So, what would you ask?

[princess_ballet]

I am taking a Freshman Seminar class this semester. The point of the class is just to introduce us to things that are available on campus, such as study abroad.

Well, next week Out and About will be coming to our class, you know, the gay group. For the presentation, we will all be given notecards, allowed to write out our questions, they will collect them, and then they will answer our questions.

So, what would you ask them? I want to ask them something really good, but I'm not quite sure what to ask yet.

 

[Dream]

Do you have anything that you are curious about but were too embarassed to ask? Now's the time. Just don't say anything mean.

In one of my freshman classes we had a gay guy come in and talk to us about be gay. Some of the stuff he said was very graphic and disgusting. It made me feel sick to my stomach. He asked the class if anybody thought that being gay was wrong. I was too cowardly to raise my hand.

 

[jukesk9]

I would ask them, "Why is it so important to go around flaunting that you're gay? Do you see heterosexuals going around saying, 'we're straight!'?" That's always puzzled me. Why brag about your sexuality?

 

[Lil_Lamb_11]

I think bringing out the acceptance and awareness of that lifestyle will eventually cause future generations to try it out. Teens will think "Maybe I'm gay, I should try and find out." I would want to ask if they are concerned about that... the influence they will have on future generations. However, I doubt they will care, they will just think that its a good thing.

 

[faerieevaH]

You could ask if they believe that society has an influence on them being gay or not.

Or you could ask that, if they could choose between being gay and being straight what they would choose.

You could ask that if they believe being gay is a physical thing that is already determined for you at birth that it is something that might be changed one day by medical science, and if they think that's a good thing?

 

[wellab]

Assuming that they answer all the questions the class turns in,

I would ask "Do you think chastity is important for all people to learn, esp gay people since that lifestyle tends to be a major way AIDS is spread?"

I would guess they might see this as a judgmental question and toss it.

If so, another question I would love the answer to is this: "Because gay people are usually depicted as overly sexual people in movies and on tv, is it true that gay people are always thinking about sex and that's their primary motive in life?"

Oh that question might get thrown out as well, but it is something I want to understand about gay people.

 

[AlinaK]

Sounds very interesting! I am sure that you will be very respectful to them and learn a lot from it.

As for a question? I Wouldn't mind knowing why all the cute guys are gay. J/K

 

[princess_ballet]

"Do you think chastity is important for all people to learn, esp gay people since that lifestyle tends to be a major way AIDS is spread?"

You know what I'm afraid of? I'm afraid they're going to take this oppurtunity and exploit it. I don't want them to start telling the people in that room a bunch of baloney and spewing political stuff.

For example, Michigan has a proposal to ban gay marriage on our state constitution. I obviously think it should be passed. If they start talking about that, regardless if they get a question about it or not, I know that I will get upset about it. Since this is a class that I am paying for, how should I react? What if they won't let me raise my hand and voice my opinion because they have "secret" questions only? I'm afraid they will use this to their advantage and not let any dissent be heard during the presentation.

Do I get up and leave? Do I try to say something? What do I do? I don't want to just sit still and listen to something that I know is a bunch of nonsense. I know why they're coming in the day before the election. Anyone would be a fool to think otherwise. They've been very vocal on campus the past two weeks or so.

So, I guess, while these are very good questions, I suppose they need to be phrased in such a way that they can't be spinned.

 

[EllenMoran]

pb, why don't you ask your professor if they are taking questions beforehand? Let him/her know you have one or two in mind and weren't sure whether you needed to submit them beforehand or not.

 

[princess_ballet]

They are doing it in the way I mentioned beforehand. I just don't know if they will allow comments during the presentation.

For the presentation, we will all be given notecards, allowed to write out our questions, they will collect them, and then they will answer our questions.

 

[ps139]

Ask them if they think its right that a pastor in Sweden was arrested for preaching on Romans 1.

 

[EllenMoran]

My bad, I misunderstood.

It sounds like you are putting a lot of thought into how & what you want to ask -- I think that is good, because something written in the heat of the moment that is overtly combative will get thrown out pretty quickly. Perhaps there is a way to open the door to a discussion that is not simply "if you don't support gay marriage you're a terrible bigot!" For example, since the intent is supposed to be "here's what's available on campus," maybe you could ask about any services they have that help gay/lesbian students resist peer pressure, whether that is drinking, sex, etc. Just an idea.

 

[PolskiKrol]

Oh that question might get thrown out as well

You might be making good point, to both the audience and those with the homosexual condition, if they throw out (or elsewise give a lame response) to a legitimate question because it demonstrates the disordered-ness of their lifestyle.

When a local Catholic apologist spoke at our youth rally, he did not throw out the "heated" questions, because he could support his facts with the truths of the chruch. (He left out 3 cards, for they were sexually suggestive and not questions) Its my firm belief that if you ask a "heated" question, the person who throws it out would understand that there can be no good answer to explain his/her lifestyle. It may do some good after all!

 

[stray bullet]

I would first and foremost remember that you are a Christian and consider what behavior and questions, if any, would be the best way to represent our faith.

Personally, if someone was coming to a class to promote something I felt was immoral, I would ask to be excused.

 

[Roald]

I would ask "Do you think chastity is important for all people to learn, esp gay people since that lifestyle tends to be a major way AIDS is spread?"

I would guess they might see this as a judgmental question and toss it.

This does not have to be judgmental. I certainly do not mean to be graphic, but the higher rate of spread of AIDS among homosexual populations is not due solely to increased promiscuity. Also contributing is the physiological nature of sexual acts to which they are limited.