SSM Plebiscite

[mateinone]

Curious as to what the 'no supporter' used to back up his opinion.

I suspect as a teenage boy he isn't yet ready to embrace the idea. At 15 I would not have been either.
If you had asked a 15 year old me, I would have firmly been in the no camp, I know I would.
I think a lot of teenage boys are still 'against' homosexuality no matter what we teach them.
I found homosexuality something strange and not something that I was exposed to at all.

I believe the 'no supporter' as put would likely turn their views around, but I will let him come to the conclusion in his own time.
Of course that wouldn't be the case if he was hateful in his opinion.

As I have said I am happy to let both my children form their opinions (as long as they are also respectful of others) and feel free to talk through them without me picking them apart.

[ElwoodBlues1]

I was told you need to nominate someone as your Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment)  for those hospital issues, its different to your ordinary Power of Attorney...

[PaulP]

I suspect as a teenage boy he isn't yet ready to embrace the idea. At 15 I would not have been either.
If you had asked a 15 year old me, I would have firmly been in the no camp, I know I would.
I think a lot of teenage boys are still 'against' homosexuality no matter what we teach them.
I found homosexuality something strange and not something that I was exposed to at all.

I believe the 'no supporter' as put would likely turn their views around, but I will let him come to the conclusion in his own time.
Of course that wouldn't be the case if he was hateful in his opinion.

As I have said I am happy to let both my children form their opinions (as long as they are also respectful of others) and feel free to talk through them without me picking them apart.

My son is also 15, he would vote yes. I just asked him.

[kruddler]

I heard Magda Szubanski speak on the subject on The Project. She told a story of how a friend of hers was denied access to their dying partner in hospital because it was "next of kin only". This story resinated with me more than any argument I have heard on the SSM debate. Explain to me how this situation could be deemed acceptable.

Reminds me of a story.

My wifes parents divorced.
Father never remarried, but was in a relationship for 21 years with the same woman, and had a 20year old daughter together. Lived in the same house this whole time.  (FWIW, He did ask several times. She was just against the whole concept)

She died from cancer about 18months ago. Insurance companies (super?) did not want to pay out what he was entitled to because they were not married and he needed to prove that they were still in a relationship when she died. He was with her every day at the hospital and every day when she later went into palliative care. It took a good 10 months before anything was paid out. Lucky for him he wasn't in any financial difficulty at the time, as it could've made an extremely difficult time in his life a hell of a lot worse.

All of this because of a (lack of) piece of paper.

[kruddler]

I suspect as a teenage boy he isn't yet ready to embrace the idea. At 15 I would not have been either.
If you had asked a 15 year old me, I would have firmly been in the no camp, I know I would.
I think a lot of teenage boys are still 'against' homosexuality no matter what we teach them.
I found homosexuality something strange and not something that I was exposed to at all.

I believe the 'no supporter' as put would likely turn their views around, but I will let him come to the conclusion in his own time.
Of course that wouldn't be the case if he was hateful in his opinion.

As I have said I am happy to let both my children form their opinions (as long as they are also respectful of others) and feel free to talk through them without me picking them apart.

I reckon as a 'group' 15yo's may think that way, but generally as individuals they wouldn't have anything against it. Personally, i know that i wouldn't have had a problem with it at that age as my cousin (who i looked up to and is part of the reason i'm a blues fan) had a best friend who was gay at that very age and i was fine with him.
Incidentally, i knew instantly that he was gay, despite being 15 at the time and it never crossed my mind to say anything about it to him. I found out almost a decade later that he 'came out' to my cousin who was absolutely shocked. I reckon i was more shocked that he was shocked! 

BTW, i'm not suggesting you've done anything wrong. Hell, try telling a 15yo me what to do and i'll do the opposite.
Just trying to work out what kind of reasoning he may have used.

[mateinone]

My son is also 15, he would vote yes. I just asked him.

Yeap as did my 16 year old.
As I said I didn't drill down, because I didn't/don't feel a need to.
It could be as simple as he finds it 'strange'.

I don't have any intentions of trying to change his view because it is his to have.
He knows he can come and discuss this (or any topic) at any stage.

[mateinone]

I reckon as a 'group' 15yo's may think that way, but generally as individuals they wouldn't have anything against it. Personally, i know that i wouldn't have had a problem with it at that age as my cousin (who i looked up to and is part of the reason i'm a blues fan) had a best friend who was gay at that very age and i was fine with him.
Incidentally, i knew instantly that he was gay, despite being 15 at the time and it never crossed my mind to say anything about it to him. I found out almost a decade later that he 'came out' to my cousin who was absolutely shocked. I reckon i was more shocked that he was shocked! 

BTW, i'm not suggesting you've done anything wrong. Hell, try telling a 15yo me what to do and i'll do the opposite.
Just trying to work out what kind of reasoning he may have used.

When I say 'against' also Krud, I don't think that they would in any way treat someone worse if they were gay and exposed to an individual.
But a number would still find the concept foreign and struggle with how to embrace it.

But... I am guessing.. I don't know for the reasons outlined

[LP]

All of this because of a (lack of) piece of paper.

Not really!

It's because of a psychopath administrative worker in the insurance companies saw an opportunity to reduces claims, and they are encouraged to do so because if they reduce claims they get an increase in their bonus.

[Navy Maven]

I suspect as a teenage boy he isn't yet ready to embrace the idea. At 15 I would not have been either.
If you had asked a 15 year old me, I would have firmly been in the no camp, I know I would.
I think a lot of teenage boys are still 'against' homosexuality no matter what we teach them.
I found homosexuality something strange and not something that I was exposed to at all.

I believe the 'no supporter' as put would likely turn their views around, but I will let him come to the conclusion in his own time.
Of course that wouldn't be the case if he was hateful in his opinion.

As I have said I am happy to let both my children form their opinions (as long as they are also respectful of others) and feel free to talk through them without me picking them apart.

I think a lot of this anti-gay sentiment amongst teenagers comes from a fear of the unknown. They can't relate, or maybe even some do relate but aren't ready to acknowledge those feelings.

Ironically as a teenager I was bullied more for being gay before I came out than after I did. For most of my schooling years I'd have kids yelling out things from classrooms and it made me hate the person I was or was becoming. Funnily enough though, after I got past that and came out at 17, it was a lot of those same guys who were calling me a 'dyke' etc that were then asking me questions about being gay. Once I explained to them how I was feeling and how it didn't make me fundamentally different to anyone else, the bullying stopped. I had allies in places I never expected to find them.

I think with young people an honest education is the best policy. Let them ask the questions they need to ask, even if they seem 'politically incorrect'. Don't force them to see things one way, encourage them to look at something from all angles. The world could use a little more empathy in all regards.

[mateinone]

That is a really good post Navy and I suspect it rings true with many.