tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post3541197856128196272..comments2019-03-16T22:13:26.796-07:00Comments on Witter...: The closet homophobeSteve Lawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-32118253840418042892014-06-13T11:48:25.734-07:002014-06-13T11:48:25.734-07:00This conversation still jangles in my brain - what...This conversation still jangles in my brain - what is it? - over two years on. I don't have much to add except to the point about protesting too much. First up of course it's always irritating when someone (even a good friend) tells you they know you better than you do yourself, especially when you know they're wrong. The more you disagree the more guilty you look. But also there'Steve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-78854543640348071102012-01-27T01:58:27.173-08:002012-01-27T01:58:27.173-08:00Sorry to hear there's been a problem with post...Sorry to hear there's been a problem with posting here Gentleeye - certainly no censorship on my part - I wasn't even aware anyone was trying. I wonder what's happening - and if anyone else is trying to get through (sounds like we're having a seance doesn't it?)<br />I do agree about the 'identity' thing - and it in a way unites what Vincent says about Taboo (some deepSteve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-55928892780724618422012-01-25T07:49:21.100-08:002012-01-25T07:49:21.100-08:00Gentleeye has been trying to post her comment here...Gentleeye has been trying to post her comment here, but it kept being rejected, so she asked me to have a go!<br /><br />Gentleeye said:<br /><br />"Vincent, Bryan and Paul are not the only people reading this blog. Evidently.<br /><br />I suspect that a lot of the discomfort around sex and sexuality is due to the ideas generated (unconsciously) by those big brains about the importance of Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-56413891046416229732012-01-25T02:09:43.833-08:002012-01-25T02:09:43.833-08:00A few closing thoughts.
This seems to have been a ...A few closing thoughts.<br />This seems to have been a hard one on (almost) all of us, though for conflicting reasons.<br />One (straight) friend tells me the original posting 'comes over as anti-gay'. I'm sorry if that's the case. It was supposed to come over as anti the kinds of phobias (or perhaps 'hang-ups' is a better word) that many of us share but can't Steve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-87831460736551005042012-01-21T01:00:05.858-08:002012-01-21T01:00:05.858-08:00And here we have a bunch of morons in Derby distri...And here we have a bunch of morons in Derby distributing leaflets proclaiming death to homosexuals (and yet not, inexplicably, to usurers.)<br />No matter that usury could be argued to have plunged half the world into economic crisis where being gay has done terrible damage to the world by... erm... <br />But usury is not 'taboo' so that's ok.Steve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-47011458746888874982012-01-20T04:59:07.989-08:002012-01-20T04:59:07.989-08:00And I'd be happy to keep it private (or at lea...And I'd be happy to keep it private (or at least, purely personal) too - if it wasn't for Santorum and his ilkSteve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-27386365214514864652012-01-20T04:51:26.027-08:002012-01-20T04:51:26.027-08:00Nice. I could talk about my homosexual experiences...Nice. I could talk about my homosexual experiences, or more truthfully near-experiences, too. But I shall remain faithful to my main point: that these are things best kept private. Which applies also to the male-female kind.<br /><br />Vincent (though I said I would shut up!)Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-18900514634515290842012-01-20T04:37:55.574-08:002012-01-20T04:37:55.574-08:00A friend has sent some interesting responses by em...A friend has sent some interesting responses by email but doesn’t want to comment here. He says I can quote him though.<br /><br />Firstly, I was hoping someone would say this:-<br />“I read your gay rant and just thought.... Bless, this guy is protesting too much!”<br />To which I said (jovially)<br />“I have to admit I had my doubts about you too” (We’ve known each other for a while now)<br />Steve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-2146265654942986972012-01-20T03:44:41.098-08:002012-01-20T03:44:41.098-08:00No, of course taboo is not the same as bigotry, bu...No, of course taboo is not the same as bigotry, but here the one (the anthropological term) is being used to lend bigotry respectability.<br /><br />Being partisan is not bigotry either. Your argument could be used against any expression of strong opinions. <br /><br />"Not everyone agrees that those two things are equivalent" and "some will label(this)a kind of bigotry in itself&Steve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-60007304329257192382012-01-20T03:06:11.636-08:002012-01-20T03:06:11.636-08:00No decent person tolerates violence and oppression...No decent person tolerates violence and oppression. Let’s not waste one another’s time on the obvious.<br /><br />Taboo is not the same as bigotry.<br /><br />Your last sentence makes an equivalence between two things. Not everyone agrees that those two things are equivalent. My plea was for acceptance and tolerance of those who cannot see those things as equivalent. <br /><br />Saying they are Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-34969964173892087392012-01-20T01:58:34.759-08:002012-01-20T01:58:34.759-08:00There's a lot to respond to here Vincent but t...There's a lot to respond to here Vincent but to your essential point I'd have to say I strongly disagree - I don't think you can equate tolerance of homosexuality with tolerance of oppression of homosexuals, any more than you can equate tolerance of Judaism with tolerance of fascism. The former lead to individual acts that hurt no one else, the latter to violence and horror. <br />Steve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-11208467767102728982012-01-20T01:35:00.781-08:002012-01-20T01:35:00.781-08:00I like your thoughtful and honest approach here, S...I like your thoughtful and honest approach here, Steve. I found it a helpful step towards clarifying my own ideas on the topic of different attitudes to homosexual behaviour. (I could tell my own tales but they would not add anything to the discussion.)<br /><br />I see three different levels, each with its own complexities:<br /><br />(a) what goes on, i.e. billions of instances of behaviour, Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-22978149628409503052012-01-20T01:16:33.433-08:002012-01-20T01:16:33.433-08:00Hi Bryan - yes - it feels a bit risky, but then no...Hi Bryan - yes - it feels a bit risky, but then no one but you, me, Paul and Vincent ever seem to read this blog so I don't feel all that courageous. <br />I've re-jigged the last bit anyway so it doesn't read quite so much like my feelings toward gays are 'fear and disgust', which I must emphasise they are not. (God it's a mine-field isn't it.)Steve Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939837731535127700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364957201792783158.post-43060678012105157772012-01-19T12:10:01.285-08:002012-01-19T12:10:01.285-08:00I read this yesterday, and it threw me for a loop....I read this yesterday, and it threw me for a loop. I wasn't sure <i>what</i> to say. I could say that it was "brave", but calling such openness and honesty "brave" speaks to the very issue you're addressing here and the hang-ups we all have about these kind of thoughts and curiosities that are probably far more common than any of us would care to admit.Bryan Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607046468663026271noreply@blogger.com