Myopic Thinking‏

AP-  Yesterday, scientists revealed new technology that will be able to determine the sexual orientation of a baby prior to birth.  This new technology is as simple as a sonogram and is capable of determining if a newborn will grow up to be gay or straight with about an 88.5% accuracy rate.

The purpose of this new technology is to give parents additional information about their "potential" child and an opportunity to terminate the pregnancy if they feel raising a homosexual child will cause undue stress and scrutiny in their future lives.

Civil liberty groups are trying to stop the FDA from approving this technology in the marketplace. 
Several organizations such as the Westboro Baptist Church are aiming to get this technology in the marketplace immediately with hopes of aborting the homosexual gene into extinction.



Okay, I made all that up.  Maybe, it's in bad taste, but....
What if this was true?

What if we could find out if our baby was going to be gay?  Would it be okay to abort a child simply because some people can't bear the thought of their own flesh and blood not being straight?

Abortion is done by a few when it is determined their baby will have Down Syndrome.  Abortion is done in cases of rape and incest.  Abortions are performed based on a families lack of financial resources.

Abortions are performed for many personal and unreasonable reasons.

I wonder if the technology existed to determine the sexual orientation of our babies how it would affect abortion statistics or if it would at all.

Would pro-life groups suddenly be a little more open minded on abortion?
Would pro-choice groups suddenly determine that aborting a gay fetus is a hate crime?

I think about this kind of stuff at 2:00 am when I am unable to sleep.


Earlier this evening, I read a blog by a gay guy who recently attended a Tracy Morgan concert.  During his stand-up routine, Mr. Morgan made some disparaging remarks about homosexuals.  I believe he even stated that if he found out his own son was gay he would stab him and kill him.  Then to clarify that he was joking, he added, "If a gay man can take a dick up the ass, he surely can take a joke."

The gentleman who wrote this blog was quite diplomatic in his reaction to the stand up routine.  Rather than walk out or react with anger, he calmly stated that he was simply disappointed in Mr. Morgan's "jokes".

It was an impressive feat of tolerance by the gay blogger.


After reading, I considered my own thoughts on the subject.  Would I have laughed at the "jokes" or would I have been disturbed by them?

Take away the fact that I find Tracy Morgan to be annoying in a Martin Lawrence kind of way, I am certain I would have laughed.  Hey, there was a period in my life where I sat in front of the VCR and laughed my ass off at Andrew Dice Clay so I have not been completely programmed yet to become upset at words said by a man that gets paid millions of dollars to make an audience laugh.

Considering that Tracy Morgan's audience most likely consisted of more black people than white people, I understand his choice of humor.

The black community as a whole is a little less tolerant of homosexuals than other communities.  I suppose hearing gay rights groups compare the civil rights movement to their own cause could be construed as insulting.

There was a period in our history where blacks couldn't use the same bathrooms and eat at the same restaurants as white people, or even enter a stadium to watch a football game.  Hell, if a white man killed a black man, that white man had a good chance of escaping a life sentence.  Then, there's that whole slavery issue.  A black man's life was considered less valuable than a white man's life.

Gays deal with being called bad names and of course, can't legally marry in all 50 states.

It's quite a different struggle so I understand minimally why Tracy Morgan feels how he does.

It doesn't mean I agree with him.


Hey, I'm just a straight white guy.  I don't really understand things I haven't experienced.  I still laugh if I see a black guy at KFC.  My stomach literally turns when my one gay friend discusses making out with another dude.  I roll up my car windows if I'm in a certain part of the city.  I'm okay with lesbians as long as they are hot.

Reprogramming me to be culturally more sensitive is futile but reconditioning me to view the world less myopically is not.

I think abortion is a hate crime regardless if the baby is straight or gay, retarded or not, was conceived from dire circumstances or just because the parents choose to terminate the inconvenience.

I think if black people can use the "N" word, I should be able to as well... without scrutiny. However, I choose not to.

When it comes to words, I am pro-choice.
When it comes to people, I am pro-life.


Earlier today, I stumbled onto the news story about a 15 year old girl named Alice who lives in England and is dying of cancer.  After four long years of battling this disease, it has been determined that nothing can be done to stop the cancer.

She has a blog over on blogspot where she chronicles her life and has written her bucket list.

She might be the most inspiring person I have ever encountered.  She is not seeking our pity or even money.  She simply wants to live out her last days trying to make a difference in everyone's lives.

There isn't even a hint of self-pity in her words.

She is an amazing young girl who is focused on those things that matter in life.

I suppose those of us who aren't staring at the barrel of a gun tend to view the world more myopically than those who know their expiration date is impending.

Check out her blog if you haven't already:

(Update:  I wrote this one year ago.  Alice died 10 days ago.)

http://alicepyne.blogspot.com/