Good Afternoon All,

Thank you JJ, for stepping in here, I felt a little like I might have taken on something out of my bounds - but I guess not enough to be quiet about it!!! However, I'm a member of this forum also and want it to continue. I haven't been invited to "watch" things, but I still feel obligated to contribute to a place where we all can equally express opinions without fear of reprisal.

Sandi, you are to be commended for your apology. We need more of that to be sure...

And to be sure also, this is a HOT topic. The nation itself is torn , so it's not a leap to assume that there would be differing opinions on this site. And most certainly, Passionate opinions, since these issues involve our very belief systems....Just remember, Islamic extremists are passionate about their beliefs also - and I know no-one wants to go anywhere near that route. So let's continue our discussion, but in a civil tone, respecting one another.

Welcome back, Norma. It's good to have someone here from "another country" altho it seems strange to admit that Canada is another country. I have so many of my family in Canada that it seems just another part of my own world. And then Bluebird is from eastern Canada, right? (Which btw, I would like to look up, but I haven't yet figured out a way to do that without loosing this post - anyone want to explain that to me?)

So here's my thought for the day - as Casey so well put it, it is the human FACE which will change any idea we have. It's the unknown, the unfamiliar, which becomes "scarey". And throughout history, when we become afraid of the unknown, we gather our weapons, and prepare to strike. Good when we were but hunter-gatherers, but not so good today. In those days, the "different" were a liability. Today they should be our strength.

I am speaking not only as a member of this "society", but also as a Mother of someone different. I see little difference between women's issues, the issues of black America, the issues of Native America, or the issues of "disabled" America. Not to mention the issues of gay America. It seems to me, that anyone to the left or right of center, is bound to be belittled, ignored, or targeted. O, and I forgot, Latino America. And then, of course, Asian America. Not to mention, European America, and those Americans from the Middle East. If I have forgotten any, I apologize. but my point is obvious. America is not , and never has been, a place of homogenous people. The very fact that we invaded this country, attempted genocide on it's inhabitants , and fought to maintain the borders, is proof that we are a people who demanded power - and anyone differing from our view was pounded into submission...Well, I could go on....

But I am asking that each of you think again. Think very long and deep. If your own sibling was gay or lesbian, if your own child was disabled, if you have genetic ties to any other group other than white- anglo- saxon, how then, would you respond?

Searcher