Alison McIntosh, Campus Carrier Asst. Entertainment Editor

I suppose because of the Supreme Court’s recent hearing of arguments against Prop 8 and  the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), I have seen an explosion of ignorance on Facebook concerning equal marriage and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual and questioning (LGBTQ) rights. I should preface this by saying that I am openly and proudly pansexual (Google it), and this does not happen on my page, but I see it almost constantly on the pages of others, and especially when I see it on the pages of LGBTQ people, I become a sort of gay-rage-monster-of-hatred.

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a breakdown of why Facebook arguments against equal marriage are the worst, most offensive, idiotic things I’ve ever discovered on social media. If you do or say these things, assume that I hate you.

1: If I hear one more person compare being gay to being a pedophile or rapist, I’m going to rip open my computer screen and punch them through it.

See, you can have some kind of moral argument against homosexuality. That’s an opinion usually based in biblical doctrine. However, I don’t particularly care whether or not you think I should be allowed to marry or make love to a woman because I do not actually need your permission to do so. So have that opinion. I’m going to keep doing what I like, regardless.

But when you call me “deviant,” “unnatural,” “disgusting” or “repulsive,” or compare me to a rapist or a pedophile, you stop privately disagreeing and begin actively insulting me. It’s the difference between “Hey, that type of music doesn’t appeal to me; I think really great music has to have universal appeal” and “If you like this music, you are actually harming the world and forcing people to experience music they hate and making the babies dumb and killing puppies and forcing people to have sex with you.” It’s not just wrong, and it’s not just mean; if you’re disagreeing with homosexuality (which is one of the dumbest phrases ever, because your opinion is irrelevant) based on Christian doctrine, you ought to reread the parts of the Bible about Jesus. He wasn’t a particular fan of judging or telling others what to do.

The above ignorant argument comes from an idea that anything beyond what you have decided is the “norm” is deviant, crude, appalling and morally outrageous. This is one of the biggest and most frustrating logical fallacies within Western culture. Just because the person I love is a woman, or because I prefer pencil skirts to floor-length skirts, or because I want to be handcuffed to a cross and blindfolded in a sex club on Saturday nights doesn’t mean that what I’m doing is morally wrong. It’s what makes me happy, and frankly isn’t anyone else’s business. I fail to see how not following so-called “normal” American actions—although being curious about same-sex interaction is, actually, very common—means that I am any less than a straight person.

Further: ask a rape survivor if being raped is the same as having consensual sex with another adult, no matter their sex. Inquire as to whether or not being molested as a child is at all the same as falling in love with someone of the same sex. Anyone who has had these experiences ought to be insulted as well; this unfounded argument completely erases the experiences of victims of sexual violence and equates it with consensual acts between adults. So way to go, dude, you’ve insulted the gays and rape victims.

2: Another lovely logical fallacy: “DA GAYS R JUST LOOKIN FER SPESHUL RYTES” is getting tired and old. We want equal rights. This argument was used against blacks during the Civil Rights Movement and it was ridiculous then; in 2013 it’s just silly. It doesn’t begin to hold up to logic; it just makes you look ignorant. I have yet to see anyone even respond when I bring up that point. If you can’t support it logically or factually, you’re probably wrong.

3: Also: if you publicly tell someone any of the above things and are surprised when they get angry and curse at you, call you ignorant/hateful/bigoted/homophobic (which, ding ding ding! you are), you don’t get to be angry. If someone looked at you and said that as a straight person you were not allowed to marry someone you love, could not legally be allowed to visit that person in the hospital if their family disliked you or could not adopt children because you would “corrupt” them (because that’s how it works), you would be livid. You would call them hateful, racist, classist, bigoted, heterophobic, mean and rude—and that’s just what we can print. When you tell me, a friend of survivors of every kind of sexual violence, that I’m the same as a rapist and a pedophile and I call you a [CENSORED]ing [CENSORED] [CENSORED], you can’t look at me and say that I can’t have a “rational” discussion. Not only is the point irrelevant—curse words don’t negate logic; they show emphasis and emotion—it is a little ridiculous for you to insult someone and expect to get respect and politeness in return. You don’t deserve it, so when you get it, you ought to be grateful—and you certainly aren’t getting it from me.