Please - Some Impartial Advice Needed

Absolutely, taylor. But, like Taz says, maybe later. After all, it's only a year or so til you go to college, right?You mentioned that you might look into financial aid. DO IT. So that you will be free to do as you wish.I'm a student too. And I support myself entirely with financial aid.It will make things easier if you ask your parents to stop claiming you as a dependent on their 1040s, starting next year. You have to be "independent" (not claimed) for a year in order to qualify for federal loans on your own. (I don't mean to say that you won't get a loan unless you're an "independent" student, but the school will take your parent's financial info into account when they're figuring out how much you can borrow if you're a "dependent" student and oftentimes that means a lot less money.) You don't know that! You're no Emperor of the East Roman Empire, but you don't know that you "can't change anything".Ellen DeGeneres was a third rate comedienne who got fired from a lousy sitcom back in the 80s ... because she came out.Now look at her. And it's not just her. Television has changed (Will & Grace etc.). Movies have changed (Brokeback Mountain). All because brave souls like Ellen (like you) have made a point of being honest.And none of this "Aw shucks I'm not nobody" stuff either. You don't know what you're going to accomplish! You don't know who you will become! Don't sell yourself short.Things are changing. Albeit slowly, but still. It won't be too many years until the Supreme Court is faced with the ""gay marriage" thing. After all, the landmark 2003 Lawrence vs. Texas decision struck down state sodomy laws. Chief Justice Roberts provided free legal advice for gay plaintiffs on a groundbreaking 1996 Supreme Court case, Romer vs. Evans, which struck down a Colorado ballot initiative banning antidiscrimination laws for gays. They refused to hear that Massachusetts gay marriage case a while back, but they can't refuse forever.After the Supreme Court throws out the "Defense of Marriage Act", things will start to move a lot quicker.Take heart and take care.

Well. I dunno.I live in a bible belt state. When I went to the theater to see the movie, weeks after it had been here, the place was packed. I was stunned.And the audience was moved. You could feel it in the air. The place crackled.This, btw, is in direct contrast to the showing of The Last Temptation of Christ that I went to see in St. Louis. Not only were there protests outside the theater, there was a lynch mob vibe when the show let out.Granted that was 20 years ago, but still.And I think all the points you made about proving the fundies right could easily be made re: chick flicks too.(In the interest of full disclosure, I have a BA in Womens Studies! I was a rompin stompin lil feminist in my day.)And leading roles for women have always been, almost without exception, stereotypical. (Except for Kate Hepburn movies!) And chick flicks are the bottom of the barrel re: proving the fundies right.But, hey. It's Hollywood. Whattayagonnado?Personally, I think the whole Sundance type thing and the whole internets type thing is gonna lead to a redefinition of movies and TV. Someday. And the range of what is widely available (and sought after) will change dramatically.There was a study done recently, in the last year or so, that tried to figure out "what makes a hit movie/song/etc.". I read about it in an article about the new software that predicts "what makes a hit movie/song/etc." ... I think in the NYT Sunday magazine. They conducted an online study of groups of people who were "in touch" and discussing songs or movies or whatnot. (An iTunes/facebook/myspace type setup) And none of the different groups, tho sorted to try and make all things equal with respect to age/income/taste/etc., none of the groups came up with the same hits.Not only that, when the re jiggered the groups a bit, they couldn't even replicate the original results.They thought this might mean that a "nothing" song/movie can take off for these odd, random follow-the-leader type reasons. An early adopter jumps on board and, whoops, a hit.So. To make a very long story short, I think that a wider range of independent movies/shows/songs, plus giganto amorphous internets, equals a whole bunch of terrific stuff coming down the pipeline. And I think it's gonna move society in ways that are unpredictable (in a good way).

In the interest of even fuller disclosure, I'm bi. And I came roarin out in the 80s.And I kinda hafta go with Dan on this one.Tinky Winky's gay, March of the Penguins' gay ... the homosexual agenda knows no bounds.(That's Laurie Anderson. Tho I am a performance artist!)

Taylor, before you "check out a couple of other options", know this: there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Period. Full stop.And just so you know, my best boyfriends (since I was 14 years old) have always been gay. Jack, Denny, Greg, Clint.I have seen all four of them come out. It wasn't easy for any of them. But everything is A OK now.More than OK. Jack is out in LA, in the production end of the film business. Denny is a trained opera singer and Kristin Chenoweth's good friend and ex-room mate. I lost track of Greg after high school, but I am from a very small town and I hear he is doing well (I know his mom). Clint just came out last year (at the age of 24) and is deliriously in love with his first boyfriend.Clint is also a devout Christian and, yes, he came out to his parents. They said "It doesn't matter. We love you."Please. Don't let anybody blow smoke up your skirt.
You are who you are. And there is NOTHING wrong with that.

Nator asked this earlier, but was ignored.How is homosexuality just like bestiality?

Your answer doesn't make any sense.What on earth does the hetero divorce rate have to do with this supposed "competition" between hetero and homo married couples?And how does this supposed "unfair advantage" translate into real world consequences?

Not if, darling. When. LinkAnd this in not an exhaustive list. It's mostly mammals and birds.

LinkThe norm, darling. The norm.

470+ species (including gray whales, antelopes, penguins, bison, walrus, dolphins, giraffes, swans, sheep) engage in homosexual behavior, oftentimes exclusively homosexual (up to 10% of population, much like us).Are you somehow suggesting that an animal that engages exclusively in homosexual behavior is "just sexual"? That doesn't make any sense. See my bonobos post.

It took 5 minutes of googling to find several theories:Hutchinson's 1959 theory of balanced superior heterozygotic fitness
MacIntyre and Estep's 1993 sperm competition theory
Getz's 1993 density-dependent polymorphism theory
McKnight's 1997 frequency-dependent sexual selection theoryShould you wish to discuss this further, I'd be more than happy to start a new thread re: "Is Homosexuality Natural?".

Thanks, Mod! I didn't know that was out there.Care to join me, Nemesis?
It's been over 6 months since you've commented on that thread.

I'm going to indulge in one more OT comment. Really? Care to provide the cite?

It's a common fundie tactic.

I've answered your question (Message 132) and I've invited you to discuss this further (Message 136) ... are you willing to continue this debate?

Actually, no, I'm not. Wikipedia