Although his argument doesn’t go in that direction, you’re mixing apples and oranges and splitting hairs.
In other words, he is NOT saying that being racist is bad and therefore being homophobic is also bad, he is not going on the moral ground.
What he is saying is that you cannot choose your skin color because it is a deterministic genetic fact that precedes any capacity for volition: your genes determine whether you will be black or white, not any decision after your birth. And he is extrapolating this to homosexuality, something that is in fact anchored in very solid evidence. There’s a reason he talks about choice: you can’t choose to be black because that’s only “decided” or determined by your genes, and the same goes for homosexuality (although I should say that there are also nuances; homosexuality also has an environmental component).
One does not choose to be black.
One does not choose to be gay.
One does not choose to be white.
One does not choose to be straight.
One does not choose to be left handed. One does not choose to have a learning disability.
These are decided by our genetic makeup and other factors outside of our control.
People do not choose one day that they want to be attracted to women instead of men. Or everyone. Or no one. Attraction is not a chosen thing just like the melanin of their skin. It just is.
This is not a moral question.
Edit: Now, on top of that information, denying that and saying people are lesser because of things they cannot control is morally fucked and deserves to be called out on. Especially when they use a set of moral standards that they do not keep and does not say what they profess it says. It’s just hatred under the guise of morality.
Although his argument doesn’t go in that direction, you’re mixing apples and oranges and splitting hairs.
In other words, he is NOT saying that being racist is bad and therefore being homophobic is also bad, he is not going on the moral ground.
What he is saying is that you cannot choose your skin color because it is a deterministic genetic fact that precedes any capacity for volition: your genes determine whether you will be black or white, not any decision after your birth. And he is extrapolating this to homosexuality, something that is in fact anchored in very solid evidence. There’s a reason he talks about choice: you can’t choose to be black because that’s only “decided” or determined by your genes, and the same goes for homosexuality (although I should say that there are also nuances; homosexuality also has an environmental component).
Sure, that’s not what I understood him to be saying…
I’ll be more clear:
One does not choose to be black. One does not choose to be gay. One does not choose to be white. One does not choose to be straight. One does not choose to be left handed. One does not choose to have a learning disability.
These are decided by our genetic makeup and other factors outside of our control.
People do not choose one day that they want to be attracted to women instead of men. Or everyone. Or no one. Attraction is not a chosen thing just like the melanin of their skin. It just is.
This is not a moral question.
Edit: Now, on top of that information, denying that and saying people are lesser because of things they cannot control is morally fucked and deserves to be called out on. Especially when they use a set of moral standards that they do not keep and does not say what they profess it says. It’s just hatred under the guise of morality.