I am still considering whether stating "I'm not gay" is a negative comment when stated by someone straight. When I say, "I'm not married" I'm not implying that I think being married is a negative thing (or am I ). Not that anyone cares to ask me, but if they did, I would answer, "I'm straight" So, I can see why the opposite may ring as approaching the question from the negative side...
Thanks silk, I agree, I really liked your consideration of whether "I'm not gay" was negative, I was thinking along those lines also. I take that thought even further though. I'm not a woman, so if I say so is that sexist? Some may think this is a silly comparison, but what if I told you that I was once accused of being sexist because I used the word "human" because it has the word "man" in it. Ludicrous? I thought so, but it did make me think about the nature of thought when combined with attitude, and how lots of different people can see the same evidence and come up with completely different conclusions.
For those of you with strong protective ideas about sexual orientation, bless you. You are the people that I hold in the highest regard. You want to protect those that for a very long time were used as scapegoats for a world that thought being gay was a weakness. For most of my life I believed them, because I didn't know better, but more and more I see being gay as my greatest attribute. There are many native cultures where gays are considered holy, having a special and unique connection with Spirit that straights can never have or relate to. Did you know that that was the case with the Native American culture? It's true. It is only the western European culture that corrupted this knowledge and turned being gay into something "unnatural". Unfortunately fear and greed are powerful motivators to destroy what is not understood, and understandably there is anger and even hatred that result from such oppression.
But to be angry and to find fault makes us just as much a victim. There are times when this is appropriate, but there are times when all we are doing is seeing something that is only there because we want it to be there (like "man" in "human"), and we are just playing our own part in spreading the disease of negative thoughts. If Oprah was here and was reading this, seeing us twist "I'm not gay" into a statement that she is against gays, I'm sure she would be hurt by it. You can have any belief about someone that you want from the President to the Pope, and with that belief in place, you will see the evidence that will confirm your belief. Does Oprah's support for Crash over BBM also confirm your belief that she's against gays? Or does it say that she is strongly against racial tolerance? I am not trying to change your opinion of Oprah, you will see the person you believe she is, my point is that you chose this perspective and you own it. I don't think Oprah is either positive or negative for saying she is not gay, regardless of whether she is or not.
I've always wondered what the world would be like if everyone told the "naked" truth. Where people say they're not gay because they're not gay and no one cares if they are or aren't. Where politicians say we're not going to give you a tax break because we'd rather give it to ourselves, or that we're invading a country because there are political and commercial advantages in doing so. The words "democracy" and "freedom" have become depressingly distasteful to me, they are lies that only those that are on the side of might see as truth.
I don't want to play this game any more. I don't want to believe something simply because it "supports my cause", and I don't think that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The friends that I call out for are the ones that choose neither to lash out, nor to lash out at those that would lash out. Some may see this post as a challenge to them. That's ok, it's not my intention, but maybe it's "right" that they're challenged. I hope this gives them something to think about.
I am trying, to the best of my limited human abilities, to turn away from all criticisms or concerns over what others may say or do, but I admit that I have chosen a difficult road to tread, and it seems so incredibly difficult to not fall from the path, or from grace.
