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Why Does Being Diverse Make you Special?

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
I bet if a straight guy walks into a room full of liberal humanists they will all be greeting him and being nice, small talking him, and if a gay guy walks into that room they will all be kissing his ***.

I never understood celebrating diversity or the black pride or gay pride thing, especially considering that us white, straight folks don't get any pride parades and a white history month.

Sure I respect blacks, gays, and women. I'm not racist, homophobic, or sexist. But that doesn't mean I think a black lesbian woman is a god.
 

Madhuri

RF Goddess
Staff member
Premium Member
It's generally a celebration representing change for the better good (because things used to be different, used to be worse).

It would probably seem insensitive to celebrate being a white male since in the USA, Aus, Canada etc. white man is still top dog and still creates a lot of wrongdoing. I think eventually (hopefully) as we get used to an integrated society our celebrations will focus more on that integration and 'acceptance culture'.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
sensitive to celebrate being a white male since in the USA, Aus, Canada etc. white man is still top dog and still creates a lot of wrongdoing.

If I had said that about a black male it would be considered racist or at least stereotypical.
 

Cassiopia

Sugar and Spice
I bet if a straight guy walks into a room full of liberal humanists they will all be greeting him and being nice, small talking him, and if a gay guy walks into that room they will all be kissing his ***.
Why do you think this?
I never understood celebrating diversity or the black pride or gay pride thing, especially considering that us white, straight folks don't get any pride parades and a white history month.
Well there is the problem. As long as you separate yourself from people who you perceive to be different in some way you are creating an "us and them" mentality.

Celebrating diversity means celebrating the fact that humanity has much to offer in all it's different forms and expressions. It means enjoying the full spectrum of the rainbow rather than limiting your vision to black and white.

Sure I respect blacks, gays, and women. I'm not racist, homophobic, or sexist. But that doesn't mean I think a black lesbian woman is a god.
Who says you have to?
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
Why do you think this?
I've observed it from many societal liberals.

Well there is the problem. As long as you separate yourself from people who are different in some way you perceive you are creating an us and them mentality.

That's exactly why I'm saying celebrating diversity makes NO sense in any way or form. You're creating an us and them mentality...

Celebrating diversity means celebrating the fact that humanity has much to offer in all it's different forms and expressions. It means enjoying the full spectrum of the rainbow rather than limiting your vision to black and white.

And? I think they'd get the clue a lot better if we didn't care, not even the slightest bit of interest, about someone's race, sex, sexual orientation, etc.

Who says you have to?

Not saying people have to... saying some people generally DO.
 

Cassiopia

Sugar and Spice
And? I think they'd get the clue a lot better if we didn't care, not even the slightest bit of interest, about someone's race, sex, sexual orientation, etc.
The problem is that some sections of society care in a negative way. As a straight white guy you probably won't have to fight for your right to marry the person of your dreams, you probably won't get beaten up because of your sexuality or the colour of your skin, you probably won't lose housing or work opportunities because of your skin colour, religion or sexuality. Some people don't have that luxury and until they do, one of their/our tactics is to trumpet the fact that different is good and should not be a cause for disadvatage.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
The problem is that some sections of society care in a negative way. As a straight white guy you probably won't have to fight for your right to marry the person of your dreams, you probably won't get beaten up because of your sexuality or the colour of your skin, you probably won't lose housing or work opportunities because of your skin colour, religion or sexuality. Some people don't have that luxury and until they do, one of their/our tactics is to trumpet the fact that different is good and should not be a cause for disadvatage.

Celebrating doesn't change that, passing bills does.
 

apophenia

Well-Known Member
I think you are missing the bleeding obvious. Sectors of the population have been oppressed, abused and vilified for hundreds of years. So when a movement is established to redress that imbalance, there is a huge pre-existing bias to overcome.

How long have gay men had respect in your society ? How many places in the world are they still vilifies and persecuted ?

How long since they could serve openly and with pride protecting your *** in the military ?

And you want white pride marches ? Man, do you have any idea what took place in your country ? I'm assuming you realise that the original black people of the USA were captured and stolen from their homeland, brutalised, totally disenfranchised, and enslaved to create the wealth white people enjoy.

Maybe you just don't get that. Sounds that way. Maybe you don't even get how recent the American civil war actually was. It is symptomatic of the ignorance of youth I guess - 150 years sounds like an eternity. But it isn't. It is a blink of the eye in terms of social transformation. How long has it been since colored people had to sit at the back of the bus ? Do you know ?

And how long has it been since blacks and whites were segregated ? How long since the Ku Klux Klowns were behaving like rabid dogs with no-one stopping them ? And are you aware of how many of those subhuman jerks are still trying to mobilise racist violence ?

I assume you know that it was animals like that who were behind the Sikh massacre ? So it's not like even basic civilisation has emerged in some parts of white society.

It takes generations to change such deeply entrenched malevolent ignorance. You seem to think that now that laws reflect a social change, the job is done. You clearly do not appreciate that the same oppressive ignorant values of your not-so-distant relatives get passed down from father to son for some considerable time after people's rights are officially recognised. Possibly even in your own generation by the sound of it.

White pride marches !? Yeah, like the white people have been so oppressed by colored people that they need to celebrate and reinforce their basic freedoms.:facepalm:

Maybe you would like to see heterosexual pride marches too ? I mean, heteros have been so unfairly treated huh ?

Basically what I'm saying is - you seem to have no clue whatsoever. To be honest, I think you find it funny to make a post like that. Provocative, the mark of a real maverick. You're being a naughty boy and proving your independent thinking. Well, here's the news - before you can think independently, you have to think.

I fully realise that I will have little or no influence on your attitude right now. You are very young, driven by hormones and half-baked notions, with little in the way of intellectual sophistication. That is to be understood.That is your life stage. Obviously you don't have a matured outlook, a wealth of experience, or a sophisticated well-developed world view, and it would be unreasonable of me to expect that you would.

But for every respondent to a thread, there are dozens of people silently viewing the thread, so with them in mind I felt that your transparently deliberate attempt at being annoying and provocative needed to be clearly answered. Otherwise it may be wrongly assumed that your folly was being taken seriously.

Your signature gif makes it clear where you are coming from, and although the OP may raise giggles and a few provocative hand gestures from a high school audience ( a small minority of them, I would hope), there should be no doubt that they would be the only people amused or in support - apart from the social dinosaurs who still dream of flaming crosses and beating on gays.

Celebrating doesn't change that, passing bills does.
Unfortunately, not true. As your post indicates.



.
 
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HonestJoe

Well-Known Member
I bet if a straight guy walks into a room full of liberal humanists they will all be greeting him and being nice, small talking him, and if a gay guy walks into that room they will all be kissing his ***.
Depending on your perception of what a "liberal humanist" actually is, I think you'd loose that bet. Most normal people don't generally treat individuals differently on the basis of their sexuality.

I never understood celebrating diversity or the black pride or gay pride thing, especially considering that us white, straight folks don't get any pride parades and a white history month.
Understandable. I think they're some poor choices of terms and they've been grossly abused as concepts over the years.

I see "celebrating" diversity as really just recognising that it exists and not automatically condemning it. The truth is that everyone is different anyway, it's just that some ways of being different have been assumed to be bad, generally with no rational basis (especially given what is perceived as bad has constantly changed through the generations).

The whole "pride" thing was another poor word choice IMO. Initially, it was about homosexuals refusing to hide in the shadows and accept that they were intrinsically evil and wrong. Remember this was still in an era where being openly gay was likely to get you thrown in prison and or beaten up. The whole concept have evolved over time, as some level of acceptance of the existence of homosexuality has developed and much of what is now labelled as "gay pride" is a world away from the original concept of often counter-productive. I don't think it's reflective of the majority of homosexual people in the world any more. After all, homosexuals are diverse too.
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
I bet if a straight guy walks into a room full of liberal humanists they will all be greeting him and being nice, small talking him, and if a gay guy walks into that room they will all be kissing his ***.

I never understood celebrating diversity or the black pride or gay pride thing, especially considering that us white, straight folks don't get any pride parades and a white history month.

Sure I respect blacks, gays, and women. I'm not racist, homophobic, or sexist. But that doesn't mean I think a black lesbian woman is a god.
We are at a point in History when it is deemed necessary to raise awareness of the issues that these people have with society's paradigms. By the time you're an old man it will probably have blown over, and a new set of issues over paradigms will have arisen, and perhaps garnered its own version of a parade.
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
That's exactly why I'm saying celebrating diversity makes NO sense in any way or form. You're creating an us and them mentality...
Not necessarily. Diversity exists, and celebrating something for its own sake is splendid. What you seem to be railing against is inequality: that some people get to be diverse and others don't. :)

That is the "us and them" mentality.
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
I bet if a straight guy walks into a room full of liberal humanists they will all be greeting him and being nice, small talking him, and if a gay guy walks into that room they will all be kissing his ***.

That would be a really, really silly bet. But, since you seem to need it ... :kissbette
 

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
Well there is the problem. As long as you separate yourself from people who you perceive to be different in some way you are creating an "us and them" mentality.

So "white pride" does this, but "black pride" does not? I think sum's point is about double standards. If we're truly striving for equality, shouldn't race and sexuality be entirely irrelevant?
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
So "white pride" does this, but "black pride" does not? I think sum's point is about double standards. If we're truly striving for equality, shouldn't race and sexuality be entirely irrelevant?
An example would be in electioneering. McCain & Romney couldn't relish being white, but Obama
can exalt his ethnicity without a backlash. It is a double standard, but I'm not prepared to say it's wrong.
 

Straw Dog

Well-Known Member
I bet if a straight guy walks into a room full of liberal humanists they will all be greeting him and being nice, small talking him, and if a gay guy walks into that room they will all be kissing his ***.

I never understood celebrating diversity or the black pride or gay pride thing, especially considering that us white, straight folks don't get any pride parades and a white history month.

Sure I respect blacks, gays, and women. I'm not racist, homophobic, or sexist. But that doesn't mean I think a black lesbian woman is a god.

I think some of your confusion may come from being a straight, white guy. There is no unifying cause that all white dudes can rally behind or oppression specific to us. This might cause a sense of alienation if we don't seek more universal causes beyond such trivial distinctions. It's not that minorities are more special, but that special attention may be required to address culturally conditioned discrimination that we may not even be aware of. Cultivating a self-reflective consciousness may assist in this aim.

In some cases however, reverse racism or discrimination may not be very helpful towards establishing greater equality since it still insists on dividing everyone into groups: blacks, gays, etc. I think it's important to try and see individuals as they are as much as we can and respect their uniqueness and individual liberty rather than always trying to define everyone by groups, considering the differences tend to be largely superficial anyway.
 
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