He is describing a professional attitude, the same attitude my father, who like most in his era was not especially enlightened about homosexuality, held regarding gay men he fought with in World War II. If they were good soldiers and fighting on the same side, he was happy and proud to have them serve with him. Any other attitude is idiotic.

i guess i am happy with his comment because, yes, gay people truly are no different from straight people in most of the fundamental, important ways, and should not be treated any differently. saying he doesn’t care what gay people do in the bedroom is just shorthand for him saying that. it’s twitter. he doesn’t need to make fine distinctions or extended educational discourse on all the ways that being gay affects one’s life in contrast to all the ways that gay people are no different than straight people. and frankly, he probably hasn’t given it that much thought. but his statement was a clear, unequivocal statement of support.

insisting on someone expressing themselves exactly as you want them to before you can be pleased about or accept a clear statement of support is counter-productive and alienating. there was nothing equivocal about his statement. how great was that? i can’t stand most of what he has said and done off the field….and he totally surprised me with this. i would have thought he believed the opposite. cool. now, moving on to work on changing the attitudes of people who aren’t sure what to think or don’t have any experience with people not like themselves, rather than scaring them off by putting conditions on acceptance of clear support (as opposed to equivocal support or support that comes with its own conditions).

How does it feel that no matter how many people on this earth you get to agree with you there is a God you will stand before and then will bow and out of your mouth will acknowledge how wrong you were and that He is Lord. You can pretend all you want but deep down in your soul you know who He is and reject Him still. Even the Demons know Him and they don’t put their heads in the sand. Enjoy your little season but even though you are so filled with Hate, I hope you repent before you die because I would not wish Hell on anyone.

“The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my Administration, and fervent wishes for my felicity. May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.

“military-industrial lobby” ??

Try “military-industrial complex” and you might be a lot closer to what both Eisenhower and Goldwater actually stated.

And some of them were bibble thumping Xians who had nothing but bad things to say about the GLBT community until they found out I was gay. They might still have said bad things about the GLBT community, but I didn’t hear, or hear of, them making such comments. I knew enough people in the agency who would have told me if the bibble thumpers had made such comments, so I can only presume they might have learned something.

Granted, not on a GAME field or GAME field lockerroom, but in real, actual life among real, actual, non-pampered people.

So, ‘kingjoe1′, yes there is still much need for education, and the need is on YOUR part.

Is this a serious topic or junior high school? Is the lampooning of some athletes acceptable because they may be heterosexual? Is heterosexuality an inferior lifestyle choice to homosexuality? Are all heterosexuals assumed to be homophobic?

There is no discourse on this subject in American culture any longer. A growing number in our society confront ugly anti-gay sentiment (“you must be queer”) and respond with ugly anti-straight sentiment (“you must be homophobic”).

And please don’t bother to suggest that the Curt Schilling photo chosen for the post was random in any way. The only thing worse than hypocritical rhetoric is insult to the intelligence of your audience.