Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Should I wear purple on purple day?

Question: K so this morning brought a dilemna my way and I wanted to know your opinion on it and the decision I made. So today is like wear purple day to stand up for those boys who committed suicide after coming out about being gay and then being bullied about it. Where my dilemna lies is that although as Catholics we do not think suicide is the right choice so we would support an anti-suicide thing, we also don't believe it is right to be gay. So do we support this purple thing or not? Yes I feel bad for those people and it wasn't right for them to be bullied because of their sexuality and it wasn't right for them to committ suicide, but I also don't think it's right to be gay. Kinda difficult. I sort of talked to a friend about it this morning because I didn't think as a Catholic I should support it, and she agreed, but was that the right call? Let me know what you think.

Answer
Tough question. I think that if you wear purple it would suggest to people that you support "gay rights", and thus that you are endorsing homosexuality. On the other hand, while as Catholics we think homosexuality is sinful, we do not think homosexuals ought to despair. Suppose there was a similar day as a consequence of, say, prostitutes who felt desperately trapped in their prostitution, and so commited suicide. If we wore, say, Red, on that day, to show our solidarity, I don't think it would be seen as an endorsement rather than as an indication that we want to be there for, and help and love the prostitutes. Whcih is exactly how we should be for the gays! (To be clear, we should also make the distinction that it is not bad to be gay, but to have gay sex. Heterosexual sex is also wrong in many circumstances!)

So, what we somehow have to do as Catholics is clearly communicate a stance that we are supportive and loving of the homosexual person, while still regarding homosexual actions as sinful. Like Christ when He spoke to the woman caught in adultery, and said "Go and sin no more." He clearly loved her, much more so than the religious radicals who were all too happy to condemn her for her sin, but did not endorse or encourage her sin.

I never heard that it was wear purple day. I think at some level I would say that yes you should wear it, coupled with some symbol of Catholicism (crucifix, etc) but then have the courage to stand up for what is true and to tell people what you think when asked. The problem is for the homosexual they are only recieving 2 messages; One, that they are OK, and their whole identity is homosexuality, therefore they are little more than their sexual drives. The other that they are perverted and despised and damned. The truth is somewhere between those 2 extremes, and frankly the only place for hope is in the truth. We have to get the message out!

I think too that the gay community deliberately wants to polarize the argument- if everyone who does not endorse them appears hateful and 'homophobic', then in the name of tolerance everyone will be too scared to take a stand. We have to somehow outsmart that trap!

I guess this answer is probably longer than what you were looking for, and still vague. I'm of two minds on the subject, and have been sorting my own thoughts as I type! I don't have any purple myself, so it's not an issue for me, but I would suggest that whichever way you chose to go, you're probably good, provided you're prepared to speak for truth!

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