I am both Proud of falling on the Straight side of the Bi spectrum as well as an ally to the rights of all people.

I am not ashamed to have loved and slept with men.. I refuse to be ashamed of how into women I am.

In honor of this being Pride Month my views on Pride continues...

This is Pride month in many places and also Pride week here in Charlottetown. I did a recent article mentioning my views on the organized Pride movement which included the parades. However, this might have made one think that I think someone having personal pride is a bad thing. However, that would be wrong. What I have issues with is the idea of a collectivized pride based on nothing more than some single character trait. Especially given the narrative of Pride that your orientation being some innate thing. Which means you did nothing to earn being proud if it is simply based on an innate characteristics. 

I think individual people whom are gay, bisexual can have personal pride, but, that is not based only on ones sexual orientation, but, the content of ones character. Which means that whether or not you should be proud remains largely on your character as a person. So, just being gay, bisexual or whatever is not an accomplishment in itself. The issue with the collectivized Pride movement is that it assumes Gay equals good and worthy of pride over being based on ones character,. In fact, the toxic world of Pride and LGBTQ+  which exists shows the sort of character of the organized Pride. 

I do know gays and bisexuals that like me swear off the Pride movement and the LGBTQ+ nonsense altogether. I am not the only person that has issues with the concept of Pride as it exists at this time. Myself, I do not plan on doing anything for nor with Pride this year. Even though I support the individual rights of people I still want nothing to do with it. In fact, as I mentioned previously I have not had anything to do with Pride in quite sometime. However, I do think that there is a glaring hypocrisy with the whole Pride month and week. The whole movement or idea in general really. 

The hypocrisy I mean is that gays and bisexuals seem to be able to have Pride, but, heterosexuals and/or mostly heterosexuals or bisexuals that just prefer the opposite to the same are left out in the cold. There is s serious blindness to the fact if there can be Gay pride then heterosexuals and hetero-leaning people can have their own personal Hetero or Straight pride. I do have personal pride because I am a good man. I am a heterosexual male with pride in being a good man whom is into women. I have Straight Pride, but, based on being a good man that is straight and not because I am straight period. I refuse to cower and be small in the world because I ended up a 30 year old heterosexual male. 

Since Pride should be based on individual character and being a good person all heterosexuals that have good character should be able to be proud to be such a good person. Straight Pride does not mean hating on gay or bisexual people. It is properly speaking something all Straight people of good character can and should have in themselves. In the same vein gays and bisexuals that have good character and are accomplishing something in life to be proud of can have their own sense of personal pride. However, that pride does not equally get to denounce others orientations and act like fascist or Maoist extremists. Getting to trash the broader world using terms like heteronormative and pushing bullshit. 

The world is mostly heterosexual in nature or at least bisexual in nature. It is a mammalian norm due to it being how our species survives and reproduces. Penis is crafted by Mother Nature to go into vagina that is the natural norm. Males getting hard over females and females getting lubricated over males. Heterosexuality is not the normal due to "hatred of gays." It has the norm due to the Tyranny called nature and how our species evolved to keep living. This does not mean homosexuals or homosexual activity is bad or immoral or anything. It does not justify actual bigotry or religious hatred of homosexuals. It just means that it is not the overall norm for our species. Most homosexual activity exists in most species in a bisexual manor. As it does as well in ours, but, that does not mean exclusive homosexuals need to change or need "cured." 

However, that also means that by denouncing "heteronormativity" Pride groups are in fact denouncing the vary process by which our species keeps living. As well as the process by which they themselves came into existence. To denounce that there should be pride in heterosexuals for being good men and women is antithetical to the existence of pride on a personal level at all. It makes Pride a worship of a collective group and a hive mind that does not exist. I support us heterosexuals, us straight people having personal pride and an abundance of it and self-love for being good people. Good people should be proud and evil/vile people should not have pride. Positive should be proud and negative people have nothing to be proud of one could also say. 

Pride is an achievement of being a good person and not something that falls out of the sky like rain drops. Pride is a virtue and so is self-esteem, but, pride does not just jump into your lap. Much like respect actual pride is earned by matter of your virtue as a person and your accomplishments of character. It is not just something you have out of nowhere. Most LGBTQ+ people whom support Pride and attend Pride events have not really thought of what pride means epistemologically. Just being born is not enough to have Pride and this is why I do not support "Pride" organizations. You earn pride, you earn respect it is not benevolence. There is a difference between having a benevolent outlook at others and respecting them. 

  

Libertarianism, Conservatism and Objectivism

A lot of times people tend to do one of two things with people whom are in favor of liberty. They either call them conservatives or will apply that they are more conservative in nature. However, if one looks at the libertarian view which is individual rights for all and what said people consider conservative they are not similar in policy usually. These people consider libertarians to somehow support views that are more aligned with the Religious resurfacing and the Moral Majority.

Of course, this makes no sense at all. Libertarians/Objectivists do not support the sort of policies that the Moral Majority support. However, one needs to point out that this is wrong for more than just the allying of libertarianism with micromanaging policies. The truth is that the idea that conservatives are naturally against freedom for people from various lifestyles is itself a mistake and unfounded. Whereas one whom is libertarian often thinks conservatism does not go far enough one should not accuse any specific conservative as being a religious agenda pushing monster either.

This is something that libertarianism is bad for as well. The assumption that a conservative is some statism supporting busy body that wants to micromanage peoples lives. The truth is that libertarians and Objectivists can find a good deal of agreement of support from the "classical liberal" breed of conservatism. Conservatism can mean conserving freedom and classical liberal values. This breed of conservatism which is based on the classical liberal political values shared by libertarians and Objectivism is at home right next to Objectivism and libertarianism on the individual rights respecting side of the political spectrum.

When someone is a conservative one needs to ask them what they support or do not support. It is very possible they are a conservative classical liberal and not the kind that most people seem to think of when they hear the term. In fact, the Moral Majority and Religious Right types are on the fringe of the overall modern conservative movement. At least in Canada and for the most part in the US as well now. Take for example Same Sex Marriage; most conservatives support this now. Or the Drug War a good deal of them are finding it is not helping and should be abolished. A conservative whom is a classical liberal is a natural ally of individual rights and should be accepted as a part of the broader individual rights or liberty movement.

This does not mean we should not criticize conservatives if they try to push religion on people. Nor does it mean Objectivists should stop criticizing Altruism and religion for the evils that they are. If someone tries to base their views on unreality their mistakes in reasoning need to be pointed out and critiqued. Nor does it mean that Objectivists nor libertarians should switch to identifying as conservative instead of their current political identity. However, if one did that would be up to the individual judgment of their individual mind. If one wanted to identify as a conservative that was grounded in Objectivism or grounded in a relationship with reality VS religion that is up to them. Said person would not become thine enemy for doing so.

I just think the automatic judgment that conservatism is the enemy of liberty that some in the liberty movement have needs to be challenged by the facts that in fact show this to be a generalization. A collectivization ironically of every single person whom is a conservative holding the same constitution in their minds. I do not know quite a few conservatives and also Capital C Conservatives within my own Country of Canada. The Canadian Conservative Party is filled with classical liberals, libertarians and even Rand supporters although they might disagree with the whole selfishness thing. The Republican Party has an entire caucus of libertarian conservatives.

I am not one of these people whom are going around screaming to Unite the Right. I think that would be just as collectivist as saying for us to not trust any conservatives at all. However, not being paranoid that someone whom is not a libertarian is somehow a tyrannical despot. The same can go for meeting people in life in general. One should never assume that we are surrounded by slave driving malevolent humans that want to have other people serve them as slaves. Not libertarian and not Objectivist is not codeword for dictator in the making. This outlook causes one to have a fear and even a hate for their fellow man as opposed to seeing them as possible values in ones life. It helps to dehumanize others and form an out group. This does no one any good.
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