Straight Guys Getting Married

[jordanriver]

How goes saying?

What is good for goosers
...good for ganders

[fm93]

If you support gay marriage, do you agree with the gay rights groups' condemnation of this marriage?

Absolutely.

If so, why?

Generally, gay couples want to marry because they've found someone whom they've come to deeply love and admire and cherish with all their heart, so much so that they want to create a new and special life with each other, spiritually becoming one, unified in a beautiful and mystical harmony, vowing to maintain this loving bond for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do they part. It just so happens that they can only experience this love towards members of the same sex.

Meanwhile, these two straight New Zealand folks can only experience that type of love towards members of the opposite sex, yet they're marrying members of the same sex, whom they don't feel that type of love towards, because...they want free rugby tickets. The reason for people's anger towards them should be obvious.

Suppose that you live in an Islamic theocracy in which the Muslim government had a centuries-long policy that forbade you from practicing Christianity, and even today there are still countries all over the world in which Christians are prohibited from practicing their religion. Meanwhile, a group of Muslims who've always been able to practice their religion freely and care not one lick about your faith decide to host a church service replete with rituals like baptism and communion, for no other reason than to win free tickets to some sporting event. I imagine that you'd feel essentially the same way that marriage equality advocates feel about this New Zealand incident.

Another question that comes to mind is this: if these two guys had lived somewhere that hadn't legalized gay marriage, would you argue that they were being discriminated against?

Nope.

If not, well...why would you have a problem with two consenting adults getting married?

In this instance, those two adults clearly don't love each other in that special, powerful way that compels people to marry in the first place. There's no sincerity behind it.

[Christianbookworm]

Why do some act like eros is the best love? What about agape and phileo?

[Bill the Cat]

In this instance, those two adults clearly don't love each other in that special, powerful way that compels people to marry in the first place. There's no sincerity behind it.

You deny that these two guys do not love each other, deeply respect each other as lifelong best friends, and plan to be in each others' lives for the rest of their lives?

[Christianbookworm]

Again, there are people that think David and Jonathan were gay lovers and not friends. Can't people have close friendships without romance/sex?

[fm93]

Why do some act like eros is the best love?

Who's doing that?

You deny that these two guys do not love each other, deeply respect each other as lifelong best friends, and plan to be in each others' lives for the rest of their lives?

They certainly aren't doing so in the sense of marital love, which is the entire point of this in the first place. So if you could stop playing dumb, that'd be great.

[Bill the Cat]

They certainly aren't doing so in the sense of marital love, which is the entire point of this in the first place. So if you could stop playing dumb, that'd be great.

So, all "marital love" is alike?

[KingsGambit]

I don't know if it was in this article but in one article I read the other day about this story, they said they expected to stay married for at least two years. It is clear then that no long term commitment is intended.

[Bill the Cat]

I don't know if it was in this article but in one article I read the other day about this story, they said they expected to stay married for at least two years. It is clear then that no long term commitment is intended.

Kind of like the "trial marriages" in the US?

[Christianbookworm]

The whole thing seems stupid. Sounded like it belonged somewhere else...

[fm93]

Again, there are people that think David and Jonathan were gay lovers and not friends. Can't people have close friendships without romance/sex?

Of course, but how is that relevant to anything? Who said anything about sex? The point here is that two people married for a stupid, self-serving reason instead of with the loving intention of starting a new life and journey together--that which marriage is supposed to be all about, in other words.

[Bill the Cat]

Of course, but how is that relevant to anything? Who said anything about sex? The point here is that two people married for a stupid, self-serving reason instead of with the loving intention of starting a new life and journey together--that which marriage is supposed to be all about, in other words.

People get married for all kinds of reasons, Peggie.

[fm93]

People get married for all kinds of reasons, Peggie.

And that is completely immaterial to the fact that marriage is supposed to be about something different, unless you think that traditional straight marriage should be abolished because Britney Spears once partook in a 72-hour long marriage.

I thought I asked you to stop playing dumb.

[Quantum Weirdness]

And that is completely immaterial to the fact that marriage is supposed to be about something different, unless you think that traditional straight marriage should be abolished because Britney Spears once partook in a 72-hour long marriage.

I thought I asked you to stop playing dumb.

Square, you do realize that all they're doing is just redefining marriage, right?

[fm93]

Square, you do realize that all they're doing is just redefining marriage, right?

No, not at all. Unlike Bill the Cat, I post what I believe is true, instead of raising dumb objections that I don't even believe myself just because it might possibly score a rhetorical point.

But in any case, "the definition of marriage" isn't relevant to why marriage equality advocates are upset. It's because people trivialized and made a mockery of something that they take very seriously and have long fought for sincerely and passionately. As I analogized earlier, imagine that you lived in an Islamic theocracy in which Christians were forbidden to practice their religion, and then some Muslims who don't care about Christianity at all held a church service with rituals like baptism and communion for the sole reason of winning tickets to a rugby match. That's the essence of why people are upset.