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LOS ANGELES TIMES: ANSWER TO A QUESTION ABOUT THE MISS USA PAGEANT

2009 April 23
tags: , ,
by sfcg

At the Miss USA Pageant this year, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, enunciated her disapproving opinion about same sex marriage, causing an uproar in the gay community and potentially costing her the crown.  The Los Angeles Times asked the Blogosphere what they thought about Miss California’s response to a question from Perez Hilton, a California-based gossip blogger who is openly gay.  One of the responses in particular illustrated the ability of people with seemingly unsurmountable differences to live together in peace. 

I disagree with the lack of respect shown toward Miss California, we can agree to disagree, but in the end, we need to find common ground that unifies us and appeal for greater understanding and compassion.  Perez Hilton is very unsophisticated in his way of attacking Miss California, his actions serve as a setback in our movement to legalize same sex marriage.  My life partner Andrew and I are raising three children (2 daughters and a son) and we teach them to not hate people who think differently from us, but show patience and understanding with them and focus on what we share in common.  People need to know who we are, a loving committed couple, raising children and trying to set positive examples to them on coexisting with all people and eventually achieving what is right and just for all human beings!!  –Jeff Stryke

Question to the Blogosphere:  Do you think efforts to coexist with people who oppose one’s way of life, such as Mr. Stryke’s efforts, are naive or brave?  Does finding common ground necessarily involve such a tempered reaction, or is pushing people out of their comfort zone, as Perez Hilton does, necessary to ultimately improve relationships and change?  Perhaps one of the hardest things about finding common ground is this process of sorting out our differences, which work to divide us.  What can the gay and conservative communities of states like California do to find common ground?  Do you think it’s more or less difficult to search for common ground in the United States than in other countries?

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2 Responses
  1. polednice permalink
    April 23, 2009

    The idea that we should have to find a way to coexist on issues like these misrepresents the situation. The fact is that something such as gay rights are not issues where personal morality can evenly dictate liberal and conservative views, neither of which are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. In instances like these, there are only right answers – and those answers are not the conservative ones that wish for nothing other than a society that stagnates in its never-changing outlook.

    I’m sure many people have referenced this countless times, but look back towards slavery and inter-racial marriages. There was countless opposition at the time from people whose minds cannot handle change for the greater good of society. Would we accept these views now? Should we allow people their ultra-racist views so long as they don’t incite hatred? I’m pretty sure most people would rather educate and eradicate such bigoted opinions and it’s no different in this instance. People believe that the gay rights movement is incomparable to the racism-orientated civil rights movement – well that’s wrong. The arguments against allowing rights for the homosexual community are all founded in an ambiguous, self-contradictory religious doctrine founded in a lack of reason and evidence.

    If society made the bold step to reject theism (which is the only logical thing mankind can do right now), we would not have such contention over “this passage allows this” and “this passage condemns the same people to hell”. But even if we don’t go that far, we live in a secular country! Religious beliefs have no place in the creation of legislation and every person deserves equal rights – and I’m tired of hearing the ridiculous, conservative Christian response to this that we’re “pushing not for tolerance but of approval”. Of course we’re pushing for approval because it’s patronising and offensive to suggest that our community is inherently wrong and should be ‘tolerated’. Guess what, false morality based on literature appropriate only for the ancient world is something false that currently has to be ‘tolerated’. The Christian community is disgusting in its attempt to act like a minority, marginalised victim in all this when it’s people of the LGBT community who in places across the world are tortured, killed, bullied, attacked, discriminated against and wholly misunderstood.

  2. Nomad permalink
    April 24, 2009

    Miss California’s got cahones for answering the question honestly. The end result is that she’s more popular (or at least well known) now than she would have been if she had won

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