Out of Sight, Out of Mind

The article below made me think about the motivation behind a lot of hatred and intolerance in this country. That motivation is fear. More specifically, the fear of parents of being forced to talk to their kids about subjects that they are not comfortable with. The reason that certain subjects are uncomfortable for parents is, in my opinion, due to the social stigma attached to certain areas of our life by religion (sex, sexuality, differing religious beliefs).

In two seperate statements in the article, parents objected to the presence of the 'swingers' mainly due to the fact that it forced them to talk to their kids about subjects that they were uncomfortable with. Now I am not condoning the actions of the swingers at this hotel nor criticizing the complaints which may very well be legitimate. My problem is with the motivation for the complaints.

As an atheist, I know that my mere existence creates a feeling of discomfort with many of those of faith. The fact that I am proud of my faithlessness and vocal about it compounds the issue. Most believers would rather not be faced with examples of individuals who make it through life without superstition. I believe that the same motivation is the cause of much homophobia. I know from first-hand experience with my religious family that homosexuals behaving as normal couples (holding hands, kissing etc) in public is a major issue. If you ask most religious homophobics to get the the root of their opposition, I believe that you will find that many hold the attitude that they object to public displays of homosexuality (being gay in public) more than private acts that individuals may participate in behind closed doors.

In other words, keep your differences in the closet please. If you aren't a Christian, please just shut up and don't complain as our democracy becomes a theocracy. If you are gay, don't do anything or say anything that will force me to talk to my children about sex. If you are not ashamed of your body or uptight about sex, don't let me know or force me to deal with it. Get it?


Parents Fume: Kids, Swingers at Same Hotel

Some teenage soccer players and their parents saw more sights than they wanted when they stayed at a hotel where about 200 swingers were having a New Year's party.

Paul Camporini brought his wife, seventh-grade daughter and eighth-grade son from Safety Harbor and said he had to "delicately explain to my Catholic school children that swingers change partners during the evening."

"My biggest gripe is that the hotel had two distinctly different groups under the same roof," said Camporini, 49. "A soccer team and middle-aged swingers should not have been booked together."

The families said the sexually adventurous partygoers sometimes flashed breasts and bare buttocks in front of the children as they sashayed through the hotel atrium. The parents described the dress at the Crowne Plaza Hotel-Airport in Orlando as "raunchy, despicable and worse than prostitutes."

"We thought we were coming to Orlando, not the Las Vegas Strip," said Mark Gilbert, the father of a boy who plays on the Clearwater Chargers, a group of 13-and-under players from Florida.

The teams booked the $92-a-night rooms for Disney's Soccer Showcase, and said hotel management did not tell them about the swingers' party or try to keep the partygoers away from the children.

Hotel managers did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment Tuesday. All of the swingers had checked out of the hotel by late Sunday.

"We're not prudes by any means," said Rob Young of Greenville, S.C., who said his two daughters, Leah, 13 and Lauren, 11, asked questions he struggled to answer. "We would have liked to have been informed when we checked into the hotel so we could have made other arrangements.

"The kids could see through the glass atrium into the ballroom where naked people were dancing. There were exposed breasts, thongs and see-through dresses on women who were not wearing any underwear."

Young said he complained to hotel management and to John Hollis, an off-duty Orlando police officer hired by the hotel for a New Year's Eve security detail. He said neither did anything to help.

Lt. John Mina, a watch commander for the Orlando Police Department, said Hollis didn't witness anything illegal.

Tagged as:homophobia,sexuality,atheist,atheism,religion