by George Kocan
I present an e-mail interchange that I had with a prominent homosexual writer who argued that, if religiosity is like homosexuality, having a biological basis, it should be “cured” with some kind of medical intervention before birth.
Re: Slippery Slope
G.K.: Let us not forget that religiosity is normal for the human race while homosexuality is not. Also, religiosity is adaptive in the Darwinian sense while homosexuality is also not adaptive.
Mr. B.: Homosexuality is quite normal for the human race. From the beginning of time there have been gay people. So, I am not quite sure what on earth you are talking about.
G.K.: Just because they exist, that does not make them normal. Yes, you do know what I am talking about.
Mr. B.: Actually, it does make it normal. Please see the definition of normal. Just because you don't like a group does not mean that they are not normal. Your prejudice does not define what is normal.
Personally, I think those opposed to gay rights are abnormal and have mental issues.
G.K.: So, mere existence makes something normal? Is a two-headed calf or snake normal? Is a two-headed human (I saw a girl like that on tv recently.) normal? Is paranoid schizophrenia or diabetes normal? Does saying that paranoid schizophrenics are not normal show a prejudice? Do homosexuals deserve special rights because they are homosexuals? After all, they do have the right to petition the government for redress of grievances and other rights related to a free press, they have a right to peaceably assemble and demonstrate, they have a right to due process and a jury trial, they have a right to own property and even pay taxes. In fact, they have all the rights of normal people.
Mr. B.: George - you are simply dumb - and stupid people should not debate.
G.K.: I see you changed the subject. Good job!
Mr. B.: No, it is that your logic is flawed.
1) Homosexuality is a natural occurence, as it occurs in nature. It is prevalent among mamals. It is cross-cultural and identical proportions. It has occured forever. Therefore it is normal.
2) It is normal for a gay person to be gay. It is unnatural and abnormal for them to act straight.
3) Your basic arguement is, Homosexuality is not normal because you don't like gay people. You have not really offered one other reason. So, normalcy depends on your personal prejudice.
This is why I think you have a low IQ.
G.K.: Do you really believe that the validity of an argument depends upon the person arguing? That is to say, does a prejudice against cancer nullify research to cure cancer? Do you know what an ad hominem argument is? Don’t you realize how false that kind of argument is?
In common usage, the word ‘normal’ has two components:
1. Something is normal which is common. For example, an 8 foot tall man is abnormal, while a 6 foot man is normal.
2. something is normal which works correctly. For example, a car that will not start or shows some other malfunction is not normal. It is abnormal or defective. Do you not agree with this definition of normal?
Homosexuality is a natural occurrence in the same way that other deviations from normality are natural--as I have indicated. In other words, the same argument can be made for paranoid-schizophrenia as for homosexuality. In fact, I would venture to say that the two are similar because the famous pioneer in modern psychology Sigmund Freud considered homosexuality a form of paranoia. Or, do you believe that all mental illnesses are normal because they are natural, too?
I do not believe homosexuality has the same proportional occurrence throughout the world, given the diversity of human cultures and races. However, even if so, that would not make homosexuality normal.
Although some mammals exhibit homosexual behavior, that does not make it normal either because animals experience genetic, congenital and developmental aberrations as humans do. Thus, logic favors my argument and not yours. I must add that understanding homosexuality is not rocket science. All that is required is some knowledge of the facts and attention to logic.
Mr.B. did not answered my last comment.
