The Ramblings of a Not-So-Mad-Man

Relationships First of all, I believe in monogamy. I don't buy the excuse that men are not built to be monogamous. Yes, when you break it down to the most basic of instincts, most male mammals don't practice monogamy. Males are constantly bombarded by a barrage of hormones that give them the wandering eye. But you know what I have to say about that? We differ from the average animal in the fact that we can RATIONALIZE our drives and desires. We have a CHOICE of whether we choose to follow these impulses or if we want to value our relationship in a way that gives it special meaning and a deeper spiritual connection. Yes, it's all about the choices we think best fit us as individuals. On a similar note, I also think a gay couple's social life needs to revolve around more than just the bar scene or other meatmarket type of settings if the relationship is to survive. There can be fun after marriage without going out dancing and drinking with your barfly friends every weekend. Also, communication is important, no matter what the situation may be. There should be no judgment between loved ones when communicating. Last but not least, always be civil and respect each other, even during arguments. It's possible. (Back to top)
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Gay marriage This is what I don't get: How does extending the rights of marriage to gay and lesbian couples lessen the institution of heterosexual marriage? Someone explain this one to me! For example, say I'm Joe Blow, and I'm married to a woman. We've been happily married for the past 15 years, with 2.5 kids and 1.5 pets, have a mini van and a sedan. But then, lo, and behold, my two gay neighbors are given the right to get married! What happens next? My wife leaves me, 1.5 of my kids turn gay and my dog gets run over and my gerbil disappears. NOT!!! Gay marriage doesn't affect Joe Blow, his wife, kids or the fuckin' gerbil, no matter what stories you've heard about Richard Gere. The opponents of gay marriage are not interested in what's fair, they just want to create their version of what they believe their God wants society to be like. Excuse, me, but isn't that what the Taliban was doing in Afghanistan?! Some final food for thought. Recent reality series using marriage as a prize, or making it a result of the TV audience voting by phone to match up contestants do a lot more to desecrate the insitution of marriage than does allowing gay couples this right. (Back to top)
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Being Gay and Hispanic I have to quote Ms. Celie from the movie The Color Purple, on this one, (happens to be one of my favorite movies by the way), "I'm poor ... I'm black ... I might even be ugly ... but dear God I'm here ... I'M HERE!" Ok, so I'm not Black, but I feel a strong bonding with my black brothers and sisters every time I see this movie. Yes, as a double minority, I can relate to what she says. We have a lot stacked up against us. Here's a wake up call, and a news flash for some of you out there: there's still racism in this country! Even from other hispanics... think about it, we even see it on our own media; namely telenovelas, newscasts and advertising. When was the last time you saw a non caucasian looking hispanic person as an anchor in a newscast, or someone of more indigenous roots on a crest commecial, and not just playing the maid or servant in a telenovela some of you love so much? We even discriminate between one another based on the color of our skin or economic status, so how can we complain about "the man" keeping us down, if we keep our own down? We have to put our own house in order before we try to clean up the neighborhood. On top of that, we're gay. So don't forget these things next time you want to throw attitude, or act shady... we need to love our own and stick up for each other. And in case you maybe got the impression that I discriminate against white folk- nah, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt. It's all about having a clean slate and deal with an individual on his own merits. (Back to top)
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Being superficial The vast majority of us are guilty of this in some form or another. If you don't have a superficial bone in your body, you are a more highly developed human being than the rest of us. Speaking for myself, I'm still somewhat superficial. There are certain types of men, and certain characteristics that I do not find sexually attractive. I don't feel I'm discriminating, because I honestly don't know of any gay man that can say he is attracted to men of all shapes, sizes, ethnic backgrounds or ages. We all have our preferences, right? (Back to top)
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Bug chasers Null. read this article. I myself have used these types of condoms, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. One big plus for those of you who say it takes away from the heat of the moment, these condoms can be "inserted" up to 2 hours before sex and can also be used with oil based lubricants, since they're not made from latex. Feel free to email me for more information on this. (Back to top)
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Abortion Overall, from a purely stoic point of view, I believe it is wrong to have an abortion if it's done just as a means for birth control. I believe in the truth of the saying, "When you play, you pay." When a woman, or a couple makes the decision to have an abortion, I truly believe the reasons behind it are misguided and based on shotty principles. It is simply done to save themselves the inconvenience of dealing with the results of an action which they fully knew carried risks, one of which is pregnancy. If you wanted to avoid becoming pregnant, you should have taken every step necessary to prevent it. Of course, most birth control is not 100% effective, but you know the risks. If you don't want to raise the kid, there's always adoption. There's plenty of people out there who are adoptees who have turned out just fine and are leading happy, productive lives. Nevertheless, I can see both sides of this issue. Again, from a stoic point of view, I don't believe abortion constitutes murder. I can see this as an argument similar to how we currently are able to make decisions on whether or not to remove someone from life support. The similarities are there; both the fetus and a person on life support are not able to live without assistance, and thus can't be considered viable, independent, sentient beings. So, what's my bottom line on this issue?! I think abortion should remain legal, but adoption should really be promoted and considered as an alternative. (Back to top)
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The death penalty I have to say that on this issue, I've gone from a conservative point of view of "an eye for an eye" to one of believing that this is just legalized murder. I don't think the state should have the right to end someone's life, no matter what the crime was. This is giving the government too much power. If the convicted person is to die, why not give the gun to an assigned relative and let them carry out the execution? Could they do it? Would it solve anything or help them recover their loss? In the heat of anger at a devastating loss, most people would say yes, but I believe most of us in our right minds, and after considering the alternative, would hopefully think otherwise. The alternative is life in prison without the possibility of parole. This would be a more suitable punishment, as long as it would be in a real prison- not one with television, weight sets or other little perks so abundant as to make some of our correctional institutions into a club med for inmates. Another important thing to consider, is how there is a great discrepancy in a lot of capital punishment cases. A recent study found that 68 percent of all death verdicts reviewed from 1973-1995 were reversed by courts due to serious error. Of those reversals, 82 percent ended in less harsh sentences, and 9 percent of those people were found not guilty and eventually freed. It also found that justice is not so blind, after all. Minorities were more likely to suffer the consequences of these injustices. One last important fact to consider: did you also know it costs states and the government more money to bring someone to execution than it costs to just keep them in jail for life? (Back to top)
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Euthanasia / Assisted suicide This is a clear one for me. I don't think anyone but yourself should have a say in deciding when and if you want to end your life. If the decision is made with full awareness, and with no influence, why should the meddling government have the right to prevent you from ending your suffering? (Back to top)
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Religion With few exceptions, organized religion gets in the way of people getting along with one another, instead of the other way around. Just think of all the wars we've had throughout history and how they're correlated in some way to religious causes. Too often, people who are extremely religious have the inclination of trying to force their moral values or beliefs on other people. With respect to three of the major religions' holy texts; the ku-ran, the bible and the torah are historical documents full of fish stories. Do you seriously expect me to believe Noah was able to round up 2 of every animal on earth and fit them into a boat about 1/2 the size of the Titanic? Not! Besides, many people don't realize that the Jewish faith borrowed this and other bible stories from the Babylonians, Sumerians and a few other ancient civilizations. The Jews just made a few changes here and there, and adopted them as scripture. It's the typical way religions have evolved from the beginning of human history. (Back to top)
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The war on drugs Hey, remember when we had prohibition back early in the 20th century? And remember how it didn't work because no matter what the government said or did, it wasn't going to prevent anyone who wanted liquor from getting some if they really wanted it? Sound familiar? Well, yeah, just replace liquor with a list of illegal drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and exstacy and we have the same thing. Put this all in context and it's very hypocritical how we have legalized booze and of course cigarettes that kill over 400,000 Americans a year and cost states billions in health care costs, yet other drugs that don't even make a dent into that figure are illegal. I say if you want to consume drugs, as long as you are not hurting anyone else, go to it! Nothing will ever succeed in stopping people from using drugs. The best thing we can do, is educate people as to the effects and detriments of consuming them. When you educate people, you empower them to make informed decisions. Also, with all the money we would save from not prosecuting and imprisoning drug users and dealers, better recovery programs could be developed for the treatment of drug addiction, even making these treatments free of charge to the drug addict. Finally, just think of all the new tax revenue we'd get from all those joints, lines and pills, oh my!. Maybe with those extra tax dollars we could build a decent metro system or add commuter trains in the LA area and get rid of some of this annoying traffic! (Back to top)
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Our Education System When I arrived in this country, I was 8 years old. I had just completed 2nd grade in Mexico, so I started the 3rd grade here. In Mexico, they had already taught us the concept of fractions, decimals, and other related mathematical concepts. When I started 3rd grade here, I was shocked at the fact that my American counterparts were just beginning to be taught how to do long addition and subtraction! Not until later that year did they even start on division. My point is that we underestimate how much kids can learn. If we treat them like idiots who can't learn advanced math or science, (or any other subject), at an earlier age, they'll act the part. No wonder we're so far behind compared to other countries, including a 3rd world country such as Mexico. Our educators and administrators need to re-think their methods before we fall further behind. All responsibility should not rest on our schools. Parents really need to take a more active role as well. They need to instill their kids with a sense of respect and discipline. How can a teacher teach if they have to use valuable time to discipline some brat? (Back to top)
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September 11th September 11th. Why did it happen? Well, if you buy certain politicians' rhetoric of, "because 'they' are haters of democracy", or some bullshit line to that effect, then you need to do some touching up on your history. Basically, Islamic zealots finally snapped after over 50 years of American and European bullying and meddling in the region. Our support of the Jewish state didn't help either. I have nothing against Jews in general, but Israel is wacked! The Israelis believe they have the god-given right to oust people from their homes- just because somewhere in their scriptures it says that the "holy land" belongs to them. That would make as much sense as if I were to go to your home, tell you that god told me it really belongs to me, and that you need to leave. Palestinians have every right to be pissed off. Our misguided foreign policy had a lot to do with why the terrorists decided to attack us. We are involved in the region for all the wrong reasons. Our government may tell you that our role in the Iraq-Kuwait conflict was to liberate Kuwait from the aggressor: Iraq. But would they have bothered sending in troops so quickly if it weren't for the oil? No. Where was this liberation force when millions were falling victim to genocide in Rwanda? Or in Cambodia where Pol Pot also commited mass extermination? It also took the US years to go do something about the Balkans, where there was genocide, rape and plunder. Too bad for these countries they didn't have precious oil, or it would have been certain that we would have come to their aid as well, within weeks. So, how to avoid getting ourselves on more of these countries' and organizations' shit lists? We need to get out of where we don't have any business playing cop,(the middle east), and help defenseless people who are really in need. The best way to do this is, is to diminish our dependence on oil. If we put a man on the moon and our technology is so great, it's not impossible. Our government should really stop acting like the only victim and re-prioritize who we help, and where we meddle from now on. We lost 2,843 people in the September 11 attack, but to keep things in perspective; each year, more Americans murder other Americans with guns, than the amount of people who died on September 11th. Yet, there's no public outcry to repeal or modify the 2nd amendment, nor any telethons or red cross aid funds to help the families of the victims who are murdered each year by our own citizens. (Back to top)

Relationships	Gay Marriage	Being Gay & Hispanic
Being Superficial	Null	Abortion
The Death Penalty	Euthanasia	Religion
The War on Drugs	Our Education System	September 11th