Is "Straight Pride" Negative?

[b i o n i c]

I saw this (http://www.straightpride.com/shop.php)online, which then led me to this ([http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3aab87167c19.htm) V V V story.

'Straight Pride' Shirt Banned
By Stuart Shepard, correspondent

A Minnesota high school officially sanctions "gay pride," but recently banned a solitary expression of "straight pride."

Elliott Chambers is 16, a Christian, and the owner of a sweatshirt that reads "Straight Pride" on the front with a logo of a boy and girl holding hands on the back. He tried to wear it at his school recently, which mandates "gay pride" stickers and posters be placed on walls and doors designating so-called "safe zones" for homosexual students.

"They have all this gay-pride stuff, and I thought it would be cool if we had a straight pride shirt for a change," Chambers said. "It was just to get people thinking."

It only succeeded in getting some of his classmates thinking of going to the principal's office, which is where Elliott ended up.

"(The principal) said that I couldn't wear it," Chambers said. "I guess his cover was that it would incite violence."

Lana Chambers, Elliott's mom, was livid when she found out about the principal's action.

"I said, 'You're telling me that he cannot wear this shirt because it's offensive to them (homosexuals)? Well, those signs are offensive to him! And to me! And I'm a taxpayer!' " Lana Chambers said.

Attorney Frank Manion, with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), said the principal's argument that banning the shirt is a matter of school safety is a "smokescreen."

"It's obviously discriminatory and something that the school should not be allowed to get away with," Manion said. "We've got to beware of the aims and the goals of, really, the radical homosexual-rights movement. "

Elliott had a new shirt made to wear after his sweatshirt was banned. It simply reads, "Help, I'm being repressed."


I dont know if I agree with this or not. I'm not offended by it, but is this hostile to gay people? I know if someone walked around this neighborhood wearing this (http://www.straightpride.com/item.php?id=2) shirt, it would practically be like wearing a white robe and hood

[Qdrop]

it IS hypocritial...even though the other "smokescreen" here is that the student and his mother are more concerned with a religious (christian) agenda then with equal free speech.

none-the-less...he should be allowed to wear that shirt.
it promotes no more violence than a "gay pride" shirt.

equal means EQUAL....not "special selective rights" for some.

[sam i am]

^^^^

Judge others not by the color of their skin (or their sexual orientation or their religious beliefs) but by the content of their character....

Who said that again?

Oh yes, I think he may have been a Christian.

[b i o n i c]

i somewhat agree. through girlfriends, ive been around lots of gay dudes who are really nice and a LOT of fun. but there have been times where they've asked me if i was straight and its been like, "oh come on honey, every man can be converted" which i heartily and good-naturedly laugh off. at the same time, i feel that, to these people whom i've dealt with, it implies some sort of inauthenticity on my part to be sure that i'm straight.

here's the thing though...
gay pride doesnt imply "down with heterosexuality"
but "straight pride" for some reason seems to imply "down with homosexuality"

its not that big of a deal to me, but i think if i wore something like that it would be more of a problem than necessary

[Qdrop]

gay pride doesnt imply "down with heterosexuality"
but "straight pride" for some reason seems to imply "down with homosexuality"


probably because of those that wear them and thier INTENTIONS.

gays wear them to promote acceptance.

a straight would likely be wearing "straight pride" to promote division...or religious agenda.

[b i o n i c]

the gay pride parade has a tinge of hostility to it i think by attempting to be very sexually contentious in some ways. its like there is pleasure being derived from shocking people. like people deep kissing, dancing around in g-strings with their balls hanging out. i've actually seen that. in the line of view of little kids passing through with their non-participating parents. they don't need to see that as much as they don't need to see a man and a woman doing that. i mean, come on. why does "having pride" have to be like that? if i were gay, and was involved in that parade, i'd be absolutely against that. in my opinion, those displays are unnecessary and damaging.

[Qdrop]

IMO, pride in percieved differances promotes disunity and segregation.

when you give attention to differances, be it positive or negative, i think you tend to cause more damage in the long run.

[Tone Capone]

^^^^

Judge others not by the color of their skin (or their sexual orientation or their religious beliefs) but by the content of their character....

Who said that again?

Oh yes, I think he may have been a Christian.


UM I don't recall ANYONE saying that:confused:

I recall Dr. King saying this... "I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I understand what you are trying to say but, you still are not allowed to misquote someone for your own benefit. Not cool(n)

[abcdefz]

UM I don't recall ANYONE saying that:confused:

I recall Dr. King saying this... "I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I understand what you are trying to say but, you still are not allowed to misquote someone for your own benefit. Not cool(n)



...you would've really loved a book we sold at a bookstore where I worked many years ago. [i]Jesus Acted Up!{/i], which was basically how Jesus and the apostles were all gay men, hanging out. :rolleyes:

[b i o n i c]

IMO, pride in percieved differances promotes disunity and segregation. when you give attention to differances, be it positive or negative, i think you tend to cause more damage in the long run.

that's very true. i want a shirt that says that in some roundabout, short and clever way.

[sam i am]

UM I don't recall ANYONE saying that:confused:

I recall Dr. King saying this... "I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I understand what you are trying to say but, you still are not allowed to misquote someone for your own benefit. Not cool(n)

That's why it was in parenthesis.

I think the nature of what I was saying was clear.

[Qdrop]

that's very true. i want a shirt that says that in some roundabout, short and clever way.

"PRO HUMAN"

[yeahwho]

So the high school does believe in some forms of Freedom of Speech but others promote hate? I think some kids parents just don't have the thinking skills to now how to prevent their kids from getting their asses kicked.

The gay community is usually peaceful and respectful of various lifestyles, I think the parade is just a way to get out vent up frustration and applaud fellow gays, I could hardly be bothered by it.

Now if it were some hot ladies flashing me at the local community parade (y) hahhahahhahahahahahahaha! (y) yesssssss! :p

[chrisd]

yes

[DroppinScience]

IMO, pride in percieved differances promotes disunity and segregation.

So I take it you don't see race? You only see Americans. :D

[b i o n i c]

yes


shut your face

[Bob]

probably because of those that wear them and thier INTENTIONS.

gays wear them to promote acceptance.

a straight would likely be wearing "straight pride" to promote division...or religious agenda.

i agree. i kind of dislike terms like "gay pride" and "black pride" and "martian pride" or whatever, insert a minority designation in front of "pride"...it kind of has a divisive connotation to it. i appreciate the message though, it's not that "i'm proud of being gay because gay people are better than everyone else", it's that "i'm gay and there's nothing wrong with that, goddamnit".

it's never really been up for debate in american society whether or not it's ok to be a WASP. there's no need for WASP pride.

i think "pride" is a poor choice of words, is all

[Whatitis]

The straight guy has feeling too. 'K!

[HAL 9000]

^^^^

Judge others not by the color of their skin (or their sexual orientation or their religious beliefs) but by the content of their character....

Who said that again?

Oh yes, I think he may have been a Christian.

Not wanting to steer of topic too much here but what is wrong with judging someone by their religious beliefs? Thats a concious decision and tells you about their underlying character. Thats a world away from judging someone by race, nationailty etc. I think

[Bob]

Not wanting to steer of topic too much here but what is wrong with judging someone by their religious beliefs? Thats a concious decision and tells you about their underlying character. Thats a world away from judging someone by race, nationailty etc. I think

some people are just born again that way

[b i o n i c]

when you express "pride" in something, you're somehow speaking to those that don't. to be pro-human is sort of like "human pride". who are you speaking to if you were to celebrate human pride? animals? rocks? the ecosystem? i want that on a good shirt though.

im all for pride. there should just be one big 'pride day' where everyone goes out and waves whatever theyve got around. flags, jerseys, rainbows, bagpipes, tulips, baguettes, sombreros

im outtttttt

[DroppinScience]

I think there's a fundamental difference between "gay pride" and "straight pride." With being heterosexual, it's the expected norm for as long as humans have walked the earth. So to say you have "pride" for something so fundamentally seen as "normal" is pointless.

With homosexuality, it's considered to be on the fringes of society. It's long been looked down upon (if not outright condemned) that gays have had to be in the closet so as not to risk ridicule.

When gays have gay pride, it's out of a sense of self-discovery and they're finally not ashamed of it.

It's self-empowerment and nobody who's straight should feel threatened by it.

[Bob]

my only problem with pride is that it sounds so exclusionary. it's like you're proud of something because you can do something or you are something that other people can't do or aren't, it's like it's something that you can lord over other people. it's just lame, we need less pride floating around.

[Lyman Zerga]

word to bob

[cosmo105]

"the radical homosexual rights movement"

oh yes, they are just so insane wanting to be accepted and tolerated and all



but yeah, i think anything "pride" is a bad thing, and the school should just have something that says "gay-safe zone" or something along those lines.

[Lyman Zerga]

or
who gives a straight/bi/homosexual fuck if youre gay or not

[Bob]

it's just i mean, if you're going to justify being proud of something, at least have it be something you've earned, you know? i can understand being proud of winning the olympics, i can understand being proud of earning a nobel prize, i can understand being proud of getting a book published, but being proud of being gay or straight or black or white? how fuckin hard did you work on that? yeah i'm fuckin proud of being 6'1". i'm proud of having brown hair. i'm proud of male pattern baldness, what the fuck?

gay rights, cool, gay pride, lame

[cosmo105]

i'm proud of you being gay bob

[Bob]

i'm proud of getting you to say that

i mean wait

[Pres Zount]

but yeah, i think anything "pride" is a bad thing, and the school should just have something that says "gay-safe zone" or something along those lines.

If I was a gay basher, I know where I would be waiting, like, right on the border of gay-safe land and gay-unsafe land. They have to come out for food and shit.

[Schmeltz]

Zount is right - the entire school should be a "gay-safe zone." Herding people into zones where they can feel safe temporarily is nothing more than a tacit admission that they can't feel safe elsewhere and require special treatment to protect them from their peers.

Anyway, "Straight Pride" isn't necessarily negative, it's just stupid.

[kaiser soze]

Pussy Pride! (http://pvm.district70.org/lion_pride.jpg)

This is stupid, the kid should be able to wear the sweatshirt, now if he goes around telling people they are sinners and condeming others then it should be questioned.

[Kerrbear]

Has anyone watched any of the new Survivor? It's a dumb show, of course, and I know they show you the parts they want you to see, but I wanted to see how they would treat the whole racial separation idea. I'm surprised that each one of the groups has expressed the attitude that they need to represent for their people. The second guy to get voted out said that he wished there was a Hard Rock Musician team rather than a Latino team, since that's how he identifies himself.

[QueenAdrock]

I think there's a fundamental difference between "gay pride" and "straight pride." With being heterosexual, it's the expected norm for as long as humans have walked the earth. So to say you have "pride" for something so fundamentally seen as "normal" is pointless.

With homosexuality, it's considered to be on the fringes of society. It's long been looked down upon (if not outright condemned) that gays have had to be in the closet so as not to risk ridicule.

When gays have gay pride, it's out of a sense of self-discovery and they're finally not ashamed of it.

It's self-empowerment and nobody who's straight should feel threatened by it.

I absolutely couldn't have said it better myself. (y)

[sam i am]

If I was a gay basher, I know where I would be waiting, like, right on the border of gay-safe land and gay-unsafe land. They have to come out for food and shit.

That may be the most funny post ever on these boards.

[sam i am]

I absolutely couldn't have said it better myself. (y)

Not that you're biased or anything....;) :cool:

[QueenAdrock]

I was waiting for that.

Thanks, Sam. :p

[Helvete]

If I was a gay basher, I know where I would be waiting, like, right on the border of gay-safe land and gay-unsafe land. They have to come out for food and shit.
Hahaha, best laugh today.

[baltogrl71]

I see it this way if all the asshole homophobes never acted like themselves and alienated gays and others unlike them we wouldn't have this problem. so fuck it they created this now like everything else it blows up in their predjudice faces, I say HAHAHA!

[Tone Capone]

That's why it was in parenthesis.

I think the nature of what I was saying was clear (even though it's a horrible and slimey trick to sway the argument in my favor ) .


Oh! (y)

[Tone Capone]

...you would've really loved a book we sold at a bookstore where I worked many years ago. [i]Jesus Acted Up!{/i], which was basically how Jesus and the apostles were all gay men, hanging out. :rolleyes:

Was it a good book? I do like good books(y)

[sam i am]

I was waiting for that.

Thanks, Sam. :p

I'm here for u2. Us polocks have to stick together...:D

[sam i am]

Oh! (y)

Hmmm....

Sarcasm seems to be your forte. You should write a book or something.

[QueenAdrock]

I'm here for u2. Us polocks have to stick together...:D

Nah, I've got a Finnish background.

I just date Poles.

[sam i am]

Nah, I've got a Finnish background.

I just date Poles.

I know. I was referring to Droppin. We had a discussion a while back about both being of Polish origin.

P.S. The Finns are A-OK in my book! (They did kick the Russians ass a while back there...)

[QueenAdrock]

ha! okay, i get it now. :o

You should hear my Finnish grandfather talk about the Russians. Man oh man. Don't get him started.