The acceptance of homosexuality in society

My argument will not deviate onto the point of whether homosexuality is good or bad. My argument is that not only is the acceptance of homosexuality in our society required but it is essential if if we want to strengthen our society, uphold good morals and even strengthen marriage. If we fail to accept homosexuality we risk brushing all the people, who identify themselves as gay, aside into the fringes of society and the damage done to the people involved will be immeasurable. I will give an example of what I mean. Pierre Seel was born in a time when homosexuality was not welcomed into society (1923) but found a place for himself in the homosexual scene in his home town of Mulhouse, france. But all this changed when the Nazis rolled into town and after weeks of interrogation and torture he found himself in the Schirmeck concentration camp. Now I know this may seem a little heavy handed but this part (involving the concentration camp) is important to keep in context for what comes after. I quote from his obituary in the British newspaper, the Independant, what has to be the most shocking moment in his sorry story. "While the camp's Nazi leader Karl Buck (who died in luxury in 1977) gave his Sunday-morning addresses, rooks circled bodies on the gallows. One summer's day Buck ordered all to watch a miscreant be eaten alive by the guard dogs. This turned out to be Jo, whom Seel had not realized was there" Jo was Pierre's first homosexual romance. And he watched him have a bucket placed on his head and set upon by dogs till he was dead. Pierre was lucky and survived his time at the camp and for seemingly no reason was released in 1941. He spent the rest of the war working for the Germans in a variety of roles before he got his chance to desert. The years following the war were not kind to homosexuals or to Pierre. Homosexuality was still frowned upon and in most country's very illegal. Some survivors of the camps who were identified as gay went back to prison after their release to serve for the crime of being gay. After all he had seen and experienced in the post war period, Pierre renounced his homosexuality in 1950 and it was then that the damage was done. He got married and even had children but for years his sexuality troubled him. His marriage suffered and ended in 1978 and Pierre was very close to drinking himself to death. Eventually he came to terms with his sexuality in a time when it had become more acceptable. The point I make by telling this story its is a good example of what would happen if homosexuality is pushed to the fringes of our society (not the concentration camps I would hope, but more the social exclusion and pressure to conform to heterosexuality). Homosexuals, estranged from everyday life, would be forced into living a life that they do not want nor cannot function in. I cannot think of anything more unfair for the homosexuals themselves or for the people they get involved with in the name of romance to get away from who they are. You may argue that homosexuality is a choice but I feel that is irrelevant. I personally don't believe it is a choice (because I could not stop being interested in women, even if the threat of being set upon by dogs was offered if I didn't and neither could Pierre) but if there is a choice, that doesn't make it any less evil to force a person to live a life they do not want. I am not saying concentration camps would return nor am I implying that that is something you would want. I am saying if we don't accept and embrace homosexuals as equals and offer exactly the same rights and privileges heterosexuals expect then we would cast them out and homosexual will always be a dirty word in some quarters. The idea that homosexuality would destroy marriage and damage the fundamentals of our society are ridiculous. If anything allowing gay people these rights would strengthen marriage AND our society (for proof of this I refer to the fact that divorce rates in Holland have fallen even since the introduction of gay marriage). Allowing gay people to participate would strengthen society because not including them would damage it and the horrors that have happened in the past would be repeated. Am I arguing for special treatment for gay people? No, in a perfect world homosexuality would be mundane. In a perfect world a child at 15 would come out to their parents and they would reply "So what?". Yes it is different from the majority but homosexuals should be viewed completely as equals. And just as boring as everyday life. Vote pro! And I look forward to your response. Thank you for raising this debate! References http://www.independent.co.uk... Moi, Pierre Seel, dï¿½portï¿½ homosexuel (Book by Pierre Steel, annoyingly unpublished in my country but widely available in America) http://www.scienceduck.com...