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I agree that the "born this way" argument has pragmatic rather than logical value. But sometimes political movements prefer influential arguments over correct arguments, "ends justify the means", etc. - and despite your historical counterexamples, experience suggests that for whatever reason, homophobic people usually are positively influenced by the "born this way" argument.
As for the specific case of Cynthia Nixon, my understanding is that female sexuality is often more fluid than male sexuality, so I'm not surprised that she feels free to choose while you or I don't.
"Born This Way" : A Stupid Argument for Gay Rights
I've argued on here a few years ago that apologetically insisting "I was born this way" (i.e. "I can't help it!") is no basis for arguing for one's right to live as one pleases, regardless of others' religious hangups, but it's taken the recent statements by Cynthia Nixon to bring the issue to t...
If you don't mind paying, the Teaching Company has a nice bunch of lectures by Robert Greenberg - I listened to his series on Beethoven's string quartets and it gave me a deeper understanding of some old favorites (speaking as someone with many years of training in classical music). Handy for listening on commutes and such. Just try to catch it when it's on sale.
How to Listen to Music
Having criticized Classic FM earlier in the day for presenting music from the classical tradition in a manner least likely to encourage listeners to gain a deeper appreciation, let me take the time to actually do something constructive along just such lines: if you want an accessible and down-to...
The exception of the U.S. is interesting - the party in the 19th century that did the most to extend the franchise to all white men (the Jacksonian Democrats) was also the more pro-slavery and pro-ethnic cleansing. Perhaps the early extension of the franchise in the U.S. was a reflection not of universal democratic principles but of white ethnocentric chauvinism. (Even a tenant farmer can feel a king compared to a slave, etc.)
Too Much Democracy Too Soon
It was only a few months that I expounded on the dangers of assuming that where democracy is concerned, "more" necessarily means "better." What I hadn't foreseen at the time was that events in the Middle East would so thoroughly vindicate my skepticism about the supposedly inerrant wisdom of "th...
Outrageous. You should try to get this story published in the mainstream press.
On the Tottenham Riots
As you may be aware, the last two days have seen serious bouts of rioting occur in various parts of London. The instigation for the rioting was the shooting to death of a certain Mark Duggan, whose questionable acquaintances in life, and alleged behavior towards the police before being shot, cer...
What do you make of the theory that it was actually Iran or Syria behind the bombing and the US and UK blamed Libya because they didn't want to cause a rift with Iran/Syria ahead of the first Iraq War (needing their airspace etc)?
Friends of Evil
I've never made a secret of the fact that I detest The Guardian newspaper, and this article on the Lockerbie bomber illustrates why. Written by a certain Ewen MacAskill, the article makes a weak attempt at seeming "objective", but by the end it is crystal clear what Mr. MacAskill wants: for the ...
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