Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Self-Loathing, etc.

One of the most common points made by the gay left as to their argument that gay people cannot be conservative that I have seen is this: liberals are more supportive of gay rights than conservatives.  In general, that is true.  However, their argument is based upon a false premise.  If this is the nature of their argument, that since liberals are more supportive of gay rights than conservatives, that gays should be liberal and conservative gays are self-loathing, then they make a flawed assumption.  And that assumption is that gay people are one-dimensional, or that they have no other qualities, or perhaps their sexual orientation is the most important aspect of them.  While that may be true for some people, it certainly isn't for others.  For them, it seems, gay rights issues trump all others.  So, it follows that, since liberals are better on gay rights issues, it doesn't make any sense for a gay person not to be a liberal.  However, since there exist homosexuals whose sexual orientation is not their defining aspect, other issues may be more important to them.  In my view, homosexual people are basically equal to heterosexuals in terms of what rights they have.  So, for me, gay rights issues are unimportant.  In fact, I will go even further and say that I oppose gay rights as they are generally defined by the left.  That does not hold true for every issue, but it does for most.  If you are wondering how a homosexual can hold that view without hating himself*, then you are clearly unfamiliar with the concept of objectivity.  I should be able to objectively analyze anything in which I am personally invested just as effectively as something in which I am not.  When analyzing anything, I use a set of consistent values or principles, and I do it objectively.  So, what is so self-hating about that?  Yet another common false assumption that is made by those on the gay left is that LGBT people are all a unified bloc.  Of course, this is plain absurd.  For one thing, I am conservative first and gay last.  Another false assumption is that, because I am a homosexual, I can be assumed to have other characteristics that aren't necessarily related to sexual orientation, or that the homosexual population is not diverse to any significant extent.  For example, I would not be surprised if some gay person questioned whether I was, in fact, gay, based on my other characteristics.  Despite the fact that I am unquestionably homosexual, I am prudish, I don't listen to Lady Gaga, and not only do I not know the first thing about fashion, I hold it in contempt.  Those are just a few examples.  

No further assumptions should be drawn about me based on the one piece of knowledge that I am gay.  I consider myself fairly socially (or more accurately, culturally) conservative.  And apparently, social conservatism and homosexuality (not to mention agnosticism, but that is a totally separate issue) are mutually exclusive.  If you accept my previous arguments, however, this is ridiculous.  I may not agree with social conservatives on some issues, but I do agree with them on most.  Most issues have nothing to do with sexuality whatsoever.  

My hypothesis on the gay left's resentment of the gay right is that it is based upon false assumptions, about both homosexuals and conservatives.  If you have an accurate understanding of both, and use logic in your reasoning, it should not be difficult to accept that homosexuals can be conservative.  Furthermore, in my case, it wouldn't make any sense for me to adopt liberalism/progressivism as my political ideology, based on my other characteristics.

*Please note that opposing "gay rights" is not the same as wishing homosexuals less rights than others; I do not believe in granting homosexuals special rights.  I do, in fact, favor equality, I just favor equality in its actual definition, not as it is defined by the left.

UPDATE:  Please see also this post.  

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