# Is it OK to be homophobic ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 5, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086 "2002-04-05T22:41:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/261 "2002-04-25T06:06:29Z")
Y’all know that I should have previewed that last post, and are quite capable of making adjustments for my typos. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![W.Panic\_Snopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@W.Panic\_Snopes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/W.Panic_Snopes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/262 "2002-04-25T06:09:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*Actually, just to clarify, **pedophila and child molestation is RAPE; sex between two of-age consenting adults is not.** Ergo, homosexuality and pedophila are not, in any conceivable way, comparable. > > It just bugs the shit out of me whenever the two are mentioned in the same thread, even if they’re not related. Thank you. > > Esprix \*\* I never for a moment implied that they were synonymous and don’t really see how anybody could read it that way. My argument was that to say “if God didn’t want there to be homosexuals, he wouldn’t have made us gay” is an invalid argument which could be used by child molesters, cannibals, and alcoholics to justify their acts. “God gave me these urges, so I must be acting according to a divine plan.” It divorces itself from ration and personal accountability. I think for an argument to have merit it must divorce the paranormal and do the Aurelian bit of examining the thing in and of itself. ---
**Author:** ![W.Panic\_Snopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@W.Panic\_Snopes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/W.Panic_Snopes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/263 "2002-04-25T06:11:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by reprise \* > \*\*[tangent not worth starting a new thread for]OK, I’m gonna ask this because I know that we do have a rule about registering names and implying a connection with another messageboard which supports the same aims. > > Without in any way meaning to cast aspersions on the poster who has included “snopes” in their user-name, have we actually checked with the Mikkelson’s whether there is any connection? Id we haven’t, wouldn’t we be kinda pissed off if people were going around tacking SDMB onto their user-name on other message boards?[/tangent not worth starting a new thread for] \*\* I’d answer this if I understood the question. W(allstreet) Panic Snopes is the only user name I post under, if that in any way helps. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/264 "2002-04-25T06:15:20Z")
Actually _pedophilia_, like heterosexuality, is an orientation, while child molestation is an action. And pedophilia is probably “involuntary”, in the sense that people do not choose to be sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children, but something in their genes, pre-natal environment, early childhood, or who knows what causes them to be that way. The difference between pedophilia and heterosexuality is that a heterosexual orientation generally leads to sexual acts (some of which are still illegal in some states) between _consenting adults_, while pedophilia, if it is acted upon, can only lead to what is morally speaking the equivalent of non-consensual heterosexual sex, i.e., rape. Homosexuality, of course, is morally equivalent to a heterosexual orientation rather than to a pedophilic one. **reprise:** _:shrug:_ Maybe he’s a Faulkner fan? ---
**Author:** ![W.Panic\_Snopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@W.Panic\_Snopes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/W.Panic_Snopes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/265 "2002-04-25T06:15:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by W. Panic Snopes \* > \*\* > > I’d answer this if I understood the question. W(allstreet) Panic Snopes is the only user name I post under, if that in any way helps. \*\* Ah… I think you’re asking if I’m associated with [http://www.snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com). No, I’m not. Wallstreet Panic Snopes is one of the many members of the Snopes family of Yoknapotawpha County in the writings of William Faulkner. My use is an homage to my favorite Southern lush rather than to the urban legends web site; I’m not sure if there is a connection between [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) and Faulkner, though I can’t imagine it being a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/266 "2002-04-25T06:18:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by W. Panic Snopes \* > \*\*My argument was that to say “if God didn’t want there to be homosexuals, he wouldn’t have made us gay” is an invalid argument which could be used by child molesters, cannibals, and alcoholics to justify their acts. \*\* I wasn’t intending that statement to be an actual argument, btw, in my previous post. Simply a rejoinder to the “Adam and Adam instead of Adam and Eve” nonsense. Kirk ---
**Author:** ![W.Panic\_Snopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@W.Panic\_Snopes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/W.Panic_Snopes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/267 "2002-04-25T06:21:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kirkland1244 \* > \*\* > > I wasn’t intending that statement to be an actual argument, btw, in my previous post. Simply a rejoinder to the “Adam and Adam instead of Adam and Eve” nonsense. > > Kirk \*\* That comment would carry more weight if it didn’t come from somebody who keeps Beagles in chains.😉 ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/268 "2002-04-25T06:28:34Z")
Yes, indeed, snopes took their name from the writings of Faulkner. Having now found the common link, I’ll return you to your regularly scheduled debate. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![W.Panic\_Snopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@W.Panic\_Snopes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/W.Panic_Snopes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/269 "2002-04-25T06:31:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by reprise \* > \*\*Yes, indeed, snopes took their name from the writings of Faulkner. > \*\* To my knowledge, Faulkner’s grandchildren still hold the copyrights to his work, so with your kind permission unless they object I’ll continue to use the name.;j ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/270 "2002-04-25T06:34:18Z")
In chains? My beagle doesn’t even wear a leash (back when she went on walks). Or a collar. She’s a Free Range dog, more or less. Goes where she want (in the house, of course, or the back yard, but she doesn’t like being outside, she’s quite old). Sleeps where she wants (which is usually wherever I or my mother are sleeping, depending on whose home), and eats when she wants (conveniently blind, she no longer can tell noon from midnight). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![W.Panic\_Snopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@W.Panic\_Snopes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/W.Panic_Snopes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/271 "2002-04-25T06:38:51Z")
Speaking of child molestation (which we weren’t exactly, but I’m not sure how to start a new thread), what do you think of Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition? Essentially, is it kiddie porn if the kids aren’t real? ---
**Author:** ![W.Panic\_Snopes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@W.Panic\_Snopes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/W.Panic_Snopes)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/272 "2002-04-25T06:40:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by W. Panic Snopes \* > \*\*Speaking of child molestation (which we weren’t exactly, but I’m not sure how to start a new thread), what do you think of Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition? Essentially, is it kiddie porn if the kids aren’t real? \*\* Ah, I’ll bet that’s what this new thread button is for… Unfortunately I’m too tired to start one tonight. (I haven’t slept in more than 19 years, but this might be the night.) ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086/273 "2002-04-25T07:00:03Z")
I don’t think its kiddie porn if it ain’t kids. With the way some 20 somethings look today, kids look “childish” way after the legal limit. So the law would restrict adults of legal consenting age from participating in a legal industry. That’s not right. It’s not protecting children if the “children” involved are adults. Back to your regularly scheduled debate… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-to-be-homophobic/102086.md?page=13)