The Open Notebook of an Atypical Teenager

The following is adapted from an anonymous person.

Nobody Likes Gays

1) Being gay is not natural.
- And real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning, tattoos, piercings and silicon breasts.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay
- In the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior.
- People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract. Lamps are next.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all;
- Hence why women are still property,blacks still can’t marry whites,and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed;
- And we can’t let the sanctity of Britney Spears’55-hour just-for-fun marriage be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children.
- So therefore, gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our population isn’t out of control,our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children,
- Since, of course, straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion.
- In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
(Did I miss the lesson where Jesus says He hates gays?)

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home.
- Which is exactly why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms.
- Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

I really like this, I really do. If it wasn’t already apparent to you, that was a sarcastic writing.

Second excerpt. Different person, but same idea.

Prop 8 is a crime. It is unconstitutional, it is discriminant, and it is shameful. Shameful that this measure was even put on the ballot. It is shameful that it has a fighting chance to win. It is shameful that the state ignored the rulings of a non-biased supreme court. It is shameful that this country is as ignorant and as regressive as we feared. This was shown back in the 50’s and in the 30’s with the Jim Crow and the Nuremberg Laws. They talk about divorce rates going through the roof, should this measure fail. In Massachusetts, the divorce rate is way lower than anywhere else. They say that the sanctity of marriage will be harmed, when in fact it will be enlightened. We do not try to stop Brittney and her 2 hour wedding, do we? No. They say it will harm the children, because now, it is detrimental society if kids learn equality and freedom.
Ever since we were young, we have been indoctrinated with slogans such as “America the Free” and “It’s a free country” and “God bless America” and “You are lucky to live here because you get freedoms that other countries don’t have”. If this proposition wins, all of this will be proved wrong. We will be proved to be not the tolerant society we hoped we were. … If Prop 8 wins, America is homophobic. that’s the bottom line. You can argue the facts all you want, but when you get down to the core, the only thing stopping people from voting no is either a conscious or subconscious homophobia. No matter what light or angle or religious stuff you try to dump, it is blatant homophobia at the core. do not let this take over. Don’t let the bigots win. 

 I could not have said it more eloquently. 

Here is the final excerpt I have chosen (noon8.com):

Facts v. Fiction

Don’t be misled. Watch our ad to learn the why Californians oppose Prop 8.

Proposition 8 puts discrimination into our Constitution. It would inject government into private lives. It undermines equal protections under our laws.

Here’s what’s fiction and what’s fact:

Fiction: Prop 8 doesn’t discriminate against gays.

Fact: Prop 8 is simple: it eliminates the rights for same-sex couples to marry. Prop 8 would deny equal protections and write discrimination against one group of people—lesbian and gay people—into our state constitution.

Fiction: Teaching children about same-sex marriage will happen here unless we pass Prop 8.

Fact: Not one word in Prop 8 mentions education, and no child can be forced, against the will of their parents, to be taught anything about health and family issues at school. California law prohibits it, and the Yes on 8 campaign knows they are lying. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley has already ruled that this claim by Prop 8 proponents is “false and misleading.” The Orange County Register, traditionally one of the most conservative newspapers in the state, says this claim is false. So do lawyers for the California Department of Education.

Fiction: Churches could lose their tax-exemption status.

Fact: Nothing in Prop 8 would force churches to do anything. In fact, the court decision regarding marriage specifically says “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.”

Fiction: A Massachusetts case about a parent’s objection to the school curriculum will happen here.

Fact: Unlike Massachusetts, California gives parents an absolute right to remove their kids and opt-out of teaching on health and family instruction they don’t agree with. The opponents know that California law already covers this and Prop 8 won’t affect it, so they bring up an irrelevant case in Massachusetts.

Fiction: Four Activist Judges in San Francisco…

Fact: Prop 8 is not about courts and judges, it’s about eliminating a fundamental right. Judges didn’t grant the right, the constitution guarantees the right. Proponents of Prop 8 use an outdated and stale argument that judges aren’t supposed to protect rights and freedoms. This campaign is about whether Californians, right now, in 2008 are willing to amend the constitution for the sole purpose of eliminating a fundamental right for one group of citizens.

Fiction: People can be sued over personal beliefs.

Fact: California’s laws already prohibit discrimination against anyone based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. This has nothing to do with marriage.

Fiction: Pepperdine University supports the Yes on 8 campaign.

Fact: The university has publicly disassociated itself from Professor Richard Peterson of Pepperdine University, who is featured in the ad, and has asked to not be identified in the Yes on 8 advertisements.

Fiction: Unless Prop 8 passes, CA parents won’t have the right to object to what their children are taught in school.

Fact: California law clearly gives parents and guardians broad authority to remove their children from any health instruction if it conflicts with their religious beliefs or moral convictions.

I respect you and your opinion if you disagree, but I do not respect bigotry. Please, avoid bigotry in comments, but if you have something meaningful to say about any of the above excerpts, I’d like to hear it.

Wow. I haven’t posted in a /really/ long while…

Okay. In lieu of the very near elections (3 days 2 hours!!!!!), I strongly urge everyone (even if you’re not voting) to take this quiz. In history class on friday we all did, as a sort of class project, and I thought it was very very helpful. Even if you don’t support the candidate that comes up, it can be very interesting to review the results and see what the presidential candidates feel about topics in relation to what you think. The best part is they have the other parties too, besides Democrat and Republican!

Please keep in mind, this should only be one tool of many in not only determining which candidate to support, but also developing your political ideology (bandgeek, LOLLL). One of many. Don’t instantly vote for whoever comes up as number one on your quiz. Review their stuff. Research, research, research!!

So yes. Everyone, right now, go to glassbooth.org . Right now.  Not only is it an extremely handy website for anyone, it’s really interesting!

Please don’t feel obligated, but if you want to, please put the candidate that ‘won’ your quiz into my poll. And then comment about it, talking about whatever you like (percentage similarity would be an interesting statistic). If you guys want to know, I have taken the quiz twice (the first time, I didn’t exactly know what all the stuff meant, so I did it again). The first time, I was ‘most compatible with’ Barack Obama, with 70%, the second time Cynthia McKinney (GREEN PARTY ALL THE WAY LOL) with 83%. Final note, if you don’t understand the question, don’t always go right to skipping it. Click on the blue link on the part you don’t understand. It will Wikipedia it. These definitions can be very helpful. If you still don’t understand, of course, please do skip the question.

Okay, I lied. Real final note. Please. This is your own personal quiz, not the media’s, your friends’, or your family’s. Answer what YOU honestly think. What do you believe in? What is your political ideology?

Please, take the quiz.