Reply to What's with all the "gaytred" in the past couple of days?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]
I took your dislike of the "Victimization Olympics" to not only apply to the PP you quoted, but also to those of whom you spoke in your post at 12:00, when you said "But, there is probably more in common then many posters seem to realize."

My point is that even those who are aware of the horrible, extreme anti-gay violence and hatred such as that you detailed in your post at 12:00 can still dislike the equation of the American Civil Rights Movement with the gay rights movement. Yes, there are similarities. My discomfort with it comes from how dismissive many are of the nuances of both movements. I'm not sure I can articulate it, but 11:42's post demonstrates why it can be hurtful to me and others from my culture.

S/he said "I do not understand how denying gay people the same rights as straight people under the eyes of the law is any different than denying African American the same rights as white people under the eyes of the law. "

The thing is, there are differences. And I'm not interested in playing the Oppression Olympics, but there [i]is[/i] a difference. So many people have gone beyond simply making comparisons (which are valid) to equating the two and saying it's the same thing.[/quote]

Again, I believe we are pretty much in agreement. Just to be clear, I think that many comparisons between the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement exist. I particularly feel that there are more comparisons than some of the earlier posters in this thread appeared to be willing to concede. Does that mean that they are equal or the same? Not at all. They have things in common, but they have differences.

[b]However, regarding the quote comparing the denial of gay rights to the denial of African American rights, I would say this. The rights of African Americans should not have been granted because of the history of African Americans. Those rights should have been granted because those rights are due all Americans and African Americans are Americans. Of course, there is a history of slavery and lynchings and Jim Crow and so on. But even if there had never been a lynching, even if Jim Crow had never existed, African Americans would still deserve the same rights as any other Americans. Gay Americans are also Americans. The fact that history is perhaps not as tragic should not prevent them from having the full rights of Americans.[/b]

I want to stress that I am not minimizing the African American experience. The history of African Americans is something for which amends should be made. Similarly the treatment of native Americans is something for which our country has a lot to answer. History is one thing and how that history is addressed is very important. But, history doesn't justify people's rights. Rights are rights and don't need justification.
[/quote]

This is a good point![/quote]

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