Poor poor anti-gay straight folks for having the burden of having to face this sort of reality, because it's certainly been a reality for the entire history of humanity, and I'd bet my life savings that it will continue to be a reality, for although it's a bit difficult for science to prove it, but c'mon - let's be real, homosexuality, although a minority in the MULTI-MILLIONS, is without doubt as real to the human condition as anything is.

 

Honestly, why would all of those multi-millions of people choose to be something that is instantly received with such scrutiny and condemnation? And just as straight folks never chose to be straight, they just are. Gays too never chose to be gay, they just are. I don't know why it's such a stretch for some straight people to comprehend that in it's simplicity.

 

Some people like liver and onions and some people don't. I don't, but I'm not about to tell those who do that they're weird. If their taste buds get excited about the thought, who am I to say they shouldn't enjoy a dish of it?

 

I say this jokingly, although not entirely, but if anti-gay straight folks want homosexuals to "go away", then they might want to consider to quit giving birth to them.

 

Do you believe some people can be "conditioned" into homosexuality? Not all, but some. I ask that because of a not for profit client I used to have which served young girls. This organization received government funding for their operations, therefore they were required to have an audit to make sure the funding they applied for and received actually met the stipulations. Because of that, we often had to review the files of these girls to insure appropriate funding was being applied for. Many, many of these girls had molestation by men in their lives and (just from being out there and being familiar with the girls) an unusually large percentage of them were lesbians. While I never asked, I always wondered if the molestation caused them to subconsciously "fear" being intimate with a man so the subconsciously were drawn to women? That would be an example where I wonder if someone who was "wired" to be heterosexual could be "rewired" to become homosexual. Just curious of someone who is gay would see that is possible.

Do you believe some people can be "conditioned" into homosexuality? Not all, but some. I ask that because of a not for profit client I used to have which served young girls. This organization received government funding for their operations, therefore they were required to have an audit to make sure the funding they applied for and received actually met the stipulations. Because of that, we often had to review the files of these girls to insure appropriate funding was being applied for. Many, many of these girls had molestation by men in their lives and (just from being out there and being familiar with the girls) an unusually large percentage of them were lesbians. While I never asked, I always wondered if the molestation caused them to subconsciously "fear" being intimate with a man so the subconsciously were drawn to women? That would be an example where I wonder if someone who was "wired" to be heterosexual could be "rewired" to become homosexual. Just curious of someone who is gay would see that is possible.

 

In a word "Yes", but I've never been one for just one word, so I guess it's not too surprising that I'd have a detailed thought about that to follow that "one word", huh?

 

In general I think that the majority of gays feel as if they've known about themselves from a very young age, without ever feeling as if anything unusual about their upbringing conditioned them in anyway in any extreme fashion, but I do very much think that situations as you suggested can have a large affect.

 

In many cases I believe that both nature and nurture are at play for some people.

 

I think it might be easier for woman to switch teams than men, considering the biology of men requires a bodily function that can't typically be charged up unless there's a real natural sense of charging coming from true real attraction.

 

I very much think that much of human behavior is conditioned as is supported by the likes of human behaviorist philosopher B.F. Skinner, so much that I can't say for certain that I was born gay, or if inadvertently conditioned to be.

 

Not because of any childhood experiences, but (although there are gay people with multitudes of various family structures), I was the youngest of 6 in a family where I had 4 sisters and 1 brother. I always wondered if that much sister influence influenced me, but I can't remember a time that I wasn't gay, and I never once felt excitedly stimulated by the thought of being with a woman, but most don't know that I'm gay until I tell them because I typically, unless I'm in denial, appear to be straight, and usually get a reaction that people are surprised.

 

By comparison I have a great straight male friend who was the youngest of 6 with 5 older sisters, and is as straight of a guy as you'll ever meet.

 

I heard theories that sometimes the last born boys of large families have a bigger chance of being gay somehow related to the mother's chemistry while being pregnant.

 

We all have heard that there's a possibility of difference in the hypothalamus in the brains of straight men and gay men.

 

I known men who've been certain to be straight their whole lives while seeing many many woman, when much later in life all of the sudden they have this uncontrollable urge to only see men. They don't believe they were in denial and had no doubts that they were once straight, only to change later in life. That's perplexing, but I have to believe what they say I suppose.

 

There are numerous examples of people with different experiences that cloud one and only true answer. I still feel that the majority of those who know that they are gay, have known it their whole lives before much in their life had a chance to play a roll as conditioning. At least nothing too definable or obvious. In my case there's an argument that can be made about having so many sisters, but my straight friend's life is sorta parallel and he's as straight as they come. Of course his and my behavioral stimulus throughout our childhood is not 100% exact. It's hard to know exactly what causes it.

 

There are some people that are inclined for whatever reasons to experiment with their sexuality and try stuff that's not entirely, for them at first, feels natural. Through human conditioning some of those folks through their experiences little by little have their behavior and desires altered to eventually gravitate to doing things and become more comfortable doing things they might not have in the past. In their case I believe it's completely related to conditioning, and in those cases something within those folks' initial behaviors made them, perhaps again through conditioning, the type of person who was more adventurous with their sexuality than others. This is not at all a promotion for this sort of behavior. I'm just stating that these type of people exist. I am not one of them. I'm not big on forcing myself out of my true comfort zone.

 

Last week or so I posted an endless post on the other Duck Dynasty thread, and just for kicks I'll post a small portion here of something else I commented on where this small portion sort of applied to your question.

 

Wish some "not so prejudice" straight people would get over the idea that it's now trendy to be gay, and stop seeking out gay experiences for themselves in an attempt to be viewed as metro-sexuals, for they're not doing those with the "No Choice" argument any favors. They make it look like we're a cult that's recruiting members, and that our more outward existence is in place to promote team switchers. That's not the intent at all. I suppose they can do as they please "not that there's anything wrong with that" - LOL, but they're not at all helping the cause. My hopes for them is to just be themselves just as gay folks want to be.

 

Anyhow in conclusion in my attempt to address your question.

 

In a word "Yes".

Jesse Jackson is a idiot. If it wasn't for stirring the pot these days, he'd be broke….THIS type of stuff is his job.

 

Totally agree...how he or Al Sharpton have any credibility is beyond me. And I don't think I've EVER heard Jackson or Sharpton preach one sermon. They're an embarrassment to legitimate preachers everywhere.

I agree and honestly I struggled with how to word that last sentence. I settled on calling it "racial" comments because it was about race, but like you, I didn't think he was being racist.

 

Agreed it wasn't racist. Just ignorant.

For the record I want it known that I was talking about Phil's completely and totally ignorant comments about black people the day I found out about them. I didn't wait a week to pounce on it. I was talking about how stupid Phil is that day. And no, Phil's comments aren't as polarizing as that Alabama bus driver's but they are too close for comfort for me.

 

And is the Rosa Parks situation overblown? I could have sworn she said the only reason she sat in that seat is because her feet hurt. Not because she was fed up with the system and wanted to make a change. Is that not true?

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am not a fan of Jesse or Al but they fill a void in the black community that no one is choosing to fill. As long as someone gives them a platform they will step onto that platform and speak. It is what it is.

For the record I want it known that I was talking about Phil's completely and totally ignorant comments about black people the day I found out about them. I didn't wait a week to pounce on it. I was talking about how stupid Phil is that day. And no, Phil's comments aren't as polarizing as that Alabama bus driver's but they are too close for comfort for me.

 

And is the Rosa Parks situation overblown? I could have sworn she said the only reason she sat in that seat is because her feet hurt. Not because she was fed up with the system and wanted to make a change. Is that not true?

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am not a fan of Jesse or Al but they fill a void in the black community that no one is choosing to fill. As long as someone gives them a platform they will step onto that platform and speak. It is what it is.

 

PP, I'm with you on the racial component being the worst part of the comments. Pure ignorance.

 

Rosa: I have read where Rosa was actually selected to be "the one." I think she was a secretary for the NAACP(or a similar organization).

 

We agree COMPLETELY on the Al/Jesse/voice comment.

PP, I'm with you on the racial component being the worst part of the comments. Pure ignorance.

 

Rosa: I have read where Rosa was actually selected to be "the one." I think she was a secretary for the NAACP(or a similar organization).

 

We agree COMPLETELY on the Al/Jesse/voice comment.

 

Okay. I could have sworn I heard something like her feet hurt but her being selected sounds plausible also. It'd probably take 3 minutes for me to research it. Stuck on this Bball game right now.

I thought that she was sitting in segregated seating and was asked with others to give up her seat to a white man by the bus driver. If she had sat in the "White Only" section then her being a "Plant" would be more feesable.

 

When asked about it she said what PP said...everything I've read about her being a "Plant" has been in conspiracy theory sites.

PP, I'm with you on the racial component being the worst part of the comments. Pure ignorance.

 

Rosa: I have read where Rosa was actually selected to be "the one." I think she was a secretary for the NAACP(or a similar organization).

 

We agree COMPLETELY on the Al/Jesse/voice comment.

 

Don't think she was selected but she was aware the NAACP was looking for a plaintiff. She had been an activist for a while and had a run in with that particular bus driver in the past, maybe had been arrested off his bus but don't remember or sure. Fascinating woman.

For the record I want it known that I was talking about Phil's completely and totally ignorant comments about black people the day I found out about them. I didn't wait a week to pounce on it. I was talking about how stupid Phil is that day. And no, Phil's comments aren't as polarizing as that Alabama bus driver's but they are too close for comfort for me.

 

And is the Rosa Parks situation overblown? I could have sworn she said the only reason she sat in that seat is because her feet hurt. Not because she was fed up with the system and wanted to make a change. Is that not true?

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am not a fan of Jesse or Al but they fill a void in the black community that no one is choosing to fill. As long as someone gives them a platform they will step onto that platform and speak. It is what it is.

 

You hit the nail on the head here.