YOUR TIME IS OVER

WHICH ONE OF YOU IS DIRTY DAN?

Makuta didn't choose the thug life; the thug life chose him.

The rules have been updated.  Please read this and make sure that you understand.

And yes I just now noticed this.

Click on the image to go to the thread.

My friend recently picked up the new iPhone.  He asked me if he had any apps I wanted to recommend.

I told him that there's this really neat app called Droid that Google makes.

FYI I'm a horrible person.

Man it's been awhile since we've done these and I don't want to do my greek homework.

So ask me anything.  I'll answer truthfully.

This was originally an entry I wanted to make about a week ago, but considering how heated things were around my entry about my bisexuality and my struggles with it I decided not to.  Hopefully with tempers tempered (ha ha ha I made a funny), this won't result in the negative kneejerk reaction that led to the trouble of the last entry.  At least that's what I'm hoping.

In light of a recent blog post I believe this needs to be seen again for those who possibly missed it.

Now then!  This is actually something I have some authority to talk about.  In about four months from now I'm going to graduate from school with my minor being the attic Greek language.  The two words that we get from homophobia, homos and phobos, are attic Greek in orgin!  Thus you can know that I didn't just read wikipedia and copy and pasted some words and called it a day.  I'm pretty much a certified expert on this subject.

Now then onto the main subject of this entry and that is my issue with how people have been trying to redefine homophobia.  They root of their argument takes place in the definition of phobia part of homophobia.  They say that phobia comes from the greek word of phobos, which literally means fear.  They claim that they're not afraid of homosexuality, and therefore they are not homophobic.  I would certainly hope that they're not afraid of homosexuals.  We're not some sort of rabid people with no control over their id.  We don't riot in the streets or attack people or commit crimes.  For the most part we're just ordinary people like the majority of the population.  We have jobs.  We pay taxes.  We love our significant others.

I'd lack to unpack the word phobos a bit more just a bit more if only for completionists sake.  The word phobos just doesn't refer to a sort of rational fear.  phobos refers to such an overpowering fear that it completely dominates everything else.  It's the kind of fear that causes flight.  A more apt translation would be terror or panic.  Phobos is a fear so overpowering that there is no other room for any emotion.

The more you know.

Now then so far so good.  People say they aren't homophobic because they don't fear homosexuals.  However if there is one thing that I cannot stand it is a sort of dastardly ragamuffin trained in the most basics of logical thought and proceed to pilfer and wriggle certain parts of arguments until they can get things to mean what they want.  In the context of this post, I'm referring to people who are accused of being homophobic but then say that they're not because they're not afraid of homosexuals.  To put the exchange in a more stock form, we could say the following.

"I accuse you of being X.  You respond by saying that you're not X because of Y."

This is of course simple logic.  Point and counter point.  However the responders argument only stands if Y is true and is sufficient to counter the claim of being X.  Getting back to the argument at hand, the responder is only not homophobic if homophobia refers to the fear of homosexuals and they do not fear homosexuals.  Simple enough, right?

Not quite. The problem comes down to a difference of definitions.  The accused response holds an interesting implication in that they are claiming my definition of homophobia is wrong.  It is obviously intended in my statement that I don't mean homophobia to mean a hatred of homosexuals.  They counter that homophobia doesn't mean a hatred but rather a fear of homosexuals.  They back up this claim by refering to the roots of homophobia. phobos means fear.  Therefore homophobia refers to a fear rather than a hatred.  Alas!  Alas!  I am vanquished.  Woe is me.

But I am not quite finished yet.  I take offense to their redefinition of homophobia.  I say that they are not allowed to pick and choose which words to translate literraly, especially within the context of the same word!  I say that if they must translate homos literally to back up their counter, I will force them to translate homos literally as well.  Homos means same.  It's where we get words like homogenous.  Thus then they must literally be saying that they are not afraid of things that are similar.  Fair enough.  I will conceed that they are not afraid of things that are similar.  My original point of them spouting homophobic rhetoric still stands.

I am now realizing how long this blog entry is, but I have not yet begun to fight!

On a less technical level, the meaning of words often change.  Language is a fluid, trecherous animal that if you do not watch your words you might be saying the complete opposite of what you say.  Thus I might contend that at one point if homophobia literally refered to the fear of homosexuals, which I might add that at one point it did not, it doesn't mean that now.  When I use the word homophobia and you hear it in public discourse, it is in reference to the hate of homosexuals.  When I call someone homophobic I am saying that on some level at least they have a dislike of homosexuals.  This dislike or hate is incredibly dangerous and leads to damaging things being said that stay with people for as long as they live.  Even something as simple as calling a situation or event 'gay' has start to grow wearisome to me.  The equivocation with something I am in a negative manner is rather mean spirited at best and potentially deadly at worst.

But I digress.  The discussion on the damaging aspects of homophobia can be covered at another time.

Returning once again to the argument at hand, it's worth noting that the actions of the accused are rather illogical.  I claim that they are homophobic (i.e. that they hate homosexuals), but they counter that my definition of homophobia is wrong and therefore they are not homophobic.  They seek to attack the technical aspect of my argument.  They seek to prove me wrong by assaulting the very definitions that they use.  If they are not homophobic by definition, then they have won.  They are right.  I am wrong.

Take a second and ask yourself this question.  If they are right, what has essentially changed?

The correct answer is nothing.  Absolutely nothing has changed at all.  Let us assume I cede the point.  I admit defeat.  Homophobia does mean the fear of homosexuals.  My use of the term was wrong, and I do apologize for the misnomer.  Yet at no point has my underlying point been addressed.  I have accused them of a hatred of homosexuals, and my point essentially still stands.  They have not attempted to counter it and it is still valid as it has not even withstood a semblance of assualt.  I conceed that homophobia means fear of homosexuals, but I still stand by my claim that the person is acting in a way that betrays their hatred of homosexuality.

It begins to dawn on you that everything you have read has proved to be a colossal waste of time.

Any logical objections to my logic are more than welcome to take place in the comments.   Irrational homophobia is not welcome and will be reported.

Please post images here for consideration.

Yes I really am that lazy.

My name is Gato, and I am ashamed of my bisexuality.

From a very young age I was taught by my parents that homosexuality was something of a great evil.  Bad people were homosexuals, and they were bad people because of their homosexuality.  While I wasn't taught explicitly to view homosexuals as as being inferior of me, the implication was always there that I was better than them.  I was better than them just solely based off the fact that my sexuality was different than theirs.  Since my parents never believed and still don't believe in bisexuality, that was never approached.  However it still followed that bisexuals were in the same boat as the homosexuals.

This of course was flipped on its head when I realized that I was bisexual three years ago.

I probably would have realized it sooner had I grown up in a different environment than the one that espoused homophobia.  Even one that was ambigulously neutral on the subject would have caused the realization much, much earlier.  I would be lying if I were to say that it's easy.  Even years later it's not an easy thing to be something when you've spent the past two decades having it engrained in you that what you are is something disgusting and evil.  It's three years since I've realized I was a bisexual and even now images of gay couples make me uncomfortable.  I know that it shouldn't, but even something as simple as two guys holding hands illicits an "Ick!" reaction from me despite the fact that they are representing something that I am.  And this is just dealing with something that was on a personal level from my parents.  I could go on about dealing with a culture that is by and large homophobic.

So please, people, don't be homophobic.  Often you're doing more damage than you even realize.

Are you ready to put some hair on your chest?  Do you need to clear out your sinuses?  Do ordinary buffalo wings not do it for you anymore?  Are you looking to spice up your love life?



Then boy do I have a recipie for you.



The base!  An extra hot hot sauce.  Cheap and in bulk is the way to go here if you don't want to break the bank, and this one is as simple as it is spicy.



One drop.  One drop does it.  One drop is all you need.



Unless you're me.  Then you use the whole bottle.



Texas pete makes a mean hot sauce.  They make a meaner hoter sauce too.



2 HOT 2 HANDLE



Pour that in there too.



Can you say two pounds of jalapenos?



I can.  Note that the seeds contain the maximum spice, so you want to add those as well.



Throw in these for good measure.

Now then.  Any dumby with two brain cells can just add spices, but a true master can make a subtle, multifaceted experience that both excites and delights.  It's time to seperate the boys from the men!



Garlic adds a smooth alternate spice to the mix, and it just tastes good.



Mince that stuff up and throw it in.



Limes add a tang that helps accentuate and increase the juciness.

Now then.  Some people would throw in some wings and call it a day.  Super sissies would go with boneless wings.

But you're not a sissy, are you?



Go big or go home!



If this is not the most delicious, mouth watering thing you have ever seen then I have bad news.

You hate America.

Let it marinade for at least 24 hours.  Longer if you think you can handle it.

I can't wait to eat mine.