I do not like
homosexuality
My aversion towards the subject matter is, in fact, more
of a gut reaction, one that I have typically left unquestioned
July 26, 2005
iranian.com
My name is Aras
Shahzadeh. I do not know if
this article is appropriate for your site. Here's my bio:
Aras Shahzadeh is a film director, Psychology graduate from Harvard
University, and one proud athlete. His father
is a retired neurosurgeon, and his mother, who passed away at age
47 from cancer, was a basketball coach. He likes chocolate milk,
Pepsi, pizza, The Simpsons, martial arts, and his AMG Mercedes
SLK. He hates indolence, politicians, war, violence, and disease
specially fucking cancer. God bless! Zende baad Iran! Introduction
It is perhaps unwise to be frank and straight
to the point, in my first internet publication, and with a topic
like this. The
title is innocent enough, an entitled opinion, but the implications
about this author, merciless. A bigot and dogmatic essayist, one
assumes, perhaps homophobic and conservatively religious also.
Either a senior or a juvenile, a shrinking brain or one yet to
develop.
Yet I choose to voice my view lest I sacrifice honesty and curiosity
for political correctness and stupidity. Even in certain intellectual
circles, it is apparently less controversial to support the Iraq
invasion or to turn away from African hunger, than to appear a
bigot. Still I persist.
My aversion towards the subject matter is, in fact, more of a
gut reaction, one that I have typically left unquestioned. Sexual
relations between an adult and a minor or an animal are no less
nauseating to me, as are certain Chinese dishes and one Afghani
delicacy. Were my gut endowed with a mass of nerve tissue, akin
to my brain, I could perhaps explain my dislike for barbequed rabbit
also, to the wide-eyed camp companions one unforgettable summer
eve.
Hence, instead of abortive attempts at alleviating these intense
feelings, I have attempted to justify them. Let me use logic. There
are plenty of issues surrounding homosexuality that I simply fail
to comprehend which may have exacerbated this knee-jerk reaction.
Disease
Homosexuality spreads disease, specially sexual
illnesses. I befriended an AIDS sufferer years ago, the victim of
a ghastly
disease, reminding me that scary aliens in the sugar-coated Hollywood
movies are far less brutal than the microscopic terror network
of viruses and bacteria. Like Bush's army, AIDS broke down
the defenses of her body, a country without soldiers, and opened
the way for insurgent and opportunistic diseases, to destroy her
frail body from within. She caught the disease from her closet-homo
husband.
Danger
Homosexuals also live a dangerous life. It is a life of promiscuity,
drugs, and violence. Not every gay man is a Will Truman, a lovable
neat-freak attorney, healthy and wealthy, confidant to an attractive
female friend, and symbolizing all the goodness in character many
aspire to. Will & Grace portrays reality as much as The O.C.
The real lifestyles of homosexuals, as portrayed in some documentaries,
are far less cheerful than their yearly circus-like parades.
Some may claim that none of these defects, such as promiscuity,
are inherent to this sexual orientation, but are correlates of
any similar secret lifestyle and unstable society. Once homosexual
marriage becomes legalized and more acceptable, generating more
freedom and the resultant responsibility, those deleterious activities
are bound to abate. Time will tell. In the meantime, the cost of
disease and death is unforgiving.
Religion
For those amongst the several billion followers of major organized
religions, the answer is beyond dispute, except for the rebellious
youngsters, whose youthful stamina defies the enforced spiritual
values, and invites a death match against Satan in the fires of
Hell.
Animals
Although 2-3% of population are gay, a greater percentage of
animals prefer the same sex. In reality, the majority of these
animals are bisexual rather than strictly homosexual. Nevertheless,
some have argued that the presence of gay animals indicates that
homosexuality is "OK." Interestingly, some animals urinate
to mark their territory though I would prefer if my neighbors used
fences instead.
Evolution
Why is the "gay gene" still around? How is the gene
passed to future generations? Maybe some homosexuals have wedded
the opposite sex, for fear of facing public bigotry, and have produced
children with a dash of Will-&-Grace-gene. Or maybe the gene
performs essential functions, with help of other genes, and homosexuality
is merely its "side-effect." Or perhaps evolution takes
longer to work. One thing is undisputable though: evolution does
not favor childless couples, be it homos or impotent heteros.
Aberration
If attraction to the same sex is acceptable, then why not attraction
to one's offspring, a loyal dog, a pretty minor, or a pair
of silver high heels? When does the deviant become the perverted?
Who decides this? Is it politics of the time, or scientific studies?
Is science value-free? Even though my skin color deviates from
the white majority, I appreciate being accepted as normal. On the
other hand, it is the deviant nature of a model's skinniness
that may land her a multi-million dollar deal.
Optional?
Some studies indicate that homosexuality is not optional. In
that case, one must attempt to teach safe sexual practices, discourage
secrecy, and demand more responsibility. If it is not optional
or at least not in some, if it is a brain disease or hormonal imbalance,
the cause must be identified.
People with social anxiety, low self-confidence, sexual inexperience,
or youthful confusion specially that of puberty, may prefer to
believe themselves gay than to face rejections from the opposite
sex. Those in prison, even some students in all-boys schools in
Iran may have pseudohomosexual attraction towards the same sex.
Acceptance
Overemphasis on political correctness and unquestioning tolerance
of gay orientation, forces hasty acceptance and precludes open
discussion and a true understanding of the nature of homosexuality.
To accept homosexuality blindly, just for the sake of being tolerant,
is akin to teaching boys and girls using the same method, ignoring
boys' preference for the visual and girls' for the
verbal, lest you be labeled sexist.
Blind tolerance, like blind patriotism, is dangerous. Even though
I love my country, I would prefer a reflective and reasoned dislike
for Iran than a superficial "Zende baad Iran." Those
who flaunt their undiscriminating tolerance in the hopes of obtaining
a pass to erudite circles, are sadly mistaken. There is no positive
in token tolerance and no minus in reasoned intolerance.
Conclusion
My aversion to homosexuality is primarily instinctive and merely
my humble opinion, but the questions raised, universal. It is the
boundary of normal and aberrant, of healthy and diseased, of rights
and responsibilities, of bigotry and inquisitiveness, of tradition
and law, and of science and politics. These are questions with
more than one answer. What is yours?
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