Okay, Let's Be Reasonable

By Daniel Lawson

First of all I would like to thank Michael Gryboski for his donation to our social community in the last week of April. I have heard a lot of talk about his featured piece "Homosexuality Is a Mental Illness", showing its impact on our George Mason campus.

It is vitally important that everyone in a community voice their opinion on all matters of concern, whether it is the concern of one or one-hundred. Michael's piece has provided such a wonderful opportunity for learning. After all, I am attending George Mason for my third full year and am about to graduate in just weeks, and all this time I have had this preconception that in our environment of higher learning and intellectual awareness we as students and young adults had long overcome these issues of discomfort with certain groups based on status, and that we had moved past belief in the inferiority of others due to identity status. Michael's piece has reminded that some people are still struggling with issues, and if one member of a community is struggling, the community itself is in struggle.

I would say to Michael that anyone can appreciate your time put into your piece. You have obviously done a good amount of research and really focused on constructing a strong argument. Best of all it shows how much you care about your community and that you want to help it by spreading "information." I have some advice though.

Be careful with your vague terms, such as "social requirements being missed" in reference to the impairments of homosexuality. I am curious as to what the exact social requirements are, or if there is a website where I can take a peek at the checklist. Check yourself against this list and let me know what percentage you get so we can compare scores!

You mention "obvious" abnormality of behavior as well and tie this in with "Gender Identity Disorder." Hopefully you've gotten rid of all of your abnormal behavior, because it's important to practice what you preach.

In regards to Gender Identity Disorder and the rest of your research, be careful of natural-law-language. What I mean to say is, don't let things you've read in books or googled on the internet make you believe that the author's word is reality because the author has something other than Mr. or Mrs. at the beginning of their name.

If you are still thinking statistics and numbers are the answer, try to broaden your research a bit further. You seem very concerned with science and I would remind you that over 450 animals which display homosexuality within their lifestyles. Some which frequently do so are giraffes, dolphins, various whales, and bonobos (a close primate relative). What do these animals have to do with us? Look through your species classification and you will find you are in kingdom Animalia and your class should say Mammalia if you're like the rest of us. I believe all those animals share those classifications.

Hopefully this has given you something to think about, Michael. Once again, thank you so much for your donation of opinion to our social stew here in Fairfax. I would encourage anyone else with burning opinions or concerns to contribute at their will. And Michael, I noticed you have glasses from your picture in the Broadside. I myself enjoy some goofy looking lenses most evenings of the week! Maybe we can get together and form a glasses-wearing group or something similar. Eh, but then again somebody will probably just write a letter to a newspaper to put our group
down and hate on us.