philip-random: "Yes, it can hurt but as Conan the Barbarian said (or maybe it was Nietzsche), "That which does not destroy us, only makes us stronger." And smarter."Either that, or it makes you think "fuck this shit" and give up on participating in the site at all, leaving it to fester into even more of an echo chamber than it already is. (Just sayin'.)
that sounds good, but it just isn't possible in a country where a substantial proportion of the "conservatives" [...]followed by a list of things that conservatives believe or do that would make intelligent discussion here impossible with them.
"Often called "one of the most courageous persons the Civil Rights Movement ever produced," John Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls "The Beloved Community" in America." [emphasis mine]If a man who has had dogs set upon him, who has had hate's spittle thrown in his face in response to his very presence, and who has endured bullets fired out of darkness at him, can continue to talk about "The Beloved Community" in America," I for one, will continue to take notes, and measure my civility, and that of others, against his example and ideals, whether I can personally always rise to them, or not, or agree on every issue with his politics.
All country people hate each other. They have so little comfort, that they envy their neighbours the smallest pleasure or advantage, and nearly grudge themselves the necessaries of life. From not being accustomed to enjoyment, they become hardened and averse to it -- stupid, for want of thought -- selfish, for want of society. There is nothing good to be had in the country, or, if there is, they will not let you have it. They had rather injure themselves than oblige any one else. Their common mode of life is a system of wretchedness and self-denial, like what we read of among barbarous tribes. You live out of the world. You cannot get your tea and sugar without sending to the next town for it; you pay double, and have it of the worst quality. The small-beer is sure to be sour -- the milk skimmed -- the meat bad, or spoiled in the cooking. You cannot do a single thing you like; you cannot walk out or sit at home, or write or read, or think or look as if you did, without being subject to impertinent curiosity. The apothecary annoys you with his complaisance; the parson with his superciliousness. If you are Poor, you are despised; if you are rich, you are feared and hated. If you do any one a favour, the whole neighbourhood is up in arms; the clamour is like that of a rookery; and the person himself, it is ten to one, laughs at you for your pains, and takes the first opportunity of showing you that he labours under no uneasy sense of obligation.posted by Abiezer at 6:13 AM on October 14, 2009
If you are in the U.S., the Supreme Court of the United States held in Lawrence v Texas that "intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected by substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment." So homos do, in fact, have the right to enjoy intimate sexual relations with the partners of their choosing, just like heteros.posted by rtha at 11:13 AM on October 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
Furthermore, the obsession with what kind of sex should or should not be allowed between consenting adults is kind of creepy. Stop it.
Signed,
rtha
* exaggeration.
posted by subbes at 3:57 PM on October 9, 2009