Mind Over Pander

Texas Governor Rick Perry says that, like alcoholics, Gays and Lesbians should just decide not to be that way anymore.

AYFKM?

It is 2014- for many of us, anyway.  Sadly, Rick Perry is still ensconced in The Alamo, ranting and raving about those damn Hispanics- and he has added the Rainbow Coalition to his enemy list.

The Alamo is an apt analogy, me thinks.  Eventually, the homophobes, as well as those who want to impose their religious beliefs on others, which is anathema to what this country was founded upon, will die out, as did those defending the Alamo.

And there will be no subsequent battle of San Jacinto in the fight for equality and liberty.  There is no turning back.

As far as gays and alcoholics/addicts deciding not to be so...

Survey says: BUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

No, Governor, wrong on all counts.  Gays cannot decide to stop being gay. 

Nor can true alcoholics and addicts decide to stop being addicted to mind-altering substances. 

Every gay person on earth knows they were born that way.  Genetics.  Likewise, once the "switches" in the brain of an addict or alcoholic click over, there is no reset button.  Also, almost certainly, genetics.

There are some other similarities, as well.  Both are minority groups, with some social and religious stigma attaching to both.

They also share some emotional bonds, as well.  Some of the core factors for alcoholics and addicts include:

o   Addiction is a pervasive, deeply-felt sense of detachment and
alienation; not a part of; don't fit in.

o   Addiction is an impaired capacity and fear to trust.

o   Addiction is the question of whether or not one can let his/her guard
down, to trust.

o   Addiction is feeling fundamentally flawed, defective.

Certainly, many gays and lesbians have these same emotional struggles, based upon what they experienced earlier in life, and continue to experience to this day- despite the hope they now have at levels never seen before.

I don't know why I feel so strongly about gay rights.  Perhaps I was a lesbian in another life.  There are some signs thereof- my hair is cut short, I have tattoos, and I have always wanted a Subaru.

What really chaps my ancient and thinning hide is that the charge is being led by the Catholics and Mormons- two of the most discriminated-against religions in our history. 

I don't get it.

And, to paraphrase General Patton, don't throw that goddamn Bible at me, either.  If being gay was the abomination many Bible-thumpers would lead us to believe, God certainly would NOT have forgotten to mention to Moses when He gave him His all-time Top Ten List.  If it were so earth-shaking, it certainly would have come before "Honor Thy Father & Mother" or "Thou Shalt Not Lie".

Governor, you later admitted that you "stepped in it", and should have stuck to talking about jobs.

Job growth has been decent since the Kenyan-Muslim-Socialist-Terrorist-Gun Thief took office, but it could be much better.  And it would be if the United States Senators of your ilk had not blocked POTUS at every opportunity, including requiring 1/4 of the stimulus billions to be dedicated to income tax reductions for corporations.

Part of your "jobs" focus has even been trying to poach companies from California.

I have a novel concept.  Perhaps your time would be better spent making sure that there are no more fertilizer plant explosions in Texas.  Your laissez-faire approach to regulation led to the deaths of 7 of my brother firefighters, as many civilians, and injured over 300 others.

As I pointed out earlier, it is 2014.