I appreciate you trying to explain it to me, even though I'm still confused.
I guess I just don't get it because I have never experienced it and so the very concept is alien to me, and thus, sympathetic or not, empathetic or not, it is truly impossible for me to understand what it is truly like because I have never experienced it and thus can only guess. And since I can only, truly understand things I have direct experience with, any attempt I make at trying to understand is likely going to make my head spin and I'll look like an anime character with the swirly eyes.
@_@
For me it's pretty simple. I am what I am. I was born a guy so I am a guy. I like girls so I am straight. I also have asperger's syndrome so I am also a high-functioning-autistic-person and tend to take things quite literally at times and only realize a metaphor or allegory was at play later. I've gotten considerably better at that over the years.
I don't think I'll ever understand it, but that doesn't mean I'm judging people who are transgendered, gay, lesbian or whatnot. I simply do not care if you are or are not because, as I've said before, it's really on superficial to the whole of the person.
More important attributes to focus on when celebrating people would be things like if they are people of integrity who treated all people with respect, kept their words. Things they were successful at, like studying and working really hard and winning a science fair or talent show, being hard working, diligent, courageous when the situation calls for it. Their moments of levity and the things they do for fun and the nature of their entertainment. How they deal with people from different walks of life and such.
People are people, there are jerks and saints in every group. I'm good friends with a gay guy who asked to his name removed from all records of the church I belong to because he didn't agree with what the church taught about God's view on gay and lesbians, but he is still a good guy who does genuinely try to help those around him, and even though he disagrees with the church I belong to, he still attends the church meetings to support his friends who are part of the church every now and then. He has nothing against religion, and is a great guy. But I've also met through him gay and lesbians who hate on religion as if it's the be-all end-all evil of the world and if anyone professes to be Christian that must mean they are a hateful homophobe and bigot and went out of their way to treat them as horribly as they could preemptively based entirely on the idea that the person they're mistreating must hate them and their lifestyle because they are Christian.
And likewise in reverse, I've members of various religious sects who are genuinely loving of people who are gay and lesbian. My best friend's brother is gay and his father was once a bishop in the church, and these people approach the issue as "we are commanded to love all people and not the sin, judgement is in the hands of God, all we can do is love one another." And I've also met members of various churches who actually are just plain jerks to people who act in a way that they feel is contrary to God's will.
An ethnic group, religious group, such and such political cause group are good things to be part of, if they are done in respectful ways. But when members of whatever group they are a part of harass others because they believe differently or whatnot, then it ought not matter if they are part of a minority or disenfranchised group or a historically majority one, that person is a jerk.
It really is an extremely difficult thing to explain and when we're young, sometimes we question ourselves. I'm not saying all of us do but I know that I tried to accept who I was supposed to be but it just kept getting worse. Accepting myself and making the changes was the most frightening thing I've done in life, I had to go against what my parents wanted for me and to expose myself to everyone, it's a truly scary thing. Transitioning at work where everyone saw me as male was equally scary, which turned out wonderfully, better than I could have imagined, people at work are genuinely happy for me and tell me how much happier I seem to them. One of my best friends at work is a very religious man and he's still one of my best friends, which makes me very happy. I harbor no ill will towards religion, I grew up in a Christian family, was an alter boy as a youth. In the end I just had to do what was best for me.
Ce sujet est fermé
Retour en haut
