All right fellow piglets. Today we are going to discuss Gay Marriage! This subject has lately been getting a lot of press because of Chick-fil-a’s totally unbigoted anti-gay statements. *rolls-eyes* At this point it is hard to remember what started all this but here is a short summary I was able to unearth under a pile of articles and mud.
Personally this is my favorite response so far, being the geek I am:
But what is really funny is that a fried-chicken shack feels the need to voice a public opinion about gay marriage at all! I mean, will Taco Bell come out next saying that they are anti-pot? Or McDonald’s voice support for birth control? Why does a fast food establishment even need to proclaim religious beliefs?
It becomes even more insane when you consider the source these conservatives keep quoting for their homophobic propaganda: The Bible. The specific quote in Leviticus often used as the reasoning for the “don’t ask don’t tell but do block rights” policy is oft confused.
So, first off, lesbians are totally chill but gay men are not. I once asked this of a local priest and he said that “women are implied, just like women are implied in our constitution to be created equal.” [When I then asked why women can't be priests if we are equal he said something about "women and men are equal on Earth but only men can represent the body of God." Thus continued my descent into atheism.] But personal digressions aside, I do think it is notable that most gay bashing is pointed towards men in love with other men. I attribute this to the continuing dominant male stereotype in our society which prevents men from having emotions, crying, wearing most forms of clothing, and being more open sexually. For whatever reason, being angry is ok and manly, though.
Next, I think this Facebook debate actually sums up the other issues with this text. Yes, Facebook can be an instrument of good sometimes!
Indeed, why can one verse be used as a hammer against a specific group of people who make you “feel funny” but the other bits in the Bible can be easily ignored? If we truly want to be accurate about marriage based upon the Bible then there are actually several options for a biblical marriage which these same protesters would generally consider immoral:
I can go on with this subject, but my two points for the moment are:
- A fast-food restaurant has no place in religious or political discussion. I cannot speak for the future, but thankfully restaurants do not yet have political power in our government. If you are a restaurant owner and decide to place your bigoted opinions out there for people to view, do not be surprised by a backlash. Your opinions are not the only ones and your rights end where mine begin. I have the right to call you on your hate speech and I will do so. I am proud that many others have done so as well. I only wonder, how many obese Americans will really ban them and simply go to KFC instead this weekend?
- Using a single verse from an ancient document as the reasoning behind your hatred does not work when you blatantly ignore the context within which the quote was made and you cut out other sections of the same document as being irrelevant due to “further revelations”. How is it that God, who supposedly authored the text, was wrong for hundreds and thousands of years? Yet you choose to believe that suddenly decades ago God just woke up and changed his mind, basically pulling an “Oops! My bad” maneuver upon mankind. If this God is all knowing and wise then why did the rules change on other things? And why is the misconstrued “rule” still the same on this one subject?
What is positive about this whole thing is that now other companies feel compelled to step up and embrace gays, if only to keep themselves from falling into the same chicken bucket as Chick-fil-a. Now that the conversation is going on a national level, let us keep it going until true change occurs.
