present. His E-mail is bchapafl@hotmail.com if you'd like to contact him.
Stupid White Men ...and ... Michael Moore What Should I Do with My... Po Bronson
[ Front Page News | Page Two Links | Book Shoppe | Link To Us ]
Copyright 1999 - 2003 by Toogood Reports. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
|
Donate Here By Secure Server
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
| Homosexual Agenda Index |
| Homosexual Agenda Keyword Search |
| All FreeRepublic Bump Lists |
And welcome to FR
The author is quite correct, however, that homophobia is a nonsense term coined by political activists in the 70s.
My first argument is to note that "homo" in Latin means human being.Sheesh. You would think SOMEONE would have done a bit of fact checking on that claim. Come on! homo- is Greek, meaning 'like' or 'same'. If the prefix means "human being", what the HELL is in homogenized milk?!
Just another case to bolster the position that Latin and Greek should be required for a HS diploma. What happened to the good ol' days? My kids will certainly be studying both...
LOL..........that's a true "LOL" there, for me!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.