Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Blood Donation

Here is the article: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/06/15/us-committee-says-gay-blood-ban-will-stay-in-place/

I know this is a break from my usual banter, but this issue is really the epitome of discrimination in today's age. Gay and straight people get HIV. In fact, it's nearly equal these days. So why are gay people banned from giving blood, while straight people need only wait 12 months? There's only one reason for this: gay people have corrisive acid blood that becomes radioactive upon contact with HIV.

Obviously my above statement is a joke, but it's just about as logical as the ban. So, because gays are clearly considered second-class citizens, I think that the societal debt should be lowered... tax exemptions, etc. It's only fair. Fewer rights, fewer responsibilities.

But this issue stems to something greater; this trend of 'special rights.' Equality isn't something relative, and it isn't something flexible. Either everyone gets the same rights, or no one gets any rights. We need to end this debacle of special rights, such as marriage, which in general is reserved for straight people (and we all know how far the sanctity of that institution goes, what with a 50%+ divorce rate and Britney Spears' 55-hour marriage). The fact is, America one country pretending to be another. We preach to the world about Democracy and equality and human rights, yet we let our own citizens rot on the street (including veterans and people who can't afford medical bills) and deny law-abiding people equal rights because of something as trivial as to whom they are attracted. We invade countries and set up parialimentary systems that allow citizens to vote, yet millions of votes in our elections here at home are thrown away, miscounted or, in some cases, denied to perfectly eligible voters.

When are we going to grow up? When are we going to practice what we preach? Enough with the hypocrisy. Enough with the scapegoating. It comes down to this: equality for everyone, or freedom for no one.

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