The Domesticated Primate

This book started off rather not-so-funny to me, at least. But then things definitely got a hell of a lot funnier - I don't know, maybe I was tired when I began to read it. The book features a lot of talk about Republicans' raging homophobia and ponders why that might be. They quote "Dr." Paul Cameron giving his thoughts on the gayness:

"Untrammeled homosexuality can take over and destroy a social system," says Cameron. "If you isolate sexuality as something solely for one's own personal amusement, and all you want is the most satisfying orgasm you can get- and that is what homosexuality seems to be-then homosexuality seems too powerful to resist. The evidence is that men do a better job on men and women on women, if all you are looking for is orgasm." So powerful is the allure of gays, Cameron believes, that if society approves that gay people, more and more heterosexuals will be inexorably drawn into homosexuality. "I'm convinced that lesbians are particularly good seducers," says Cameron. "People in homosexuality are incredibly evangelical," he adds, sounding evangelical himself. "It's pure sexuality. It's almost like pure heroin. It's such a rush. They are committed in almost a religious way. And they'll take enormous risks, do anything." He says that for married men and women, gay sex would be irresistible. "Marital sex tends toward the boring end," he points out. "Generally, it doesn't deliver the kind of sheer sexual pleasure that homosexual sex does" So, Cameron believes, within a few generations homosexuality would be come the dominant form of sexual behavior.

Um, yeah...this guy is saying sooo much about himself. If he hasn't come out himself or been outed already, it's only a matter of time. It really does seem that the most homophobic and vitriolic of these Republicans do turn out to be gay. I remember Jon Stewart rhetorically asking the same question when some news about a gay-hating Republican turning out to be, uh, gay!

Anyway, this book forced me to move away from cubicle-land while reading over lunch because some passages had me lauging so hard and I didn't want to upset the neighboring cubicle-dwellers.

Of course, the book also brought up some stuff I never knew - I didn't know that some Bible-bangers would really stand in the way of a vaccine to cure something like HPV - even I didn't think they were that hateful and evil. And they hide behind a rather innocous sounding name: Family Research Council. Check this out:

In the US, for instance, religious groups are gearing up to oppose vaccination, despite a survey showing 80 per cent of parents favour vaccinating their daughters. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent HPV," says Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, a leading Christian lobby group that has made much of the fact that, because it can spread by skin contact, condoms are not as effective against HPV as they are against other viruses such as HIV.

"Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a licence to engage in premarital sex," Maher claims, though it is arguable how many young women have even heard of the virus.

Ah, Christianity, the religion of peace. These people aren't just stupid, they are evil. They'd rather people get cancer than have premarital sex.