Born Free-Born Natural I

"(So) hug a gay today. Because you believe in gay rights. Or because you believe in democracy. Or, best of all, if you believe that the two should be part and parcel of each other." - "Gays and democracy" - Jug Suraiya, writer and columnist extraordinaire, TOI (Aug.2008).

Jug makes a compelling argument for the need of homosexuality to be sanitized off the legal and social taints from within the Indian society. From referencing health minister Ramadoss’s proposition in favor of legalizing homosexuality to defining homophobia as a “jurassic park of prejudice,” he argues that its time Indians recognized and embraced their changing social mores. What more, he goes on to claim that “gays are good for democracy” just like the “anti-globalization activists, vegans, poets, and others who belong to often misunderstood and misrepresented minorities”; and that their rainbow is an apt metaphor for describing a pluralistic society founded on the conviction that “freedom of choice is the cornerstone of democracy.” It is also here that he goes grossly wrong and overboard with comparing homosexuality to a lifestyle choice. I think every time we hear of irrational slurs such as “being gay is a choice”, we should ask back the borndifferent.org question, “when did you choose to be straight?”

Peace!
[To read the source article, click here].