boytropolis

Here are two fun words to start this article with:

1. Antidisestablishmentarianism - opposition to a movement separating the Church from the State, in support of forming a unified Church and State

2. Floccinaucilihilipilification - the act of estimating something as useless

These two are some of the longest words you can find in the English language. They are also convenient terms to be used when discussing the Comelec's decision to reject the LGBT partylist Ang Ladlad on grounds of moral corruption.

As some of you might care to know, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender minority was again disallowed from proper representation in local government. The first time, they said it was because the Filipino pink community does not hold the requirements for a legitimate partylist (important things like marginalization and regional membership). This time, they reason it was because these same men and women are not top-of-mind choice for societal role models.

The key topics in this issue are religion, morality, minority, culture, equality and the law. Very hard subjects to discuss but let's attempt to address them one by one.

The righteous gentlemen at the Comelec, as well as their supporters, headline their statement with a few of God's purported maxims. It can be any of these lines: God hates the gays so we also hate the gays; God only sees men and women who identify as heterosexual; God will allow people to be gay as long as they pretend to be straight. Add some quotes from the Bible for "veracity" and we get a prejudiced thesis. But since this is a subject of faith, which is a personal matter to begin with, here is mine: I believe in a God who only holds the rule of love, and from this love will come forth respect toward other people. With respect there is compassion and understanding, a willingness to comprehend the unknown. Before the pious and the sanctimonious dismiss the God I believe in, please let me know: how do you justify that a discriminating God is the kind of entity mankind should believe in?

Morality in this day and age is a game of finger-pointing in hopes of determining who's riding the high horse. To be fair, let's consult Merriam-Webster: morality is "conformity to ideals of right human conduct". If facts and figures are to be believed, heterosexuals are guilty of everything homosexuals have committed. We talk of volunteerism, education, sacrifice, self-gratification, pedophilia, murder, child abuse. Human endeavors that define us as good or bad people. Save for same-sex intercourse, there is not much difference between the two sexual orientations. Why, then, is there a division between the moral conducts of a straight person from that of a gay person?

Since there is not much difference between the straight and the gay, this implies that the generally straight populace has absorbed the homosexual bloc, so entitlement as a minority is not only pointless but also special treatment. True, the number of overt gay men and women might be growing, but it is not sufficient enough to influence a population into mainstream acceptance, let alone be heard by the authorities. A relatively small group of people holding voice in a public forum makes a huge difference in the exchange of ideas. This is what minorities are about: hearing and getting heard. How do you pursue acceptance, one that is honest and not just polite, without the presence of information?

The country is dominantly Catholic. We are very conservative people. The Church influences the State. This is the kind of culture we currently live in. But do these factors hold us back or move us forward? And do we want to stay dormant or grow as a nation? Not every devout Catholic holds the same principles as those of his/her peers. Heck, we even have the term "non-practicing Catholic" and God knows if they outnumber the practicing ones. Have you seen the news? Have you read the papers? We are hardly conservative anymore. We mix together a potful of cultural identities from other lands and label it as "Proudly Pinoy". We are Westernized, modernized, globalized. Does this mean being Pinoy is living in a foreign era yet closing ourselves from foreign ideas?

"Equality among men and women" is the fight of the feminists, a minority represented by Gabriela. Why are the LGBT people struggling to be heard when they are men and women themselves? Because some people find the distinction between gender and sexual orientation difficult to grasp. To some people, we only have boys and girls. To some people, the boys-who-like-girls and girls-who-like-boys are getting the same rights as the boys-who-like-boys and girls-who-like-girls. This is true, but not all the time. If it does not happen all the time, it shows an imbalance leering toward the heterosexual. Is this a valid recognition of the homosexual? Should this be the way of life if equality is what we aim for?

And because the law only recognizes males and females, some benefit and protection clauses never reach the pink spectrum. For starters, a same-sex couple does not have the privileges granted by the Constitution to married couples. Convincing the Catholic Church to allow two women walking down the aisle is close to impossible, we give you that, but asking the State for civilian rights afforded by the majority is not tantamount to demanding for special privileges or solitary vacuums from legal responsibilities. If the law sees every individual with the same discerning eye, then why is it not applicable to every individual?

Do you still remember the two words I gave earlier? Disestablishmentarianism and floccinaucilihilipilification. The first long word is applicable to the current stance of the Comelec--hiding behind a facade of self-inflicted religious supremacy. The second long word is what the Comelec is making us do--estimate it as something that is useless.