Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

[Tim Cole <tcole AT adobe.com>]

Title: Re: [percy-l] gay marriage

> Hi Jim, fair enough. It seems, then, a risky term to throw around in general discourse, because in order to do so you’d have to claim to have some rather deep insights into the inner workings into the mind/psychology of another.  It seems to me it’s far more commonly used as a verbal club.
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> I DO like Mr. Beck’s definition...fear of the same old day to day routine...which doesn’t seem all that irrational to me. ;^)
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> Tim
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> Dear Tim,
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> Sometimes I use the term homophobic  -- and what I mean by it is an irrational dislike of homosexuals based upon a fear that one's own homosexual impulses will overwhelm one's desire to suppress them.  Rather that acknowledging and dealing directly with one's own homosexual impulses the homophobic (per this formulation) targets and attempts to destroy an overt manifestation (homosexuals) of his covert desires.  I don't think all objections to homosexual behavior are based upon such dynamics, but I do think they are sometimes part of the equation.  What I think is constructive about this definition is that it reminds me to guard against my tendency to blame others for what I fear are my own faults  -- cast the mote out of our own eye and so forth.  Unfortunately, as you point out, the term is sometimes used as a verbal club to bash folks who object to homosexuality on other grounds.  But I'm not expert on the subject and all this is just my take. 
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> Jim Piat
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