are, in short, that it's a bunch of rubbish, but if I just said that then I wouldn't be taking the time to write an explanation. ^_^
I have heard the argument that it's hypocritical for people to look down upon those who oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage so many times from opponents of marriage equality that it is not even funny, and no matter how many times I hear this typical example of people who support the discrimination of others attempting to play the victim (something that is not at all uncommon in the discussion of same-sex marriage), it never ones gains an ounce of validity.
(First of all, let me make one thing clear. I'm not talking about opposing same-sex marriage itself here; I'm talking about opposing the ALLOWANCE of it. What I mean is that you can think same-sex marriage is totally immoral and sinful and fucked-up and every other negative adjective in the book, and that's one thing. But that thinking "I think it's immoral, sinful, and fucked-up!" translates to "It should be illegal" is another. People who have a moral opposition to same-sex marriage can and certainly in some cases do still believe that it should be legal despite their personal opinion on it. NOTHING I'm saying here refers to people who just have some moral opposition to same-sex marriage but still don't oppose the legalization of it.. what I'm saying applies only to people who flat-out think that it should not be allowed. A subtle but VERY important distinction. Opposing same-sex marriage and believing same-sex marriage should be banned are not the same thing.)
The reason why it's not hypocritical for somebody to look down upon somebody who opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage is that same-sex marriage, however you feel about it, does not inherently deprive anyone of their rights. Even if you think that it leads to negative outcomes for society or is wrong in itself for whatever reason, it still, in itself, doesn't deprive anyone of their rights. A guy marries another guy - nobody is directly infringed upon by this. Whether or not that means it's okay is another conversation, but all I'm saying here is that same-sex marriage in itself does not take away anybody's rights or autonomy.
Opposing marriage equality, however, does do this. Telling a group of people that they cannot marry does impede upon their ability to autonomy. It does infringe upon their rights - and make no mistake about it, marriage itself is a right. Article 16.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
"(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution."
For those of you who don't know, the UDHR is a declaration that the U.N. adopted in the wake of WWII. It outlines all of the basic rights that all nations agree every single human is naturally entitled to simply by being born: the right to life, the right to not be held in slavery, the right to not be tortured... and among these basic rights is the right to marry. So when people say "You can get the same rights without being married", that's not true. Marriage is in itself a right according to every single country in the entire world. You can't get the same rights without being allowed to marry, because getting married is a right in itself.
Because marriage is a right, that means that telling someone "You can't get married" is impeding upon their rights. So if you are looking down on somebody or choosing to deprive their rights based on their sexual orientation, then you are impeding upon their rights. If somebody chooses to look down upon you for doing that, then they are being in no way hypocritical. They are responding to a revocation of rights that the other individual is making. There is absolutely no hypocrisy in that any more than it's hypocritical for somebody who's getting mugged to fight the other person off in self-defense. The actions being done by the two people are totally different.
So if you don't like it when people call you names based on your belief that they should not be granted equal protections under the law, that's fine and by all means feel free to defend yourself -- but do NOT defend yourself by lambasting the other person as a "hypocrite", because you are wrong. You are just wrong. Now, if somebody started saying that you /shouldn't/ be allowed to talk about why you oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage, or if somebody tried to take away your rights to believe what you want, or if somebody tried to force a religious organization like a church to solemnize or carry out the ceremony of a marriage (such as a same-sex one) that goes against its beliefs.. then you'd have a point. Then there would be legitimate hypocrisy involved. But people looking down upon you when you are the one who begins the process in the first place by infringing upon the rights of another human being.. that is not hypocrisy. And like I said, I'm not talking about "values" and "opinions" here, because I'm not talking about people who just have some opposition to homosexuality. I'm talking about people who act as if their opposition grants them the ability to deny other human beings basic human rights.
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Furthermore, I think y'all need to be educated on what the word "ignorant" means. To be ignorant is to not know about a given topic, to be uneducated on it. Nothing more, nothing less. So no matter WHAT side someone's on, no matter WHAT personal attacks they're making.. that has nothing to do with whether they're ignorant. Nothing whatsoever. So you can oppose marriage equality and be a total prick to every single gay person you meet and spit in their faces... but that doesn't make you ignorant. And you can marriage equality and totally love everyone regardless of what they believe, but that doesn't make you /not/ ignorant. Likewise, you can oppose same-sex marriage, be cool about it, and still be ignorant - and you can support same-sex marriage, be a dick about it, and not be ignorant. The point is, ignorance has NOTHING to do with what side of a debate you're on or whether you're being a prick. So to say "Calling someone ignorant is ignorance itself" is not accurate. I don't know why people throw around that word so much as a general insult to whoever they disagree with, but it has a meaning, and that meaning is "you don't know what you're talking about." (Well, okay, I guess I /can/ see why people would throw around that word so much as a general insult in that case... but still, it's wrong and makes everyone way, WAY less likely to take you seriously.) You can be ignorant or not be ignorant no matter what side of a debate you fall on or no matter how respectfully or rudely you are espousing your views. The only thing that that word refers to is whether or not you know information to back up what you are saying.
Dismissing another side doesn't make you ignorant if you've done your homework first, no matter which side you're on. "Ignorant" and "Douchebag" are different words. Don't use one when you mean the other.
Let the shitstorm of comments commence!
(Please refrain from taking part in said shitstorm unless you've actually read what I have posted. ^_^)
Loopulle Well obviously. I hate seeing gay people say stupid shit and make personal attacks and act like just being gay means they automatically win and they don't have to bother knowing how to defend an opinion. They make the rest of us look pretty bad.
