Right wing conservatives are evil? Well, I have evidence that they are.

chris procelain writes, or perhaps I should say he repeats the claim:

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Our ability to reason is the only thing that separates us.

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Not exactly. I think scraf already mentioned that some animals can reason, and she's correct. What truly separates humans from lower animals is a capacity for complex abstract thought and reason. The word 'complex' is important here because I believe there is some evidence for simple abstract thought on the part of some apes and dolphin. If I'm wrong, then someone with more knowledge in this area can correct me.ADDED IN EDIT: Was it from Steel Magnolias that we got the delightful line that runs something like "what separates us from the lower animals is our ability to accessorize"?This message has been edited by berberry, 04-02-2005 06:12 PM

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prophex writes:

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Nope, through society's impact on me, and mainly a natural feeling about it, I sort of realized that I like girls.

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So can you understand that homosexuality is not a choice? You didn't choose heterosexuality, you just found that you were in fact heterosexual. Same with me, I never made a choice. This is just who I am. I am not attracted to girls, just as you are not attracted to boys. You wouldn't be able to "choose" homosexuality because it isn't you. Likewise, I would never be able to "choose" heterosexuality because it isn't me.

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Phatboy writes:

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It was an awkward moment and I felt sorry for him, but I chose not to be gay at that point.

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If that's the absolute truth, then you are indeed bisexual. If you are able to "choose", then you are not quite the same thing as the typical gay or straight. We can't choose. No matter how I as a gay man might find a woman attractive, I am not sexually aroused by her and I cannot perform with her unless I close my eyes and dream I'm with a man (as it happens, I haven't done that since high school). I think most straight men would have the same difficulty with other men, thus they don't "choose" to be straight. They just are.

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I suppose that Berberry and Troy might say that I am a bigot, but really I don't see it that way. I am just being me.

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This must be a reference to the gay marriage debate. I think your attitude that the government should deny the same marital protections to gays that they provide to straights is a bigoted attitude, but at least since I've come to know you a bit better I can see that you're mind is still open, so there's still hope. Thus I might say that you have some bigoted opinions but I wouldn't say that you are a bigot.

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You guys all know..(hopefully) that my favorite guy in the world is Jesus.

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Yes I do know that. You, jar and a few others have a much more appealing view of God and Jesus than do many of the creos here, and I'd like to take the opportunity to say that I mean no offense to you when I rail against the beastly god that some people here seem to worship.

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Phatboy writes me:

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I've never had a sexual relationship with a man (and too few with women!) so I can't relate.

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You don't have to have a sexual relationship in order to tell. Rrhain was exceedingly crude in the way he put it, but his line of questioning was useful. If there is a certain type of man that you are attracted to and feel that you could perform with, AND if there is a type of woman that you also feel the same sort of attraction for and feel that you could perform with, then you are clearly bisexual.Social attraction and sexual attraction are not the same thing. If you aren't clear on which is which, and you are indeed attracted to both men and women, then you are a bisexual. You are one of those rare individuals who does indeed get to choose.

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Phatboy you should add some sort of notice when you edit a message in any substantive way. This post was originally much different. As it happens, your first draft of this message was much better. It was brief and to the point. This one wanders and doesn't have the same bite.

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Phatboy writes me:

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As for you berberry, it is annoying to have you psychoanalyse me.

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That wasn't my intention. But as long as bisexuality is a possibility, then the possibility that you are one who indeed gets to make a choice has to be mentioned.The standard argument I use against people who think that homosexuality is a choice wouldn't work if the person I was arguing with was bisexual precisely because those people really do get to make a choice. That was the only thing I was driving at. I didn't mean to get too personal.ADDED IN EDIT: Forgot about this line:

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He suffered EVERY affliction common to all people

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I object to the notion that homosexuality is an affliction. I hope that's not really what you meant.This message has been edited by berberry, 04-03-2005 01:57 AM

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