tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499558816764473275.post7348577190040646968..comments2023-03-24T11:06:43.255-04:00Comments on The Spark and the Flame: Bullying, Relativism, and Youth SuicideUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499558816764473275.post-59381959576021162012012-05-16T09:20:04.907-04:002012-05-16T09:20:04.907-04:00I think it unlikely for a couple reasons.
It'...I think it unlikely for a couple reasons. <br /><br />It's not just that there is no evidence that bullying is worse because people are less accepting of homosexuality; it is actually the opposite! Over the past 50-60 years, our society has become more accepting of homosexual practice than ever before. In spite of this, bullying and suicide have gotten far far worse than they have ever been. So actually, there is an important correlation between increasing acceptance of homosexual practice and increasing bullying and suicide. But if greater acceptance would lead to less bullying, this should not be the case. So how do we explain that as society has become more accepting of homosexuality, bullying and youth suicide have become bigger problems?<br /><br />I can think of a couple possibilities:<br /><br />1. Homosexual practice does entail significant medical and mental risks. It is simply a statistical fact that homosexuals are significantly more likely to engage in short-lived relationships and suffer from stds than heterosexuals. As society becomes more tolerant of homosexual practice, homosexuals will feel more free to engage in homosexual practice. But this won't make the negative facts associated with homosexual practice go away. Short relationships will still leave them mentally hurting, as will stds, and the shorter life span that accompanies them. <br /><br />2. Greater acceptance of homosexual practice has come largely as a result of increasing secularism. Since God doesn't matter or doesn't exist, then there is no real morality and so nothing is really wrong. Hence, homosexual practice is not really wrong. The problem, like I say above, is that if morality is not objective, then it is subjective and depends completely on what people think. But people in this position are in much greater danger of being bullied and being bullies. <br /><br />So, no I don't think it likely that if states that currently allow gay marriage outlawed it, this would lead to greater bullying and violence against homosexuals. This is because we know that in the past (1950s and earlier for example) when society was less accepting of homosexuality, there was also less violence and bullying against homosexuals. Maybe we need to think more about why.Raymondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17587579611521258606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499558816764473275.post-28913146031429711842012-05-15T21:48:56.340-04:002012-05-15T21:48:56.340-04:00Granted, there is no direct causation between incr...Granted, there is no direct causation between increased bullying and societal acceptance of homosexuality. However, do you think there could be a potential for increased hate crimes against homosexuals if gay marriage is legally banned?Amahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01646109555247950578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499558816764473275.post-89368226237688003112012-05-15T21:44:05.545-04:002012-05-15T21:44:05.545-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Amahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01646109555247950578noreply@blogger.com