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THE OTHER PRESS

 

Homosexuality: understa

 

A critical lOOk OT heterosexual pre

1 AM, NOT A HOMOSEXUAL. | AM
A CONCERNED HETEROSEXUAL
WHO .-.FEELS THAT ANYONE
WHO PERSECUTES ANOTHER
INDIVIDUAL ON THE BASIS OF
DIFFERENCES IS IGNORANT AND
PREJUDICED.

 

by OMAR SHARIFF

 

‘Its absurd to belieVe in more than
one god, to have many wives or to pray
to idols,’’ remarked an_ illustrious
student in his opening Sociology 101

’ class. The student was judging

another culture by his own personal
standards. In the face of a serious
roadblock, the teacher offered the
following writing segment to his class:

“The Nacirema have an almost
pathological horror of and fascination
with the mouth, the condition of which
is believed to have a supernatural
influence on all social relationships.
Were it not for the rituals of the
mouth, they believe that their teeth
would fall out, their gums bleed and
their lovers reject them. The daily body

 

“an almost pathological

horror and fascination
with the mouth.”

 

ritual performed by everyone includes
a mouth-rite which strikes the unini-
tiated stranger as revolting. The ritual

consists of inserting a small bundle of,

hog hairs into the mouth along with
certain magical powders and then
moving the bundle in a highly formal-
ized series of gestures. In addition to
the private mouth-rite, the people seek
out a holy-mouth-man once or twice a
year. These practitioners have an
impressive set of paraphernalia,
consisting of a variety of augers, awls,
probes and prods. The use of these
objects in the exorcism of the evils of
the mouth involves almost unbeliev-
able ritual torture of the client.’’
(People, Power & Process, 43)

If you have not already guessed,
spell Nacirema backwards and read
the passage again and you will get
some idea of how a stranger might
view the concern in North America
about oral hygiene and our relation-
ship with the dentist and the bath-
room. (People, Power & Process, 43)

In the same way, individuals have a
tendency to ’’react’’ to the act of
homosexuality, to condemn rather
than to understand and to learn. This

    
  

type of repressive attitude which
permeates society is better known as
‘cultural death’’ - whereby groups of
individuals no longer have the ability
to learn from one another.

From time immemorial, homo-
sexuality has been condemned by
traditional western values. The most
commonly sited authority to justify
such measures is the Old Testament:
’’You shall not lie with a man as with

 

“type of repressive
attitude... ‘cultural
death.”

 

a woman: that is an abomination.’’
(Lev. 18:22-24)

“lf a man has intercourse with a
man as with a woman, they both
commit an abomination. They shall be
put to death; their blood shall be on
their own heads.’’(Lev. 20:13-14)

The Old Testament cites the act of
homosexuality as evil and repulsive
because it threatens and undermines
the fundamental reproductive unit
known as the family, and ultimately
the continuation of society itself. Yet,
such beliefs are not justified by any
body of available evidence.

Sociologists refer to such an act

(homosexuality) as a ‘’victimless
crime’’ - one whereby no_one is
injured, yet individuals not directly
involved disagree with the activity and
try to impress their morality upon
these individuals. Since homosexuality
proposes to be a ’’threat’’ to society,
groups within society (such as the
church) attempt to control this form of
expression to their ideological advant-
age.

In addition, homosexuality does not
prove to be a threat to the existence of
the nuclear family. Rather, homosex-
uality is a form of biological population
control. which is practiced widely
throughout the entire animal kingdom.
Since mankind is part of the animal
kingdom, it would seem unusual to
believe that he has a special means of
immunity from homosexuality.

Yet, in this modern day of reason,
homosexuals are routinely persecuted
and alienated from the mainstream
heterosexual society.

 

“homosexuality is a
‘victimless crime.”

 

 

In all communication media forms,
including: music, literature, tele-

 

Chris Buffett
Graphic/ Martlet