gbaji wrote:
My point when I wrote that was that if we are to argue about where the line between "things we can discriminate against" and "things we can't discriminate against" is, we should be looking at things close to the line, not things far from it in one direction or the other. Hence, it's more relevant (I would argue necessary) to argue that sexual orientation is not like hair color versus arguing that it's not like drug addiction.
Oh I get that, at least I think I do, but it seems your line is in a very different place.
gbaji wrote:
I hope to hell that makes sense.
Does now, I think. My difference is probably that I think that discrimination based on physical appearance should be illegal too, hence the disconnect it seems.
gbaji wrote:
You're free to make that argument, but our system starts with the assumption that we're each free to do anything we want, and then we place a small number of restrictions on that where necessary. What you're proposing is the exact opposite and sorta flies in the face of some pretty basic concepts of a free society. We should have to make the argument for each and every exception, not the other way around. And what I'm asking here is for someone to actually make that argument.
I can live with that. However once you can crank out several scientific studies (yes I know I only linked a single one, but there were several others I skipped over to cherry-pick it) showing there's discrimination, and that it's having an unjustified impact on the earnings of a particular group, then we should make a law forbidding this kind of discrimination. Whether that be hair color, sex, lack of manly biceps, or sexual orientation. Just because we're behind the ball on one form of discrimination is no reason not to try and stop another form of it.
This kind of thing is good for our economy and good for our society. We want the best person to get hired for a job, the one where the employer will get the most bang for their buck. We also want people to be re-assured that hard work is rewarded, that's how our American dream works. If there are particular groups that are faced with diminished prospects in our economy that negatively affects all of us.
gbaji wrote:
I hate homosexuals exactly as much as I hate short people
I knew it!