Do people have a right to be offended by Gays?

swordfishME

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With all of the "progress" made recently towards social equality for gay people I had a question come to mind: Do people have a right to be seriously offended by the homosexual lifestyle?

There is a serious argument to be made for this. If there is to be freedom of choice, then people have every right to be offended and detest the homosexual lifestyle.

I want to know everyone's thoughts on this.
 

Mem

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With all of the "progress" made recently towards social equality for gay people I had a question come to mind: Do people have a right to be seriously offended by the homosexual lifestyle?

There is a serious argument to be made for this. If there is to be freedom of choice, then people have every right to be offended and detest the homosexual lifestyle.

I want to know everyone's thoughts on this.

You can be offended and dislike it. Seriously offended and detest becomes your problem.

Is it okay for people to detest retarded people?
 

hung_martin

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if people are offended by other people being gay then that's dumb but if gay guys pester straight guys then that's annoying in the same way as it would be annoying if I pestered a lesbian.
 

B_The Greek Dude

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Okay, which one sounds better to you:

People have the right to be offended by homosexuals.
or

People have NO right to be offended by homosexuals.


?

It's a part of life: regardless of who or what you are, you're going to have friends and you're going to have enemies. Real life kicks EVERYONE in the ass, and as people get older they start to realize what life's really all about.
 

Lex

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Homosexuality is nether a lifestyle nor a choice.

I take care of my kids, have an occasional beer, watch sports, cut my lawn, pay my taxes and go to work everyday. I guess that is the homosexual lifestyle, then.

The whole lifestyle argument is grounded upon the basis that people have control over orientation and they do not.
 

1BiGG1

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If people are “seriously offended by the homosexual lifestyle” they have issues that go far beyond their getting over simpleton homophobia.
 

erratic

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When heterosexuals can stick to their own lifestyle and stop copping ours - you know, not getting married in your twenties, partying in the big city, dressing well, traveling - then they can talk trash about the homosexual lifestyle.
 

erratic

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Ok I need to explain this better:

I simply meant to ask do people in a free society have a right to be offended by gays?

I get you better now.

Of course they do. What they can do to keep from shoving their lifestyles down gay peoples' throats is the more important question.
 

NCbear

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Homosexuality is nether a lifestyle nor a choice.

I take care of my kids, have an occasional beer, watch sports, cut my lawn, pay my taxes and go to work everyday. I guess that is the homosexual lifestyle, then.

The whole lifestyle argument is grounded upon the basis that people have control over orientation and they do not.

I'm fine with the orientation two (or more) consenting adults have when with each other. If it's not a choice, fine. If it is a choice, fine. If it's an experiment or a momentary anomaly in my sexual behavior, fine. If it's the way I am all my life, fine.

Why shouldn't people be free to have the kind of sex they want to have with a consenting adult partner (or several)?

NCbear (who wonders why there are all these laws and rules and taboos concerning sexuality between/among consenting adults)
 

NCbear

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Sure you have the right to be offended by the "homosexual lifestyle" just like you have the right to be offeneded by art or things you see on tv or anything else.

I'm offended by legislated morality between/among consenting adults. I'm offended that either a natural or a god-given (depending on your belief system) enjoyment of sexuality is somehow bad.

NCbear (who would really like this country's collective belief system to break the Puritan choke-chain around its collective neck and discard it)
 

DC_DEEP

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With all of the "progress" made recently towards social equality for gay people I had a question come to mind: Do people have a right to be seriously offended by the homosexual lifestyle?

There is a serious argument to be made for this. If there is to be freedom of choice, then people have every right to be offended and detest the homosexual lifestyle.

I want to know everyone's thoughts on this.
Anyone has a right to be offended by their own perceptions of anyone or anything.

Now, make sure you get this: ANYONE has a RIGHT to be OFFENDED by whatever he CHOOSES to be offended about.

But NO ONE has the RIGHT to an OFFENSE-FREE existence.

If Jerry finds homosexuals to be "offensive," that's fine, but he has no right whatsoever to demand anything in that regard. He has no right to demand that they have fewer rights, he has no right to take any action against them. His right to choose to be offended ends at getting offended.

I find the ritual of holy communion/eucharist to be very offensive. What does that entitle me to? It entitles me to not participating. It does not entitle me to demanding that no one else do it.
 

Viking_UK

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Non-homosexuals have the same right to be offended by homosexuals as homosexuals have to be offended by non-homosexuals. Fair's fair. If you don't like the fact that people have a different set of values or a different way of life to yours, that's tough. We're all stuck on this planet so we might as well at least try to get along, but that doesn't always happen and you can guarantee that you're going to offend some people whatever you do, whether its because of who you're attracted to, the colour of your skin, who you pray to, the music you listen to or which team you support to name but a few.
 

hotbtminla

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Anyone has a right to be offended by their own perceptions of anyone or anything.

Now, make sure you get this: ANYONE has a RIGHT to be OFFENDED by whatever he CHOOSES to be offended about.

But NO ONE has the RIGHT to an OFFENSE-FREE existence.

If Jerry finds homosexuals to be "offensive," that's fine, but he has no right whatsoever to demand anything in that regard. He has no right to demand that they have fewer rights, he has no right to take any action against them. His right to choose to be offended ends at getting offended.

I find the ritual of holy communion/eucharist to be very offensive. What does that entitle me to? It entitles me to not participating. It does not entitle me to demanding that no one else do it.

So beautifully said, DC.
 

reecho

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I am perfectly happy for someone to be offended by me. If they suggest that I am, in fact, an evil devil-ridden sack of poop, I will then offend said person by suggesting that they are the result of a mating between their mother and a bull elephant. And that the elephant came off worse.

Basically - you are allowed to have whatever opinions you wish, and that's good. But should such opinions be suggested to those who do not share your point of view, then be prepared to have your view challenged. I guess what you're trying to say is '"I think all these gays going on about their lifestyle is awful, and since i don't like the man-man bumsex, I'll suggest that my own rights are beign infringed by the fact gays exist".

Don't worry about it - it's all in your head. Just don't think about the poofs. I can assure you, they'll think nothing of you ;)
 

headbang8

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I find dill pickles disgusting. They offend me. That green brine, the horrible smell, and that awful half-soft texture. I'll take my cucumbers straight, thank you, like all normal, right-thinking people.

OK, I don't care if people eat pickles in the privacy of their own home. What they get up to behind closed doors is none of my business.

But I don't want pickle eaters to ram their filthy. disgusting habit down my throat. I don't want them to talk about it, much less do it in public. I went to a picnic the other day, and someone had put a WHOLE JAR of pickles on the table. Outrageous! Do we want our children to see that? They might get the idea that pickles are a perfectly normal and acceptable way to eat a cucumber.

You can imagine my shock when I discovered that McDonalds puts pickles on a Big Mac! There they go, pandering to the pickle-eater lifestyle.

And don't get me started on pretzels...