MrVisible, it could really be okay for your nephew if he decides to live with family.
Yeah, it would be hard, of course, but I moved in with my grandparents when I was 17 to get out of an abusive household.
It really helped me grow up and stand on my own feet. It was one of the better things that I did in my teenage years. The move and living away from my close family helped me find a balance and perspective that I was lacking.
I’m very sorry that something happened to him, and I wish him and your family all the best.
Or, you could be monogamous, with a partner who doesn’t know he’s HIV+. But of course, you still practise safe sex, because that’s the only kind of sex you know. But your partner is diabetic, you see, and you’ve handled his syringes on occasion, and perhaps come into contact with his blood - but you don’t think much of it.
Then your partner, wrought with guilt over his homosexuality, kills himself, and you have to identify the body. The autopsy reveals he’s HIV+. You get tested and find out that you too are positive.
And yet your partner’s mother bars you from his funeral, and blames you for corrupting him, and for his suicide. So you’re basically left with bugger all (no pun intended) save for a virus.
That’s the lifestyle that led to a certain person very close to me becoming infected 10 years ago.
Sorry for the hijack.
Regardless of our feelings on homosexuality I would have thought we could all be sypathetic to the plight of a young person. The fear of being shunned or ridiculed by everyone else is probably the prime reason why their suicide rates are so much higher.
Marc
Miller said, "You know, I was going to say exactly what wolfstu just said.
Really!"
Me too, but without all that coherency and stuff. Maaaavelous post. One for the archives.
You lying sack of shit. The Harvey Milk School is in New York so your fictional story is seriously flawed, asshole.
Mutually exclusive.
Debaser, you may be an atheist, but you’re an ignorant atheist. Learn about the fallacy of evolutionary teleology and get back to us.
Daniel
Uh, yeah – wolfstu’s post said what I meant to say, only far better. Teach me to post before reading the rest of the thread.
Can somebody do something about crazy grady?
Daniel
Why is it that certain people want to see fewer people in love, and happy, instead of more people in love, and happy?
I confused.
I wouldn’t sweat him. Given the quality of his other posts (about the level of the one in this thread,) I don’t expect he’ll be troubling us much longer with his idiocy.
Sorry I took so long to respond.
I don’t want to leave anybody with the impression that I favor violence toward anybody. I also favor property rights as a good libertarian-leaning right-winger. I think people should be able to have anybody they wish visit them in the hospital and be designated to make medical decisions on their behalf.
I favor measures to make health coverage affordable, payable out-of-pocket and de-linked from employment so that people can choose to cover anybody they wish, regardless of their legal relationship.
I do not believe in gay or polygamous marriage. I think the distinctions between married and single life have been degraded to the point that divorce and single parenthood are far too commonplace. I do not think further destruction of these distinctions are good for society.
The “agenda” I referred to encompasses, obviously, lots of things. Some I agree with, some I don’t. Since I’m not fully on board, does that make me a bigot?
Mr Moto, what specific problems do you have with gay marriage? You may after all not be a bigot, if you have some problem with gay marriage that has hitherto not been articulated, some problem with gay marriage that is remotely reasonable or rational. I’m all ears.
Failing that, I gotta conclude that you’re nowhere near the libertarian you imagine yourself to be, and that the principle of justice means nothing to you. Whether you’re a bigot I leave as an exercise for the reader.
Daniel
Then I suggest that you hector the straight folks who are divorcing or shacking up and leave gay people alone.
Please explain how MrVisible and the Visiboyfriend getting married leads to “further destruction of these distinctions” between married an single life.
I want just one concrete example from you. Otherwise, yes, you are a bigot. Don’t like the label? Well tough shit. The shoe fits.
Mr. Moto said, “I do not believe in gay or polygamous marriage.”
It’s not like it’s the Tooth Fairy or something. What’s to believe in? It actually exists in other places. The question is: Do you support it? Obviously not.
and…
"I think the distinctions between married and single life have been degraded to the point that divorce and single parenthood are far too commonplace. "
Question #2: How does supporting gay marriage detract from marriage and raising kids in a two-parent home? I really do want an answer to this one.
and…
“Since I’m not fully on board, does that make me a bigot?”
Probably. And since your stand eliminates the chance for gays to pursue happiness, it makes you a pretty lame American. You are supporting blocking a constitutional right that ALL Americans are supposed to be entitled to. Shame on you.
Um…much as I hate to disagree with Kalhoun, the pursuit of happiness is not a Constitutional right. It’s mentioned as one of the inalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence, but that document has no legal standing whatsoever in modern American law, Constitutional or otherwise.
It should be noted that the above post does not mean that I’m opposed to gay marriage, seeing as how I may yet wish to take part in it one day…
No, jayjay, the Supremes said in Loving v. Virgina (1967) that:
Freedom to marry is protected by the Constitution.
Homebrew, I know that. I may have misread Kalhoun’s last paragraph…I thought he was referring to the “pursuit of happiness” when he was talking about denying the “constitutional right that all Americans are supposed to be entitled to”.
My bad, if so. 
Thanks, Homebrew.
Now Mr. Moto, don’t go saying that the cite didn’t say anything about same sex marriage…the principle is the same.
Fercrissakes, you can marry your own RELATIVES in some states, which could cause direct harm to children produced from that union. The opposition to same-sex marriage cannot produce harm to anyone. I can only conclude that opposition to same-sex marriage stems from one of two things: The Bible (which should never have anything to do with civil matters anyway) or “The Ick Factor” which is irrelevant to those not partaking in said “Ick” activity.
crazy grady, both hate speech and trolling are prohibited on the Straight Dope Message Board. Don’t do this again, or you’ll lose your posting privileges.
Lynn
For the Straight Dope