In response to views on the homosexual lifestyle

A friend of mine posted this update on Facebook, and surprisingly I'm just now seeing it. It was one of the most interesting things I had read on the social network in a while. Well, I mean as far as making my gears turn. It really made me reflect on my beliefs as a confused teen. My friend's update is as follows:

"Gay people want equal rights but with events like decadence, pride, splash that promote depraved acts its no wonder why its a battle. It's ammo and a slap 2 the institute of marriage. This lifestyle is looked at as a joke."

In his defense (before anyone begins to cast judgement), he clearly comments immediately on his own post stating that those words are not his, but rather something he had seen on somebody's blog. The post was left in October of 2010.

Apparently there's a new feature I'm just becoming aware of called "Memorable updates" on Facebook. It shows you updates your friends have made in the past. That is exactly where I came across my friend's post. The following was my response to that particular post:

"Wow, how did I miss this post!? I kind of agree with you, Simon. But it's hard to understand it from another point of view. When I was younger, I was embarrassed by the thought of ever attending anything such as Splash, or Southern Decadence, or even the Pride Parade. I thought it was all so stereotypical of the lifestyle. I too believed in the sanctity of marriage as a youngster. Today, my point-of-view has gone total 180. It seems that many don't believe in marriage anymore. Look at all the celebs and even people you might know who can't even make it past 6 months to a year. It's sad. But now I see marriage as being overrated. I don't think it holds the same values it did 50 years ago. But to each his own. I'm happy with where I am, and I don't need a piece of paper to define my relationship. As for my feelings on Pride, Decadence and Splash...I'm much more liberated now, I think. I don't feel that I have to hide who I am. At least not as much as I did back in the 90s or early millennium. I attended decadence last year for the first time with my partner and some friends, and we had a great time. We met people from all over, and just had a great time being ourselves. Then again, NOLA is a totally different atmosphere. Splash is one event I still hope to attend one day. Haven't quite made it there yet. But Pride...Pride is something I never thought as a young man I'd ever enjoy. I'm proud of the person I've grown into, and even though there are a lot of things we may not agree with that are found within the gay culture, it's nice to know that the choice is up to every individual. That's what makes us all so different. Whether it's hot pink shorts at a parade, or a position in politics, homos come in all forms. I never thought 15 years ago that I would see things so differently. Wow, I can't believe how long this post is. LOL!!!"

Not everyone will agree with me, but then again, not everyone will agree with my friend either. I personally believe that everyone's own beliefs come from how they have been raised or by the people they have decided to be surrounded and influenced by. One thing I know for sure is that there is no right or wrong answer. We all have our own opinions and we're all entitled to them, so we should respect them. Not everyone will ever agree with everyone. :)