Being gay is a fetish.

[John V]

Humans are social animals. If everyone believes you're worthless, you start to believe it too. Why do you think homosexuals, atheists, and other minorities that are discriminated against have high suicide rates? Why do you think the "losers" in high school often commit suicide?
If you were forced, every day, to interact with people whom you know believe you're worth less than the dirt beneath their feet - people who gladly admit this as if it were something to be proud of and constantly remind you of it - would you be happy? I know I wouldn't.

Then you have low self esteem.

[robvalue]

If I was a homosexual living in America, with 70% of the population subscribing to a homophobic religion, I'd be pretty fucking sick of it. It would take a very strong person not to feel undermined. And the idea that it's ok to give those 70% free reign to just stick "no gays" signs up everywhere makes me feel ill. I know not all of them would of course. But you have to consider the consequences. If you let one person do something freely, you need to think what would happen if a lot of people started doing it. Otherwise, you're being very socially irresponsible and short sighted.

Also, I'd like to know where in the marriage vows it says that you admit to having had sex and/or will definitely have sex. There was that one guy who came round asking some very personal questions though.... hmm.

[One Above All]

Humans are social animals. If everyone believes you're worthless, you start to believe it too. Why do you think homosexuals, atheists, and other minorities that are discriminated against have high suicide rates? Why do you think the "losers" in high school often commit suicide?
If you were forced, every day, to interact with people whom you know believe you're worth less than the dirt beneath their feet - people who gladly admit this as if it were something to be proud of and constantly remind you of it - would you be happy? I know I wouldn't.

Then you have low self esteem.

Do you know what self-esteem is? It's not something you have that stays at roughly the same level throughout your life. It changes, based on your perception of yourself. And your perception of yourself can be and is affected by the way (you think) others perceive you. If you were prohibited from performing any services whatsoever, how could you believe you were useful in any way? If you were deemed so unclean that the very idea of accepting your money for a service - a service given to others for the same amount of money - is abhorrent, how could you have any self-esteem?
If you don't believe this to be true, come live with me for a month. See how long it takes you to break.

[thesummerqueen]

Alpha isn't worth arguing with, One. He's quite convinced of his own moral, emotional, mental, and physical superiority...or at least, exceptional at pretending to be so in order to troll this forum.

[robvalue]

I guess you have to have pretty high self esteem to think the omnipotent creator of the entire universe, all the cosmos, every galaxy and the mind numbing number of planets is keenly interested in where you stick your nob.

[thesummerqueen]

I wouldn't call it self-esteem. Maybe self-aggrandizing and all consuming vanity, with a healthy cock-sauce of delusions of grandeur.

[John V]

Do you know what self-esteem is? It's not something you have that stays at roughly the same level throughout your life. It changes, based on your perception of yourself.

Yep.

And your perception of yourself can be and is affected by the way (you think) others perceive you.

Only if you already have a low perception of yourself.

If you were prohibited from performing any services whatsoever, how could you believe you were useful in any way? If you were deemed so unclean that the very idea of accepting your money for a service - a service given to others for the same amount of money - is abhorrent, how could you have any self-esteem?
If you don't believe this to be true, come live with me for a month. See how long it takes you to break.

I've been hanging out at atheist forums for 15 years. Still here. Still think I'm right, even though people routinely insult me. Doesn't bother me, because I have high self esteem.

[Esquilax]

I've been hanging out at atheist forums for 15 years. Still here. Still think I'm right, even though people routinely insult me. Doesn't bother me, because I have high self esteem.

If you don't think the self is affected by its interactions with other people and its environment, then I invite you to consider what would happen to an infant offered no contact with any human being its entire life.

[emjay]

I've been hanging out at atheist forums for 15 years. Still here. Still think I'm right, even though people routinely insult me. Doesn't bother me, because I have high self esteem.

So what is your secret to unshakably high self-esteem? I'm guessing it's not a self-help book. Is it that you were born lucky, with everything going your way since birth? Or did you have to work at it, struggling through adversity? Or is it just because of your belief in God? Or none of the above?

[Faith No More]

Personally I think gays have low self esteem and want to force people to accept them.

If they have low self-esteem, I'm sure it's because people like you are always shitting on them.

---

So what is your secret to unshakably high self-esteem? I'm guessing it's not a self-help book. Is it that you were born lucky, with everything going your way since birth? Or did you have to work at it, struggling through adversity? Or is it just because of your belief in God? Or none of the above?

His secret is a healthy dose of narcissism and an inability to perceive his own failures.  

You don't have self-esteem problems when you think you can do no wrong!