My five year-old son is gay

[Smoke]

I still think her blog title was unnecessarily provocative and a potential source of embarrassment for the kid for years to come, whether he is gay or straight. His mother has gone Perez Hilton on him and exposed him to scrutiny, no kid needs that level of attention.

I think people are making much too much of the title. After all, the article proper begins, "Or he’s not. I don’t care." She isn't saying that the kid is gay.

I'm also not in agreement with the opinion that whether one is gay or not, it is so deeply humiliating to have anyone think that one might be that the possibility should never be considered aloud.

 

[sniper762]

a child will become what its PARENTS allow it to become.

 

[Storm]

dust1n, may I ask why it's so unacceptable for me to have a different take than you?

 

[Walkntune]

This was on CNN, and even if it wasn't I know what this kid looks like and I'm pretty sure everyone in the town he lives in also knows what he looks like.

It sucks that the poor kid will have to suffer now just because his mom was chasing attention and I know that her agenda was more than the issues at hand because so far she was the only one trying to bring gay issues and sexuality into the story.(she did try to change the gay issue on the news)
If she only had her intentions right of being a good mom???? Then she could have dealt with the issues she needed to address in a blog without exploiting her child to the world.
All she did was throw her child to the wolves.
Now this poor kid is going to be picked on and called a transvestite from other kids whether he likes it or not.(children are cruel unfortunately)
I was living in Vermont when I was around twelve and saved a kid who feel through the ice on a lake which made the front page of the newspaper(very small town) and that very Monday I was called superman by all of the kids and it stuck around for quite a long time.

 

[Walkntune]

Why do you post on RF? Duh-uh...

Huge difference between me expressing an opinion behind hidden avatars and a mom posting a pic of her child on the Internet.Duh- uh!!!!

 

[monta]

I think people are making much too much of the title. After all, the article proper begins, "Or he’s not. I don’t care." She isn't saying that the kid is gay.

I'm also not in agreement with the opinion that whether one is gay or not, it is so deeply humiliating to have anyone think that one might be that the possibility should never be considered aloud.

Your imbuing a meaning to my words that aren't there, what I meant was that he will most likely be embarrassed by this exposure whether he is gay or not. I could just as easily say what is so terrible about being female that a male child is disgracing himself by dressing as such.

If she had told him the truth, (that there is a strong possibility that someone might tease him) or if the child hadn't expressed concerns himself, I might have more sympathy with her.

 

[dawny0826]

Who cares if the son is happy? This is about a mother writing about their sons being descended upon mothers who have nothing better to do than not mind their own ******* business.

Then again, take circumstances into consideration. It's a Halloween thing - people commenting on costumes in par for the course. This is why I suggested that perhaps Mom was a bit in the wrong here too. Out of all the costume choices, she allowed him to go in a costume that would inevitably raise eyebrows.

I'm not suggesting that this justifies unkind remarks but when you put your five year boy out there in a bright, colorful feminine wig and costume - people are going to notice. You can't be but so irritated at them for taking notice.

I do think that "exploitation" may be too strong a word because she clearly loves her son and is trying to make a point but I think there are a lot of Moms out there who would have handled this entire situation differently.

 

[Smoke]

Your imbuing a meaning to my words that aren't there, what I meant was that he will most likely be embarrassed by this exposure whether he is gay or not.

Because ... ?

 

[dust1n]

I've never suggested anything to anyone. I just said what I think about the situation.

...Ok. Thanks for thoughts. Now do you have something to make your thoughts worthy of consideration?

 

[dust1n]

Maybe use the phrase "outed him" like the psychiatrist on the news.

The mother didn't out him. Everyone on the 'inside' did. Not that the question was even addressed to you.

 

[.lava]

I still think her blog title was unnecessarily provocative and a potential source of embarrassment for the kid for years to come, whether he is gay or straight. His mother has gone Perez Hilton on him and exposed him to scrutiny, no kid needs that level of attention.

She either had less realistic expectations than her own 5 year old child, who she admits expressed concerns as the day approached, or she knew there would be a few raised eyebrows and that is exactly what she wanted.

I would like some more corroboration of the reaction of the other mothers, simply because I hate one sided stories.

i agree with you. i would not consider this to be an act from a protective mother. he's just 5, after all

.

 

[Magic Man]

It sucks that the poor kid will have to suffer now just because his mom was chasing attention and I know that her agenda was more than the issues at hand because so far she was the only one trying to bring gay issues and sexuality into the story.(she did try to change the gay issue on the news)
If she only had her intentions right of being a good mom???? Then she could have dealt with the issues she needed to address in a blog without exploiting her child to the world.

Explain to me how the kid is suffering. Then explain why you think the mother is chasing attention. Then explain how you get the idea she has an agenda that's more than "the issues at hand". None of that is apparent in the blog post or the piece from CNN. All of it is coming from your take on it. Posting a blog post is not chasing attention. People do it all the time because they like to. I still have yet to see anything from you that supports your view of things.

All she did was throw her child to the wolves.
Now this poor kid is going to be picked on and called a transvestite from other kids whether he likes it or not.(children are cruel unfortunately)

Where are you getting this stuff? Did you not notice that all of the kids at school were cool with it, high-fiving him and hugging him? Or does that not fit your twisted view of the situation so you ignore it?

 

[dust1n]

The internet is eternal and this was on CNN>

So? How many of the five-year-old's would feasibly go the a blog and read it? How many would remember the incident past a few moments, let alone place any emphasis on it. And I also suppose to expect that the mother knew ahead of time her blog would make it on CNN?

This was on CNN, and even if it wasn't I know what this kid looks like and I'm pretty sure everyone in the town he lives in also knows what he looks like.

Oh, so you could pick this kid out of a group of fifty or so then, right? We will also look the same his entire life, since he's only five and all. You don't even know what color his hair is. Again, no reported incidences with other children bullying this child, so whats the problem anyways?

I haven't accused her of anything, but she was either naive or she is an attention whore.

Probably a little both. So what? Nativity and a desire for attention are embedded in most beings on this planet.

Good parents don't tolerate their children, they guide and protect and they love them unconditionally, that is the baseline, doing the right thing by your kids isn't an achievement, it is the bare minimum expected of you as a person.

Where are finding the concept that she doesn't guide, protect and love her child unconditionally? And why don't good parents tolerate their children's decisions?

 

[dust1n]

dust1n, may I ask why it's so unacceptable for me to have a different take than you?

May I asked when I said it was unacceptable for you to do so? I'm just trying to understand where all of these generalizations about someone you don't know are coming from.

 

[dust1n]

It sucks that the poor kid will have to suffer now just because his mom was chasing attention and I know that her agenda was more than the issues at hand because so far she was the only one trying to bring gay issues and sexuality into the story.(she did try to change the gay issue on the news)
If she only had her intentions right of being a good mom???? Then she could have dealt with the issues she needed to address in a blog without exploiting her child to the world.

Perhaps you should look up what the word exploitation means:

In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for the benefit of others. This corresponds to one ethical conception of exploitation, that is, the treatment of human beings as mere means to an end—or as mere "objects". In different terms, "exploitation" refers to the use of people as a resource, with little or no consideration of their well-being.

Exploitation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All she did was throw her child to the wolves.
Now this poor kid is going to be picked on and called a transvestite from other kids whether he likes it or not.(children are cruel unfortunately)

So we should pussyfoot around cruel people, no?

 

[dust1n]

Huge difference between me expressing an opinion behind hidden avatars and a mom posting a pic of her child on the Internet.Duh- uh!!!!

So it's just about the picture now? And no, not really. It's a form of stress release.

 

[dust1n]

Then again, take circumstances into consideration. It's a Halloween thing - people commenting on costumes in par for the course. This is why I suggested that perhaps Mom was a bit in the wrong here too. Out of all the costume choices, she allowed him to go in a costume that would inevitably raise eyebrows.

I'm not suggesting that this justifies unkind remarks but when you put your five year boy out there in a bright, colorful feminine wig and costume - people are going to notice. You can't be but so irritated at them for taking notice.

Not, but I can certainly be irritated at them for taking notice and then implying here son was gay as if something was wrong with it. I can certainly do that.

I do think that "exploitation" may be too strong a word because she clearly loves her son and is trying to make a point but I think there are a lot of Moms out there who would have handled this entire situation differently.

Sure they would have. So why should the situation have been handled differently?

 

[dust1n]

I was living in Vermont when I was around twelve and saved a kid who feel through the ice on a lake which made the front page of the newspaper(very small town) and that very Monday I was called superman by all of the kids and it stuck around for quite a long time.

When I was living in Florida.. about 10 miles from where I live now, I dressed up like a prostitute for Halloween when I was thirteen. I never got any degrading comments, nor was I embarrassed for the entire 8 years that followed. I guess I did a good job at avoiding Christian schools that year.

 

[Walkntune]

So it's just about the picture now? And no, not really. It's a form of stress release.

Of couse the pic makes a huge difference.She could could have addressed the issues she had about her son wearing his costume and having remarks made in a blog without a pic and without going into sexual preferences and all that added drama that wasn't necessary for the point.
Thats why I said the added drama of being gay,(even making it part of the title for effect) and posting a pic of him which such a story attached was for her own agenda as far as addressing a point and was not very beneficial to the child(who should have been main concern to her).
The poor kid already seemed to have an anxiety of being made fun of for wearing the costume in public so the mother is going to post a pic of it on the internet for the world to see????

 

[Walkntune]

Explain to me how the kid is suffering. Then explain why you think the mother is chasing attention. Then explain how you get the idea she has an agenda that's more than "the issues at hand". None of that is apparent in the blog post or the piece from CNN. All of it is coming from your take on it. Posting a blog post is not chasing attention. People do it all the time because they like to. I still have yet to see anything from you that supports your view of things.



Where are you getting this stuff? Did you not notice that all of the kids at school were cool with it, high-fiving him and hugging him? Or does that not fit your twisted view of the situation so you ignore it?

It is already all over the Internet. I said what I have to say and those who see beneath the surface see my points.