brnbk

I fear you are looking at the mote in thy brother's eye i.e. Ms. Nikki Hailey and fail to see the mote in thine own eye; your account of the formation of the United States fails to even utter a word about the Native Americans. When the the British tribes landed up in North America, the Native Americans and their continent was far richer than Europe with a standard of living, science and industrialization that was the envy of Europe. No wonder u wanted to come to someone else's homeland and once u got there, the deliberate policy of disease and destruction, saw around 95 % of the Native American population die and their wealth, industries and farms seized by the Europeans on the claims that the white Christian god hates the heathens and has sanctions this villainous carnage. Neither the U.S. or any of the white governments in America have ever compensated the Native Americans in any meaningful way for the loss of their person, property and wealth, and the Natives todays are one of the poorest people in America, in their own continent. Why the silence when it comes to the real and continuing victims of the formation of the United States??

It is very interesting to hear the perspective of a gay doctor. 👨‍⚕️ I would say it can influence a medical practioner but i am not convinced it interferes with medical practise, at least it shouldn't. I am assuming, you chose not to become a gynecologist, for the simple reason that female genetila is not what you prefer to work with, it actually puts you off. As a gay man I am not interested in it either. Not every medical practioner or doctor specializes in all parts of medicine and I would think that most doctors are comfortable with the area of practise including the specific body area that they usually deal with. Also, I Imagine different personality types likely make different choices. Some people might prefer to work with females just coz they find the male body too attractive and don't like the distraction or interference it may bring. while others might feel more comfortable working with the gender they are attracted to rather than avoiding it. I believe it is a VERY IMPORTANT issue. From what i read, atleast according to a Havard Study, regular ejaculation reduces your risk of prostate cancer especially as you age. I do believe scientists and clinicians should be more open about this and be forthcoming as it affects the health of general public.

Same here Thank you for informing and I believe you are actually right. I do remember the term transvestite and not sure why its considered offensive as transexual seems to be pretty close to that term, and is considered socially acceptable. I still believe that gay men do have a right to a gay male bathhouse and the presence of trans men can introduce heterosexuality or perhaps to be accurate transsexuality into the space. I think more information needs to be available such as how many FTM i.e. trans men are gay. i.e. prefer men and how many are straight , i.e. prefer women. To some gay men, having sex with a FTM trans man or their presence in a bathhouse might feel like straight sex, having sex with a women instead of a man. People do feel the way they do and i think bathhouses are about sexual freedoms, live and let live. I will give u an example that I am sure many folks here would have encountered. The tops that love to share a bottom and the Top that does NOT like to share. the moment he realizes u are into group or more than him, he wants nothing more to do with you... Is he bigoted? No, i just think people are wired differently including in terms of sexual tastes.

I assumed that Trans would include both transgendered( men and women who identify with the opposite gender but do not feel the need to have a sex change surgery) and transexual ( people who wish to have a sex change operation).The key difference between the two is the former want to live only occasionally and intermittently as the other gender i.e. one opposite to what was assigned to them at birth, while the latter, transexuals wish to live as the other gender, all the time. Hope that clarifies things a little bit more. My friend does identify as a guy who like to cross-dress (Trans) and has a wife but does like to cross-dress occasionally. He does seem to take pride in his male body and does workout quite a bit. The term term Trans is wide and should include all those who identify in the broad umbrella of Trans.

I appreciate your taking the time to put forward you viewpoint. I am not aware of the details of this and honestly I wouldn't've have suspected that was the case, though I did know that the Nazis disliked any kind of "imperfection" in the Aryan race and did try to exterminate disabled people. I am going to try to read up more about it. I think the way a society treats its sick and special needs people, tells a lot about who they are as a people. I personally like to include both disabled differently abled people and regular people in special needs because I think anybody can be special needs. For e.g. A woman can be special needs compared to a man when it comes to physical strength. I disagree with treating autism as mental illness and imagine autistic people have mental illness just like the general population, and people who have mental illness need instinctive support not visceral repulsion. Sadly People can react with cruelty to people who are different. 'Crazy' people need our support not rejection.

Thank you everyone for your spirited discussion and honest sharing of your views. Just wanted to jump into the pan myself. is exclusion from a public place ever acceptable? For e.g. libraries might only be open to members, and I might be denied rights to access a book, even though i am a member of the community but not a member of the library. You have a very valid concern about inclusivity and true acceptance but even as members of the LGBTQ we do bar lesbians from gay bathhouses. Could it be possible that barring Transgendered men from gay bathhouses be on valid grounds? Of course barring people is very tricky as given the history of abuse, phobia towards anything that wasn't white christian male being a reality of the US, - barring can sound and be a very negative experience for those who are being denied entry. I mean while say for eg refusing to go to a restaurant coz it allows inter-racial dinning is clearly bigoted, could someone be allowed to say i don't like mexican food or chinese cuisine or french food for that matter — too fancy! and choose not to go to those restaurants. i totally agree that trans people are probably one of the most hard hit minority at the moment and they face the maximum violence and sheer hatred for who they are. Bigotry against them is still socially acceptable and people are very slow to change. Even trans people have sexual preferences. believe me, a very handsome man that i know knew, is trans and was in the US Marines and he told me he was once out and dressed as a women and a guy made a pass at him, he was going to beat up the guy who made a pass at him. I was very confused when he related the story to me but explained He is trans but is attracted to women not men! it doesn't need to be an Olympic of Oppression and there doesn't need to be a hierarchy even but i think, categories always remain. Racial bigotry is unique and while disability can bring hostility and perhaps even hate, but can it really equal hate- such as those towards another race(Cowboys vs Indian), gender – that women, religion (catholic vs protestant etc) ?

Thank you so much for responding, Bootman. I actually did wonder if the gentleman who i responded to had posted after his initial post, but the thought only occurred to me, after i had hit the Post button! The decline in stigma in 2015, that u mention, would u say it was for HIV, being gay or both.? I feel sad that anybody could be so mean, that they are horrified at the thought of sex with a poz guy. As an Asiatic guy, I usually find two groups within western homosexuality: The first group of people who are very much into Asians and another set of western gays who seem almost horrified at the thought of having sex with an "Asian". It is sad when gays behave in such bigoted and bullying fashion, but i guess homosexuals are subject to the same faults that straight human being are. Much of the rejection/horror is just an act, thought , coz if u are having casual sex, then how do u know if the person is truly neg? I personally think that being gay is itself a big issue for some gay men, who come from homophobic family backgrounds and often fear that HIV would make their homophobic family and/or friends reject them more or see it as a punishment from God specially as a punishment for homosexuality, as believed by many evangelical-fundamentalist "Christians".

I know some others might misunderstand my question, but seeing your full response, makes me confident, that you will not. I am wondering if u have ever faced any kind of hostility – even horror – as a gay person, i.e. for being gay; and how would u compare that with people's response when u tell them you are poz.

parts of Islam can be scary just as parts of Judaism. Some object to the seemingly exclusive parts of Christianity, and find it offensive and even violent spiritually. Of course, most jews, muslims, christians and westerners consider their religion most peaceful. Why do u think that people who oppose Trump: his autocracy, anti democratic tendencies, lie, demagoguery, racism, financial fraudulence etc. — don't oppose Islam and parts of its culture that are anti-modern and against freedoms of the world. They are less likely to be vocal about it, simply out of politeness since Islam is a non western religion and they don't know everything about it and want to avoid criticizing it unfairly and wrongly?

It sure is complicated! and I have started wondering about people who gather in groups/societies 🙂 and claim they are sex addicts. Not that i don't think its possible but it sure seems like they are very keen to ascribe this 'title' to themselves, almost like some kind of self flagellation of their christian church upbringing, of their parents or grandparents memory as many did grow up without any personal attendance to a church but their religious ideas mostly came from society around them. I have seen self proclaimed sex addicts-gay men talk about how it was horribly 'addictive' for them to visit a sex bookstore in the 80's and I kept thinking to myself, how else would u have had sex back then, considering many parts of the US did have active anti-sodomy laws which meant that u could go to jail for homosexual sex. How these men can consider their sexual activity as being "addictive" often with the justification that they could get AIDS added it, as being proof of their addiction is beyond me. As far AIDS is concerned, I have shared in my earlier post ( which I am not going to repeat, lest i get banned again!) that the U.S. government with it medical negligence did end up creating HIV Aids into a problem for gays and blacks and eventually a global problem, that it is today. A speech that Hollywood hero, and President of that era, Ronald Regan made in 1987 is very telling of his views, "It's also important that America not reject those who have the disease, but care for them with dignity and kindness. Final judgment is up to God; our part is to ease the suffering and to find a cure". I wonder if he would have referred to those with heart disease or cancer or some other medical disease, as awaiting a Final Judgement from God. To our self diagnosed sex addicts who believe Aids is a proof of the addictiveness of gay sex I have to ask: Going out in the cold can make u catch a cold or worse get pneumonia. Thus, is going out in the cold, addictive and those who do such things, "addicts". Sex is as complicated as human life. Studies point to the complexity of human sexual existence and experience. Regular ejaculation, atleast according to existing studies, says can prevent prostrate cancer in older men. (Havard published research. )To those who are anti-sexual, that should be food for thought.

bareback

Just to clarify: by married, did u mean to a women — only — or a man as well ?

Many of us, would have at some point come across the topic of sex addiction and some perhaps some even 'explored if we are one! Sex addiction is a term used to describe an alleged addiction to sex, similar to alcohol or drug addiction; the only difference here being an addiction to a process as opposed to substances. Some other process addictions including gambling, shopping, debt, codependency; and food as well which I guess, is somewhere in between a substance addiction and a process addiction. There are groups/fellowships out there that purport to help sex addicts including ones specifically tailored to meet the needs of gay sex addicts or sexual compulsives Are these people really helping gay people who need help OR just legitimizing social homophobia — into forms that look like they are trying to help (conversion therapy etc.) but are actually harming homosexuals in the long run!

yes, Thank you tallslenderguy for enumerating for us what religious fundamentalisim esp. in the US context is. Fundamentalism aka. Evangelicalism is truly a mind fuck. It distorts reality and history to forward the agenda of a tribal and capricious god, "God". Doesn't matter that the U.S. constitution does not have the word God or Church, or Jesus and the Saints in it; yet, apparently, the US constitution is really a 'christian document', establishing the "Church" over a christian America. And just to be clear, the US constitution is written in plain English and not some other language, which would justify a confusion! A truly christian thought, and I would like to add my prayer call: Amen, God speed, Our God can do miracles! May speaker Johnson become a decent human being and stop watching porn and worse, sharing this information and the desire to share this information, with his own son!! The Scripture says, it is better to marry than to burn and Speaker Johnson seems to be burning the in the flames of desire as proved by his porn struggles; and since he goes to the Bible for all the answers, and considers it the ultimate Truth, then may he get another wife, since the Prophets in the Bible, did often have more than one wife, as his present wife is not able to satisfy him. We must all turn to the Bible, the good ol' plain English Bible to answer all of the questions America and the world faces...

That is terrible. There are loads of other things to read instead of wacky political columnists, many of who seem driven more by some kind of interests or agenda. There are many book clubs, even online these days. Message me if you are interested, and more than happy to share information, as I am not sure if isn't against the rules to talk about/'advertise' other groups. There is one next Monday (20 Nov) reading the The Kingdom of Sand by Andrew Holleran.

Nothing inherently wrong with preferring quality over quantity or preferring a particular Type, as if we are honest to ourselves, most people do have a type; but if u have started developing a desire for quantity — it is all good, as well. Both are not mutually exclusive but usually have an inverse relationship. You tend to move more away from you ideal quality, when u try to increase the quantity of it. You could test-try the quantity mode and see if it is for you?

Well, it is sad when people of color start sounding like crazy Rich old wealthy guys — who if the law be applied appropriately, would actually face jail time for their white collar crimes. Rising inequality, a shocking mortality rate due to CoVID, end of female freedom and choice i.e. abortion right, are shocking developments in the United States that u would only expect very-wealth white men to be blind to, not people from immigrants backgrounds who moved to the US presumably for a better and freer life with liberty and justice and equality for all. I only referred to his race or ethnicity to point to the irony that while majority of Indian Americans are Democrats and liberal in their views, the two republican candidates of Indian origin are both cruel conservatives with no sympathy for LGBTQ folks . Nikki Hailey thinks, trans men are responsible for an increase in young girl's suicide! and Vivek is willing to tolerate gays only in their adult privacy instead of acknowledging them as an entity and category, just like his— an immigrant and brown man who is now aspiring to be the President of a country where before the Hart–Cellar Act of the 60s, people like him and his parents would be deemed non white and not worthy of residence and nationality and denied entry. While i don't believe that race alone helps people gain empathy for other socially marginalized groups it is sad when people from minority backgrounds do not sympathize with other minorities, and explore the possibility that the oppression suffered by others, is just the same as that endured by their parents or themselves, but just a different kind.

LMgay💏AO, MagaSmarmy he is indeed! The irony of it all is that there is now a Trump, again — yet he is brown in color and younger than 40! Who would want to build a wall with Canada? the debate threw up another of Vivek's crazy statement; the guy is truly nuts. magaSmarmy – young and brown Trump. a menace

Truly creepy but US christian fundamentalism now calling itself Evangelical, has always been creepy when people decide to go investigate it. 1. i wonder what the Mother i.e. Mrs. Johnson thinks of the whole thing? 2. Mr. Johnson clearly likes to put boy in vulnerable situations: His black "adopted son" who refuses to acknowledge him publicly, or him now sending sexually explicit information to his own son! all show this need and affinity for boys in vulnerable situations. I once read a report about Catholic priests who offended against boys, and one of their primary desire was to find young boys and minors in vulnerable situations. I wish I had read the report fully so that I could offer some more insights but this whole affair, sure sounds creepy as hell. What kind of christian is he, if he still struggles with pornography, and if he is such a struggling christian, why judge others especially homosexuals — so harshly? Has he heard of the Master's Words: Judge not, lest ye be judged.

You cannot bless and you can bless.... 🙂; how do we interpret that, or perform it in real life? I wonder what the indulgences for barebacking would look like. Anyone who has indulged in barebacking in the last 3 months, can buy an Indulgence with a payment of $1M ?

In a. to c. he repeats traditional teaching — non recognition of same sex 'marraige', but then goes on to say (d.) we must not judge, and (e.) try to bless but not as a marriage coz same-sex is a mistaken concept of marriage (e.) and the Church must not convey a message of affirmation for it, yet in the very next point(f.), goes on to question objective morality and suggests it may be mitigated by factors affective subjective accountability; thus presumably, allowing for the possibility of same-sex blessing as if gays are born this way, can they really be held accountable for their actions. So, A to C is No D is possibly E is maybe F is Yes! --------------------- Thus, A To F is...

5 Cardinals recently asked the Pope, officially through a format known as Dubia, a couple of questions including the possibility of the Catholic Church officiating same-sex marriages or atleast a blessing to same sex couples, presumably on the lines of those followed in the Anglican Church. The million dollar question is did Pope Francis say Yes or No? Following is the text of his response 2. Dubium regarding the assertion that the widespread practice of blessing same-sex unions is in accordance with Revelation and the Magisterium (CCC 2357). According to the Divine Revelation, attested in Sacred Scripture, which the Church teaches, “listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit" (Dei Verbum, 10), "In the beginning," God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them, and blessed them to be fruitful (cf. Genesis 1:27-28) and hence, the Apostle Paul teaches that denying sexual difference is the consequence of denying the Creator (Romans 1:24-32). We ask: can the Church deviate from this "principle," considering it, in contrast to what was taught in Veritatis splendor, 103, as a mere ideal, and accept as a "possible good" objectively sinful situations, such as unions with persons of the same sex, without departing from the revealed doctrine? Pope Francis's Response to the Second Dubium a) The Church has a very clear understanding of marriage: an exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to procreation. Only this union can be called "marriage." Other forms of union realize it only in "a partial and analogous way" (Amoris Laetitia 292), so they cannot be strictly called "marriage." b) It is not just a matter of names, but the reality we call marriage has a unique essential constitution that requires an exclusive name, not applicable to other realities. It is undoubtedly much more than a mere "ideal." c) For this reason, the Church avoids any type of rite or sacramental that might contradict this conviction and suggest that something that is not marriage is recognized as marriage. d) However, in our relationships with people, we must not lose the pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes. The defence of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity; it also includes kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement. Therefore, we cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude. e) Therefore, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage. For when a blessing is requested, it is expressing a plea to God for help, a supplication to live better, a trust in a Father who can help us live better. f) On the other hand, although there are situations that are not morally acceptable from an objective point of view, the same pastoral charity requires us not to simply treat as "sinners" other people whose guilt or responsibility may be mitigated by various factors affecting subjective accountability (Cf. St. John Paul II, Reconciliatio et paenitentia, 17). g) Decisions that may be part of pastoral prudence in certain circumstances should not necessarily become a norm. That is, it is not appropriate for a Diocese, a Bishops' Conference, or any other ecclesial structure to constantly and officially enable procedures or rituals for all kinds of matters, because not everything that "is part of a practical discernment in particular circumstances can be elevated to the level of a rule" as this "would lead to an intolerable casuistry" (Amoris laetitia, 304). Canon law should not and cannot cover everything, nor should Episcopal Conferences with their varied documents and protocols claim to do so, as the life of the Church flows through many channels other than normative ones

I am of the view that the US government mismanaged the situation ,deliberately, out of an animus towards the gay and black populations. I do believe the situation would have been handled differently and the outcome in terms of mortality would have been much different had the people affected been predominantly wealthier white people, say of the East Coast Elite. This animus can be ascribed to the evangelical-fundamentalist faith lead by the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, with an irrational hatred of gay people and gay culture and the racial underpinnings of US Christianity. This context is important in interpreting the reactions of gay men to the AIDS crisis, and that certainly includes bug chasing. I absolutely agree, since HIV was imposed on the gay population, to begin. Gay men did not choose to become HIV poz. When their community was made Poz, many of them became poz. HIV chasers are a legacy of that pathology that was imposed on gays. Sure, I will give you that HIV chasers are pathological but what I would like to highlight is that this pathology was imposed — Trickle down politics 😇by a right wing Administration. If we consider the historical context of HIV and realize that it was actually engineered on the gay population.... we are less likely to see the choices that some gay men make i.e. to pursue Sero Conversion as insane or harmful. . While gays who chose or fantasize about becoming poz are perhaps making a pathological choice, the Pathology was Imposed from up above.... You couldn't have stated it better⬆️ Hardly irrational IMO, but a way to exist! The deadly pathogen was not equally distributed to the population. Gay men got it in exceedingly large numbers, and often exclusively. The Brotherhood that u label misguided, was actually trying to identify itself and stand up and exist, pretty much like the gay prisoner in a Nazi Holocaust camp, wearing his Triangle symbol proud and aloud, to a society that did not understand gay men and their needs including their sexual wants. Gay men around the world face this immense pressure to convert to straight society and its norms. Be masculine, get married (to a women), ... and so many gay men often choose an extreme and i will readily admit self destructive path of becoming positive as to wanting to sort of refuse straight social norms. While their actions might seem self destructive, it has to be understood in the historical background and gay history in the United States which has to include the Pre Prep period as well. As is true of any historical minority, they often do hold on to pathological behaviors that served them in the past often as a legacy of their own identity and history. I want to be clear, I am not defending guys who are actively choosing to become positive by not being on Prep and still barebacking. I am glad that many poz men here have clearly enumerated the reality of the health and personal costs of living with HIV. However, I do think that guys who want to get poz are clearly suffering, from the suffocation that Straight Society imposes on gays their culture and sexuality and... structurally imposed on them through the HIV Crisis and Spread of Aids.

Human existence is complex, and disease and catastrophic events such an accident or death are hard to make sense of.. Most of us (including me) think we are immune... until the building in our house starts shaking and we realize we are in an earthquake!! How could this be happening to me, we wonder! [the prevalence of] AIDS is a man made condition: it largely spread because of the Regan government's inaction to deal with the crisis when it first exploded roughly between 1979-82. Regan's ideological and religious hostility to homosexuality is very strange considering he was a Hollywood hero and his wife was a regular consultant of astrologers; hardly the model evangelical Christian couple, IMO. Interestingly, Aids predominantly affected gay men in the West, and black people in Africa, two population groups that the Christian right and the US government that it controlled – deemed as "undesirables" and deviating from the "White norm". Gay men in the United States, whatever their color, where seen as enemies and had to fight for their rights: both against their own family's oppression and the church/faith community and government's repression — going the extra mile, so that we have the freedoms that we have. These freedoms where slowly being realized around the world and just when we thought that the world was becoming a better place, the broader notion of freedoms, the pursuit of human happiness, are sadly under attack in the United States, the land where they first became real. I believe majority of the gay men who wish to get pozzed are trying in a way to fight back against the US Government and its erstwhile war against the gays, and the legacy of it. Perhaps they are trying to be martyrs bravely fighting against the world that was was taken away from us – by the force of a Virus. Maybe its a toxic family or school bully's taunt that u are a fa.g.t and will end up getting AIDS anyways drives them. With the availability of Prep, it is indeed hard to understand why someone would choose such a so called 'self-destructive' path. The only reason I can think of is socially sanctioned Homophobia, which makes their life so miserable.... that they don't care if they are making 'rational choices'...

I am sorry to hear you feel this way. As a gay Asian man I have experienced a lot of what you describe. Sometimes the gay community can not feel very supportive, and just plain hostile🕳️... but I hope you feel the love at times as well!, 💜