Experts With No Expertise (a.k.a. Talking Out Your Ass)

September 11 impacted our world in millions of ways, but one of the more obscure ways it left its mark was how it created a lot of self-proclaimed demolition experts. Overnight, thousands of ordinary people who had never studied architecture, aerodynamics, airline disasters, chemistry or physics somehow were certain they knew exactly how a skyscraper should behave after being hit by a plane going full speed.

These newborn experts just knew something wasn't right. The towers acted more like buildings laced with explosives than buildings that had just been hit by what was essentially a missile. I believe this self-anointed "expertise" is what drives a lot of the 9/11 conspiracy movement. Of course, the other part that drives that movement is the very real, very obvious criminal behavior of the Bush thugs. So I don't want to be too harsh on these overnight 9/11 experts. Being suspicious that the Bush criminal regime had a direct hand in 9/11 is forgivable, because it's been proven over and over, more each day, that they fabricated a war. Suspecting them of orchestrating something comparatively small like 9/11 is understandable.

What's not forgivable is thinking you know all about gays when you're not gay.

Whoa! Mental whiplash! How did we leap from 9/11 to gayness? Via Pat Robertson? No, we didn't take the Asshole Express! Gayness and 9/11 are connected because all things are connected, but the specific relationship I'm focusing on is that regarding both subjects, there are people drawing conclusions as if they are experts when they are very far from it. With 9/11 conspiracy theories, lots of people think they're knowledgeable about building demolition, architecture, etc. something they previously had no clue about. Similarly, when it comes to homosexuality, people who are not gay (they claim) speak as if they are somehow miraculously experts on the experience of being gay.

I'm referring to those folks who are completely, vocally and often violently opposed to gays having any rights based on their unique natures. These people insist they are not gay, yet somehow they are expert enough on human sexuality to know for sure that being gay is unnatural, it's a choice, and not the way one was born. Imagine the odds of being so certain about gay nature yet not being gay yourself or, not having studied gay people for years. Still, everywhere you look, there's some moron claiming, "I'm not gay, but I know for sure being gay is a choice."

There's a lot to be said for skepticism and making up one's own mind. I'm not advocating assumptions, which is why, after all these years of discussion, when every single gay person interviewed, talked to, questioned about their nature, unanimously says, "It's not a choice, this is how I was born" it is irrational to disbelieve them. Bigots want to believe that being gay is a choice. That way, they can convince themselves being gay doesn't qualify one for any rights. According to them, it's a preference as superficial as whether you like white or black socks (while also being weighty enough to determine if you're destined for Heaven or Hell.)

However, now the science is in. Homosexuality is a naturally occurring trait, and it's hard-wired into some of us, as the following articles demonstrate: Science Shows Being Gay Not A Choice and Gay Animals Out of the Closet. I'm glad there has been exhaustive research showing that being gay is not a choice.

However, I'm saddened that for some people, the science was necessary. Actually for bigots, they'll probably deny the science too, but what I'm complaining about is, why can't people just BELIEVE gays when they insist (when every single one interviewed on TV, radio, in print, on the net, insists) they are how they are because that's how they were born?

Interviewing a subject, gathering answers and comparing those answers is science, too. It's psychology. Could gays all be under some mass delusion and not realize they were simply choosing to be gay? That's the ridiculous scenario those cult-like organizations that promise to un-gay people want you to believe.

Even if it was a choice, it is a choice for a heterosexual to get married, and the breeder gets many benefits from that. To deny the same option to a fellow citizen just because they are gay is ridiculous, even if you believe the fallacy that being gay is a choice. When you accept the fact that bring gay is a trait people are born with, then you're denying rights to people for reasons beyond their control, and that's a real crime. There's your answer to why people insist it's a choice. It's much easier to deny rights to a group if you convince others the group exists by choice and members can opt-out at any time.

Maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe people don't have gay friends, but for me, I didn't need science at all.

The first person who came out to me was a high school friend I had known for years. I couldn't deny he was my friend. I was speechless but when I could talk again, I had so many questions. "How do you know? When did you know?"

He said, "I realized I was attracted to guys probably around the same time you started noticing girls." In other words, it was not a choice. Every gay person I've met, read about, heard about, etc. has said the exact same thing. It's not a choice. It's just how some people are. I believed my friend, and the evidence later on supported it. Let's kill the "Gayness is a choice" meme!

I drove on in silence, just the two of us alone in the car. "By the way," my friend added, "If it makes you feel any better, you're not my type."

I cannot tell a lie. It did make me feel better.

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Larry Nocella is the award-winning author of the novel Where Did This Come From? available at Amazon and Xlibris and other fine online book stores. Where Did This Come From? is also available as an eBook. For more info, visit Larry Nocella's website at http://www.larrynocella.com/.