http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/11/26/imo-view-should-ri-legalize-same-sex-marriage.html
Last two week, I read the headline of a new survey by The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) that uncovered the growing intolerance of minorities with the highest level of hostility directed towards the gay and lesbian community. The survey disclosed that 80.6 percent of its sample population objected to having gays or lesbians as neighbor, jumping significantly from 64.7 percent in 2005. It further showed the increasing homophobia, saying that the respondents who were mostly male, having low-income and limited education chose to live next door to followers of deviants sects like Shi’ism and Ahamdiyah, than with gays and lesbians. To be honest, I was torn with a dilemma. For me personally, I tolerate and acknowledge the existence of gays and lesbians. I used to have gays neighbors back in my hometown, and a gay classmate during high school. We got along fine as both parties respected our own private affairs, not stepping on each other’s edge. I respect their choice of life but I don’t justify or rationalize their way of life. Yet, if asked further, I would go as far to say I don’t accept gay marriage being legalized in Indonesia the way some countries have accommodated gays rights movement such as United States, Canada, etc.
In spite of this, I strongly disagree with aggression and hostility directed towards them in their pursuance of happiness and economic advancement. Violence never offers a solution whatsoever but gross human violation and conflict. As human beings, gays are also entitled to basic human rights such as the right to live, have a job, and have the chance to get elected as a member of any union or council in Indonesia. Nevertheless, if the election has been conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner, and the result doesn’t favor them, they should not jump into a conclusion that their defeat resulted from intolerance and discrimination. As a member of the larger society, they have the duty to respect and abide the existing norms, rules and regulation. They can’t force the society as a whole to accept their sexual preference. If they don’t get elected, it means the majority of people disagree with their choice of life. Further, I find it hard to accept gays marriage be legalized in any legal system in Indonesia as it is against the religious teachings and standard norms and values. For my part, I don’t justify and be in agreement because once we leave our religious standards and teachings, anything can be accepted. These systems of belief and credo have set as human moral barriers to guarantees the existence of our race. If violated, there will no logical basis upon which we can exclude other forms of sexual deviancy from the category of marriage. It is only a matter of time before the world will finally see marrying siblings, minors (intergenerational love) or polyandry referring to a form of marriage in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time as normal.
In this respect, we can extract valuable lessons from the most revered democratic country in the world, the United States. One of the biggest social issue taking place in the United States since 1924 is the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights movement since the establishment of the country’s first gay organization, Society for Human Rights in Chicago. Over the years, such movement has been endeavoring gays to be treated as equals, free from discrimination and marginalization from mainstream society. They go as far as seeking marriage rights. On the whole, the United States has been more receptive to this movement than many other countries, the same way the country has embraced sexual liberation including increased acceptance of sex outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships (primarily marriage) as part of the “sexual revolution" that has been used at least since the late 1910.
In such a way, the country's attitudes towards gay rights have evolved. The movement is able to deconstruct the common cultural concept of queer people as deviant or abnormal into a much more sympathetic image, a shifting paradigm from negative stigma to a more positive one. Popular culture and its shaper, the mass media, have played a crucial role in in the process of shaping gay cultures. The gay people were used to be portrayed as queer and psychologically fragile and so forth. But, lately the media have began to present gay people more favorably as creative, intelligent, talented, the way heterosexual people do. The sympathetic portrayal of gay and lesbian characters in prime time such as Glee, Greek, Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order: SVU and films such as Philadelphia and so forth have changed the society’s attitude towards gays. So far, six states -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York -- and the District of Columbia in the United States have legalized marriage rights for gays and lesbians. Recently, gay rights is now a major political issue in the US. The issue of same-sex marriage has pivoted into a dramatic shift of change in Obama administration who had confirmed the president's support for legislation that prevents the federal government from denying same-sex couples the same protections received by their straight counterparts. This issue has become political as it is used to garner support for the LGBT community as well as a group supporting the right of gays to marry.
Nonetheless, such shift in the society has backfired when pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals. They are using the same tactics used by gay rights activists, appealing the empathy and sympathy from people, deconstructing the ideas of what people used to perceive as ‘normal’. In July, 2010 Harvard health Publications said that Pedophilia is a sexual orientation and unlikely to change. Two psychologists in Canada, Van Gijseghem, psychologist and retired professor of the University of Montreal, and Dr. Quinsey, professor emeritus of psychology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario declared that pedophilia is a sexual orientation just like homosexuality or heterosexuality. I am at a loss in this statement. Each group seems to justify their private choice. There is no longer a logical basis upon which we can exclude other forms of sexual deviancy from the category of marriage. Certainly, gay advocates perceive this as an offence, insisting it’s not the same case. Yet, psychiatrists are now beginning to advocate redefining pedophilia in the same way homosexuality was redefined several years ago. It is only a matter of time, before other forms of sexual revolution demands such rights.
Given the serious consequences if a nation legalizes gays marriage, I am strongly oppose to the idea. We would create such a social catastrophe if we ever endorse the initiative. I question again is Indonesia willing to risk to get embittered by such issue? I strongly oppose to violence directed to minority groups. Gay or not, minor or major, all citizens should be treated equal, free from discrimination. Yet, the most vital question is what kind of society do we want to live in? What kind of society do we want to raise our children in? If I was asked, I would say that I want to live and raise my children in a society where the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman in safeguarded and revered as the laws of the Divine. So, I don't approve or accept homosexuality as right, but I tolerate its existence.
After all, man is morally good and has the power to triumph over evil temptation. “What makes a man a man? It’s the choices he makes! Not how he starts things but how he finishes them” (Hellboy, 2004)
Last two week, I read the headline of a new survey by The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) that uncovered the growing intolerance of minorities with the highest level of hostility directed towards the gay and lesbian community. The survey disclosed that 80.6 percent of its sample population objected to having gays or lesbians as neighbor, jumping significantly from 64.7 percent in 2005. It further showed the increasing homophobia, saying that the respondents who were mostly male, having low-income and limited education chose to live next door to followers of deviants sects like Shi’ism and Ahamdiyah, than with gays and lesbians. To be honest, I was torn with a dilemma. For me personally, I tolerate and acknowledge the existence of gays and lesbians. I used to have gays neighbors back in my hometown, and a gay classmate during high school. We got along fine as both parties respected our own private affairs, not stepping on each other’s edge. I respect their choice of life but I don’t justify or rationalize their way of life. Yet, if asked further, I would go as far to say I don’t accept gay marriage being legalized in Indonesia the way some countries have accommodated gays rights movement such as United States, Canada, etc.
In spite of this, I strongly disagree with aggression and hostility directed towards them in their pursuance of happiness and economic advancement. Violence never offers a solution whatsoever but gross human violation and conflict. As human beings, gays are also entitled to basic human rights such as the right to live, have a job, and have the chance to get elected as a member of any union or council in Indonesia. Nevertheless, if the election has been conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner, and the result doesn’t favor them, they should not jump into a conclusion that their defeat resulted from intolerance and discrimination. As a member of the larger society, they have the duty to respect and abide the existing norms, rules and regulation. They can’t force the society as a whole to accept their sexual preference. If they don’t get elected, it means the majority of people disagree with their choice of life. Further, I find it hard to accept gays marriage be legalized in any legal system in Indonesia as it is against the religious teachings and standard norms and values. For my part, I don’t justify and be in agreement because once we leave our religious standards and teachings, anything can be accepted. These systems of belief and credo have set as human moral barriers to guarantees the existence of our race. If violated, there will no logical basis upon which we can exclude other forms of sexual deviancy from the category of marriage. It is only a matter of time before the world will finally see marrying siblings, minors (intergenerational love) or polyandry referring to a form of marriage in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time as normal.
In this respect, we can extract valuable lessons from the most revered democratic country in the world, the United States. One of the biggest social issue taking place in the United States since 1924 is the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights movement since the establishment of the country’s first gay organization, Society for Human Rights in Chicago. Over the years, such movement has been endeavoring gays to be treated as equals, free from discrimination and marginalization from mainstream society. They go as far as seeking marriage rights. On the whole, the United States has been more receptive to this movement than many other countries, the same way the country has embraced sexual liberation including increased acceptance of sex outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships (primarily marriage) as part of the “sexual revolution" that has been used at least since the late 1910.
In such a way, the country's attitudes towards gay rights have evolved. The movement is able to deconstruct the common cultural concept of queer people as deviant or abnormal into a much more sympathetic image, a shifting paradigm from negative stigma to a more positive one. Popular culture and its shaper, the mass media, have played a crucial role in in the process of shaping gay cultures. The gay people were used to be portrayed as queer and psychologically fragile and so forth. But, lately the media have began to present gay people more favorably as creative, intelligent, talented, the way heterosexual people do. The sympathetic portrayal of gay and lesbian characters in prime time such as Glee, Greek, Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order: SVU and films such as Philadelphia and so forth have changed the society’s attitude towards gays. So far, six states -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York -- and the District of Columbia in the United States have legalized marriage rights for gays and lesbians. Recently, gay rights is now a major political issue in the US. The issue of same-sex marriage has pivoted into a dramatic shift of change in Obama administration who had confirmed the president's support for legislation that prevents the federal government from denying same-sex couples the same protections received by their straight counterparts. This issue has become political as it is used to garner support for the LGBT community as well as a group supporting the right of gays to marry.
Nonetheless, such shift in the society has backfired when pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals. They are using the same tactics used by gay rights activists, appealing the empathy and sympathy from people, deconstructing the ideas of what people used to perceive as ‘normal’. In July, 2010 Harvard health Publications said that Pedophilia is a sexual orientation and unlikely to change. Two psychologists in Canada, Van Gijseghem, psychologist and retired professor of the University of Montreal, and Dr. Quinsey, professor emeritus of psychology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario declared that pedophilia is a sexual orientation just like homosexuality or heterosexuality. I am at a loss in this statement. Each group seems to justify their private choice. There is no longer a logical basis upon which we can exclude other forms of sexual deviancy from the category of marriage. Certainly, gay advocates perceive this as an offence, insisting it’s not the same case. Yet, psychiatrists are now beginning to advocate redefining pedophilia in the same way homosexuality was redefined several years ago. It is only a matter of time, before other forms of sexual revolution demands such rights.
Given the serious consequences if a nation legalizes gays marriage, I am strongly oppose to the idea. We would create such a social catastrophe if we ever endorse the initiative. I question again is Indonesia willing to risk to get embittered by such issue? I strongly oppose to violence directed to minority groups. Gay or not, minor or major, all citizens should be treated equal, free from discrimination. Yet, the most vital question is what kind of society do we want to live in? What kind of society do we want to raise our children in? If I was asked, I would say that I want to live and raise my children in a society where the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman in safeguarded and revered as the laws of the Divine. So, I don't approve or accept homosexuality as right, but I tolerate its existence.
After all, man is morally good and has the power to triumph over evil temptation. “What makes a man a man? It’s the choices he makes! Not how he starts things but how he finishes them” (Hellboy, 2004)
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