We seem to be ringing the changes on logical fallacies. If either of you care to address the question of the OP, great, If not, Merry Christmas.
Regards,
Shodan
You’re right, the OP should be addressed. No, being gay does not shorten your life and there are no studies that prove this.
There are certain behaviors that a number of gay men engage in that can cause higher rates of disease, but that is caused be risky behavior and not by being gay.
What, we have no “whoosh” emoticons?
Where are the “i’m a moron” emoticons when you need them?
Did you have a reason to add one to your post? Or are you cranked up on yuletide alcohol and seeking one more Warning to add to your growing accumulation?
I will reluctantly give you the benefit of the doubt, here, but you might want to seriously consider toning it down tonight.
[ /Moderating ]
Wow, I was a jerk there. To be honest, I dislike Antinor’s post more than raindogs. Sorry all.
I realize my earlier reply was a bit short. To expand a bit, I’ve read through the studies presented here and fail to see anything conclusive or close to it. (My notes below are from reading the various studies linked to throughout the thread)
The study on alcoholism showed that as of 1991, heavy drinking was in serious decline among the gay population studied. It appears that the AIDS crisis had a heavy impact on a lot of people falling into alcohol and drug problems in the early 80’s that has rapidly dropped off. The later studies cited show much lower rates of problem drinking than earlier studies.
The study related to partner violence admits that it is difficult to compare with other studies (such as among heterosexual females) because they used a different methodology. (primarily using a 5 year recall as opposed to 1 year) They do state that physical violence based on lifetime recall is app 30% for hetero females and 22% with 5 year recall for MSM. I’d really like to see a more comparable study on this.
Gay teen suicide rates are comparable to straight teens, mental health issues are higher among the gay population but the research seems to say that discrimination can account for the difference.
To sum up, there are obviously a number of issues that seem to affect the overall gay population more than the general population. To what extent they are caused by poor individual choices (risky sexual practices, drug use etc), stress from discrimination, or simply being gay are far from proven.
My earlier comment was not intended to be offensive. It was partially born from being told by my father when I was about 19 that I would be dead by the time I was 25. I allowed emotion to distract me from a rational discussion in this forum and for that I apologize.
Since we’re all feeling contrite, I may as well apologize.
My post was snarky and unnecessary. I saw Antinor’s [abbreviated] post as a difference without a [practical] distinction.
I should have kept my keyboard shut.
Sorry.
Does this mean that you, CarnalK and I have to sing Kumbuya now? Cause I really don’t like that song.
Too bad.
The song is obligatory.