I understand that. But God DOES want me. And despite the fact that it may not have the most accurate interpretation of gays in the world, I still honestly believe that God works in many wonderful ways through the Church.

I would not go that far - but I do think the RCC does a bunch of good work and much of it selflessly, mostly due to the likes of Mother Theresa - but even she was called out for refusing to teach birth control in India, which lead to the death and suffering of millions of mothers and children.

Also, I think God wants everyone, but I just do not subscribe to organized religion though I do love the Episcopal Church I was reared in.

Legal Research is my most FAVORITE thing to do in the whole WORLD! also, I LOVE briefing cases! If I could do that all day I would! sigh....only law school grads get to do that now, unless you are really lucky.....at least in my neck of the woods that is (and that included the Bay Area)

Honey, you must have no life then! :lol: Just joking!

Now Corporate Law...THAT WAS FUN! Criminal Law...THAT WAS FUN! and Civil Litigation was pretty good too.

Gladly.

If it took you that long to realize such a thing, I can only wonder how long it's going to take you to wise up to the Republican party.

I'm sure they already know.

Regardless of our disagreements, I want you to know that I hope that you make it through the coming out process in a good place. It can be very scary, and you realize that the world you live in is not the place you always thought it was. Be prepared to lose a lot of relationships that you thought were as tough as iron. Also, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised by the unexpected wisdom in places where you least expected to find it.

I wake up every morning with the joy that I am gay. You should feel proud to be part of such a wonderful, diverse community.

Im gonna jump in here and say that there are so many similarities between the bias against Gays and the effort to return women to second class status.

Again, for anyone who is interested: The Republican War Against Women by Tanya Meilich (who is herself a Repub, tho maybe not NOW!)

Brandon, my heart goes out to you, you have so many good qualities, among which are your obvious loyalty. Good for you. And hang on to your faith in God and the knowledge that he loves you. Just as you ARE. He made you after all.

Thanks for the kind words!

Thanks! :xoxo: :D

I will make it through this...I know I will and come out a better person on the other side!

I know you like your labels, Brown Eyes. I know you love to be able to call yourself a Republican and a Catholic, and I've no doubt you'll soon get really into being Gay with a capital G. You like to have an institution or community to align yourself with so that you're not just standing out there alone with your beliefs or your identity. That's fine.

But take a second not to be offended by every mildly smart-ass remark that has been made in this thread, and you'll see a number of people have already tried to explain to you why it seems so paradoxical to label yourself a Gay Republican. Because even in the past five years the Republican party has repeatedly tried to prevent gays from obtaining equal rights, in addition to trying to strip them of some rights they already have. As a party and an institution, one of their goals is to maginalize, stigamtize and to a large extent criminalize homosexuality. You've said elsewhere that that's just "one issue." But if you are homosexual, I'd say that's one pretty damn big issue.

So you're a fiscal conservative? Fine. You believe in limited government? Great. That doesn't mean you have to align yourself with a party that is trying to criminalize your sexual identity. There's no reason for you to be loyal to such an institution. You can agree with them on economic and governmental issues and still oppose them vehemently when it comes to their vilifying your lifestyle.

Just get rid of the label and disassociate yourself from an institution that hates you. That doesn't mean you have to change any other of your political beliefs. It just means that you're admitting to yourself that this is not a party which has all the right answers, and not a party with which you can completely align yourself in good conscience.

Nothing wrong with having "NPA" printed on your voter registration card. It just means that you think for yourself.

And yeah, it's going to be really hard in the voting booth. Because the next time you're voting somebody into office, you might have to decide which is more important to you at that moment - your economic and political preferences, or your basic rights as a human being who happens to be gay. That choice is up to you, but odds are, in this two-party system, you're not going to be able to have it both ways. Good luck.

That's absolutely right.

But let me impart one small piece of wisdom... never be afraid to admit to yourself or to others that an ideal or opinion that you've had was misguided, or was formed without enough life experience for it to be a truly well-rounded viewpoint.

It's easy to let the "straight viewpoint" that surrounds us, color our own views of what's supposedly right and wrong. And it's easy to get so hung up on "saving face," that we refuse to ever admit we were wrong.

Beyond that, just live a life that you can be proud of... always try to do right by others and yourself, and stay open to new ideas and viewpoints while remaining true to what feels right to you.

It's a rough road with no map to make it easier to navigate, but you'll be fine.

Well said!!

Now that you know you're gay, Brandon, I hope you can think on how much that hurt me (and angered me) when you said it. Certainly we are all better than the worst things we've said and done, but it's still something to think on, IMO.

First of all that was not a comment I made. That was a comment a professor of mine made...sorry that it offended you so much. :( :sorry:

I know that it was a professor (I included that part so that I wouldn't be misrepresenting you) but you did agree at the time. That whole era, as you know, is full of extremely homophobic comments.

I know that you're sorry and I'm glad that you've come to see things differently, but it is a relatively quick and dramatic change, I think. Just an observation, not a condemnation. :shrug:

You know you have no idea how right you probably are. I guess I have always felt the need to feel a part of some community and to label myself something. I suppose it sort of made me feel safe and protected. I guess I have just always clung to whatever came along (which I guess makes me somewhat pathetic)...I don't even really know who exactly I am anymore. I don't know what I stand for or why exactly this path has been chosen for me. But I suppose that mystery is a gift from God, I know that somewhere, somehow, and someday I will make be able to sort out all of this and find out WHO I AM and not just identify myself with whoever/whatever I associate myself with.

Perhaps I should just give up caring about politics all together and just concentrate on the one thing I know...love.

Eh..yea that was a bad time. Sorry I TRULY didn't mean to offend you or anyone else for that matter and it was just silly and stupid.

But how would your prefer me to come to grips with this...wait 5 years and then say, "oh yea I think I'm gay"? I mean this is something THAT I MYSELF am still getting used to. I am just now over the past couple of weeks admitting this to myself. I don't think this is something I can "ease" myself into. I finally have enough guts to say...you know what I AM GAY! I am a blunt person, so therefore I feel I must be totally honest with myself...now as far as telling family and friends...ehhh....now THAT will be a slow process. As of today you ledgies are the only people to know. I told Ken first and now I'm telling all of ya'll...

Can someone please tell me how this thread has become 14 pages long? 8 pages longer than it was a few hours ago?! :lol: :shocked:

As usual dear it is because of me.

I usually make ONE comment and page numbers just multiply like bunnies (floppy, hoppy...BUNNIES! *shout out to Buffy fans*)

Lots of horny men. LoL
:lol: How was your weekend sir?

it was a race to see how much we could write about YOU before you caught on of course :lol::wavey:

You're Brandon... that's the only label you'll ever need.

We're human -- we have a lot of leeway for changing, growing, and for adopting beliefs and opinions and then abandoning or adapting them as we learn and experience new things.
And as you go through life, you'll realize that certain values and belief systems that used to seem irreconcilable, can co-exist.

For example, I believe in and have a deep faith in God, and I was raised Catholic, yet I think that Christianity is one of the worst things to ever happen to humanity.

So just embrace the fact that you're an individual, and don't try to conform yourself to fit other people's labels.

"It's better to be hated for who you are, than loved for who you're not."

Thanks again for the kind words. You are a very insightful person! :thumbsup: ;)

I hope I am able to do all of these things. I'm so use to just clinging to something...anything. I'm so scared I'm going to lose everything I've ever known...

I can understand what you're saying there. I felt that way...I pretty much still feel that way. I wouldn't want you to wait five years, no. My time as a repressed homosexual was too long; I'm sure you feel the same way and would even more so if you made yourself wait. I also completely understand needing to be blunt and honest. In addition to all of that, I understand your need to be a part of something, as you said a few posts ago. Mari has said before that the labels are unnecessary but I feel that I need to be gay (or whatever the case may be) rather than just me. I have to be able to explain why I feel the way I feel; I need a name for it. I need to know that there are others out there who are comparable to me in that way so that I have people to talk to about it. I think this is human nature, and especially in the case of young people, and we are both young.

It's just hard for me to get past your comments from only a few months ago. I went through a change myself but it was not so dramatic. I never thought that it was wrong to be gay, I just didn't want someone to tell me I was, or I was likely to stop speaking to the person. I never told anyone that he or she was going against God or nature by being gay, despite the fact that the idea of being that myself scared the hell out of me. I'm very tempted to make a comment about organized religion here. :shrug: I understand that you're not the only person who has been through that in just that way, though, so I suppose I am being unfair. But it's hard to say "all is forgiven" when comments like yours have been made.

It's very hard for me to have that stuff thrown on me. I always think I'm ready for it but then it comes and I realize I'm not. I'm getting better, but very slowly. Whenever Chris expresses his joy at his own homosexuality, I feel that I might cry. I don't think I can ever truly feel that way; I am far too tied to other people. I can't not think of the relatives of mine, for example who will NEVER accept that. Homosexuality can be joyful for me only under certain circumstances and there is no consistency with it. I am very angry much of the time. Though I can't relate directly, it is why I find myself identifying with Malcolm X so much. Some of your previous comments were added to the plethora of similar comments I hear regularly and sometimes it's just one more that is the straw that breaks the camel's back; the determinant that makes one either rest easily or cry herself to sleep. And there are people who are weaker than I am. That, to me, is a scary thought. There are people whose lives can be broken by a few strongly homophobic comments here and there.

But perhaps I am being very unfair to you because you have been trying to find yourself and what has happened is inevitable and maybe even beyond your control. But like you, I'm being honest and putting it out there. I know you have a lot of soul searching to do (as do I--it is probably nearly a lifelong process) and I really don't want to make it more difficult. Besides, maybe I am doing something thoroughly futile because what I'm talking about is water under the bridge, anyway.

Wow. Such a LONG POST HILLARY! :D

I'm afraid mine can't be as long, because I honestly don't know what to say to you. :shrug: I'm so sorry for anything that I said that was stupid or ignorant. I don't know how to make any transition without being dramatic! :lol: That is just me! But seriously, it's not really a change as much as it is an acceptance.

I think if you concentrate on the recent posts between Hillary and me, your questions will be answered. :wavey:

Brandon - all past transgressions aside, I wish you only the best in finding out who you are and making the life YOU want. Your ideas and beliefs may change and that's part of life. Be proud of who you are. To me, being a kind, generous person to the best of your ability is all anyone can ask of you. No one is perfect...I think there are some great people here on the Ledge to talk to and befriend...and then there are asses that will be asses no matter what. I learn to steer away from them and let them say what they want and be as hateful as they want...you can always sign off and walk away from the computer...I've done that to several of your posts. Over on the Stevie Ledge there are people bickering back and forth over Stevie only doing this song or that song or not wearing this or that and yeah, I'd like to see the same thing they want to see...but I'm not hear to trash her or anyone in any way, or at least I try not to. I want to celebrate her music and appreciate what she has done and continues to do; bring great joy to my life no matter if she's in a damn garbage bag and farting and saying Rhiannon once (as a Ledgie said). And as Reba said (covering a great old song) "to thine own self, be true" and I think it's cheesy but very very applicable. Ehh, I guess that's all...

Thank you!

The last part made me laugh!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

That's the part that made me laugh Hillary! :lol: :laugh:

British Lit. is one of my favs.

Yea, I feel that it is always important to get everything out in the open in order to move forward!!! :cool:

"Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy, and they'll be nice to you.":thumbsup:

It's REBA! And let me tell you something...that song is one of THE BEST country songs I HAVE EVER HEARD! Just watching the video makes you go..."Why the hell can't Reba win an oscar for this *****!!!" :lol:

I meant cheesy through the song, not from its original source. :lol: Shakespeare is anything but cheesy.

:laugh: I definatelty like my men masculine. Though some friends are way out there

I also think many people here are a little skeptical of your new coming out, which is understandable given your track history and I do not mean that as an insult at al, just as an observation.

So, give it time and you better not be pulling our legs.

that's right! who sang that song originally...Vicki Lawrence?

- Fancy and Reba in that black fur coat turned a flame on in many a young boy

I was thinking about that today. But I can assure you I am dead honest. Do you need to call me so I can explain it to you superman? lol

Ok I could take that somewhere nasty, but I'm not going to!

Haha! I don't think there's any turning back now. :lol: