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tabular_rasaI'm annoyed because I was actually all inspired to write my Anzaldua (aka: angry identity-asserting and non-Chicano-alienating-- she skips back and forth between various forms of border-style Chincano/tejano/Tex-Mex Spanish and English just to alienate her non Spanish-speaking readers, which, while effective for half of her intended audience, is sort of frustrating and even angering for those who would otherwise be sympathetic but are prevented from it due to a lack of straight-up understanding-- woman from the course reader) Writing I paper, but they closed the downstairs library computer lab on me, and the lab upstairs doesn't have access to Word-- save "Read Only"-- and I could go to Eads but I don't have time, since I have to meet back here at the library in a half hour, and that's just overwhelmingly inefficient, lol . . .
I guess I could write it as an email, but that seems kind of dumb.
There's been a big hubbub about this "Ex-Gay Therapy" thingy, seminar thing that's coming around here to talk about "therapy" to "cure" homosexuals. I saw a bunch of signs around campus, "Love Won Out" and something mentioning homosexuality, but I wasn't really paying attention and just kind of figured, in my trusting, assuming-that-everybody-is-good way, that it was about accepting homosexual love as the same as just every other kind of love. Yet it turned out I was wrong, exactly opposite wrong, just as I was when I heard about "an amendment having to do with homosexual marriage"-- and originally assumed it was to nationally make it legal to cancel out all those horrible, stupid state laws.
So, yeah, apparently there's some therapy, where, at least in years past, they prescribe drugs or electrocute homosexuals while showing them "homosexual stimuli"-- two men kissing, two women holding hands, etc-- to train them to stop. Apparently it works, but, then, not only are they no longer attracted to the same sex, they're no longer attracted to anybody, and it's kissing or holding hands they're afraid of, not the homosexuality itself. So, aside from being just straight-up ethically disturbing, it sounds highly ineffective.
Okay, so I guess I can't complete bash the whole thing-- like if someone truly, genuinely believes their homosexuality is wrong, it's their prerogative to stop, after all. In the end, in so many cases, knowing one's pleased God, or what have you, will make one happier than any "transient pleasures" of the flesh-- or, I guess, relationships, too, because, goodness knows, plenty of people put God's will before romantic or even familial love in any case. Yet that's not what I'm worried about; what I see as happening is "concerned" (aka: biased and appalled and disgusted) parents bringing their recently out-of-the-closet children in to this, trying to get them to "stop," telling them "We love you; you're going to change and be better!" and the whole affair is just manipulative. Even if the parents think they're doing something good, saving their kid from Hell or whatever, the kid's sort of stuck without any choices here, and the fact that this reveals their parents' disgust for them is going to be a hell of a motivation to force themselves to change. After all, you can suppress these things. It's a hell of an unhealthy practice, but it can be done. I just don't think it's worth it. Who wins in that, anyway? All one ends up with is parents who are torn over their child's identity anyway (and, hopefully, perhaps a bit plagued with guilt at their decided lack of unconditional love), and a kid who's never going to be truly happy, forced into deciding between one powerful force in their life and another, never to have the two reconciled.
*Sigh* sometimes I worry about the assumptions I make . . . people do some crazy things, and I always tell myself, "Oh, it must be this, not this, because that's just too crazy and terrible and mean to possibly be true!"
I guess I could write it as an email, but that seems kind of dumb.
There's been a big hubbub about this "Ex-Gay Therapy" thingy, seminar thing that's coming around here to talk about "therapy" to "cure" homosexuals. I saw a bunch of signs around campus, "Love Won Out" and something mentioning homosexuality, but I wasn't really paying attention and just kind of figured, in my trusting, assuming-that-everybody-is-good way, that it was about accepting homosexual love as the same as just every other kind of love. Yet it turned out I was wrong, exactly opposite wrong, just as I was when I heard about "an amendment having to do with homosexual marriage"-- and originally assumed it was to nationally make it legal to cancel out all those horrible, stupid state laws.
So, yeah, apparently there's some therapy, where, at least in years past, they prescribe drugs or electrocute homosexuals while showing them "homosexual stimuli"-- two men kissing, two women holding hands, etc-- to train them to stop. Apparently it works, but, then, not only are they no longer attracted to the same sex, they're no longer attracted to anybody, and it's kissing or holding hands they're afraid of, not the homosexuality itself. So, aside from being just straight-up ethically disturbing, it sounds highly ineffective.
Okay, so I guess I can't complete bash the whole thing-- like if someone truly, genuinely believes their homosexuality is wrong, it's their prerogative to stop, after all. In the end, in so many cases, knowing one's pleased God, or what have you, will make one happier than any "transient pleasures" of the flesh-- or, I guess, relationships, too, because, goodness knows, plenty of people put God's will before romantic or even familial love in any case. Yet that's not what I'm worried about; what I see as happening is "concerned" (aka: biased and appalled and disgusted) parents bringing their recently out-of-the-closet children in to this, trying to get them to "stop," telling them "We love you; you're going to change and be better!" and the whole affair is just manipulative. Even if the parents think they're doing something good, saving their kid from Hell or whatever, the kid's sort of stuck without any choices here, and the fact that this reveals their parents' disgust for them is going to be a hell of a motivation to force themselves to change. After all, you can suppress these things. It's a hell of an unhealthy practice, but it can be done. I just don't think it's worth it. Who wins in that, anyway? All one ends up with is parents who are torn over their child's identity anyway (and, hopefully, perhaps a bit plagued with guilt at their decided lack of unconditional love), and a kid who's never going to be truly happy, forced into deciding between one powerful force in their life and another, never to have the two reconciled.
*Sigh* sometimes I worry about the assumptions I make . . . people do some crazy things, and I always tell myself, "Oh, it must be this, not this, because that's just too crazy and terrible and mean to possibly be true!"
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-24 01:01 pm (UTC)I hate to be fatalistic, but no decision made will ever be perfect. Someone will always be hurt or marginalized or ignored in the process of statecraft and policy making. There is nothing that will make everyone happy simultaniously. And perhaps this is Machiavellian of me, but we simply have to make the choices which appear to benefit the greatest number of people at once, because regardless of what we think is right, someone will think it wrong. It simply by having more people agree with us that we can appear in our own minds as being right. So while a parent or psychotherapist make believe it to be right to subject people - children - to shock therapy and such, they think their course of action will harm the fewest people and benefit the most.
I don't know; I just think that we're going to fuck up everyone's lives in the end, so you might as well concentrate on trying to harm as few as possible in your own lifetime and protect yourself against those that would intentionally fuck you up, just for shits and giggles.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-24 05:09 pm (UTC)I actually think that it's sort of cool that you think the best of people. I don't think it's something that you should want to use. It's actually nice to know someone who really believes the best in people and gives everyone a chance ^_^
By the way, I have a question/request to make. See, I'm knitting these squares to help out a girl in my gymn class who is making a quilt for charity or something, but the only way I know how to END something that I'm knitting is to add little thread things at the end and tie of the loops and she needs the squares ended the normal way. Which I don't know how to do. Since you are my GURU when it comes to knitting (after all you taught me!) could you please give me instructions on what to do when you reach the end of the knitting? I would really appreciate it!