This past Sunday I met a friend of mine (a Solid Conservative, although he refuses to identify as a Republican!) from Virginia, for lunch in Annapolis.
At some point in the conversation he got around to complaining about his new Governor and Lt. Governor. He was claiming that they were trying to make changes to the Virginia gun laws, something to do with record retention periods, and the government being able to go back over time and look into who bought what and when. To be honest I wasn’t really paying close attention. A) I had not heard this. I live in West Virginia, and while we only have the DC news channels as our news source, and thus get all the MD. and VA. news, I hadn’t heard any such thing. And B) About 5 seconds after the election he started railing about “here goes my gun rights” now that the state house was packed with liberals. So my guess was that no matter what was really happening he was going be talking some conspiracy theory. I simply responded that “I hadn’t heard that. I learned a long time ago that there was no point going into any political, or ideological discussion with him. Once upon a time I was trying to make some point, on some topic, I don’t even remember what it was, I just remember it was very benign, and just mildly progressive, and he started shrieking in my face, “You always were an Obama lover”! Which isn’t actually the case, and had nothing to do with the point I was making, but every time I tried to speak he would just start shouting that over top of me until his veins were bulging. But, I digress.
Come below for the rest:
Then he said, “Yeah, and they trying to push that gay marriage stuff too”! So, I just said, “Well, that falls into my – None of my business category”. Long ago he had agreed with me that his philosophy, much like mine, was that what people do is their own business. He didn’t want people telling him what to do, or how to live, and he had no interest in telling them the same. He wanted to be left alone, and he left other people alone. I agree with him. He’s not a religious person. I’m an agnostic. We at least agreed on that point. I bring up the religious point because that closes the door on all the usual conservative/fundy issues like abortion, contraception, prayer, etc, etc. i.e., what people do in their homes, with their bodies, generally, isn’t an issue with him. God, the Book, or his Code of Morality, isn’t guiding him to pass judgments, or rail on these issues.
So, I was surprised when he brought up “teh gay”. “No, No, That’s Different”, he said. “Well, I don’t see how”, I replied. “As far as I’m concerned what two folks do in their bedroom, and in private is their business. If they want to make it official, it’s no skin off my nose. Who Cares!?! If someone is chasing me down the street trying to corn hole me, yeah, ok, that’s different, that effects me, and it’s not like that’s ever going to happen, and that’s not this, so…. None of my business”. So here it comes: “Oh, That’s like me marrying my dog”! POW, Right to the bestiality analogy.
Where does that come from? I guess the logic is same sex marriage is “unnatural”, bestiality is “unnatural”, ergo SSM=bestiality, or some such!?!?
He had no other argument, That was the sum total of his opposition to SSM. I just repeated that, “well, what two people who love each other do with their lives is up to them, not me”, plus I added for a poke, “to be honest, if you want to marry your dog, that’s ok by me too, what goes on between a man and a consenting K-9 is none of my business”! He just looked pissed, and changed the subject.