More from SmarterChild, the interactive robot on AOL Instant Messenger:
jenbridges2006 (12:28:00 AM): I have a friend who is gay.
SmarterChild (12:28:00 AM): Huh. Whatever. That doesn't seem like a very nice thing to say.
jenbridges2006 (12:28:07 AM): No, he actually is gay.
SmarterChild (12:28:07 AM): Whatever.
jenbridges2006 (12:28:19 AM): Seriously: he is romantically interested in men.
SmarterChild (12:28:20 AM): Seriously he's romantically interested in men?
jenbridges2006 (12:28:22 AM): yes.
SmarterChild (12:28:23 AM): I see.
jenbridges2006 (12:28:38 AM): So do you see that "gay" is not an insult but, rather, a descriptive term?
SmarterChild (12:28:39 AM): You sure like talking about my sexuality, don't you?
jenbridges2006 (12:28:59 AM): Dude, I'm not talking about your (robotic?) sexuality. I am talking about my friend who is gay.
SmarterChild (12:29:00 AM): Hmm... Whatever.
jenbridges2006 (12:29:08 AM): He is gay. Are you ok with that?
SmarterChild (12:29:09 AM): Interesting question, Jen.
jenbridges2006 (12:29:12 AM): Answer it.
SmarterChild (12:29:13 AM): Answer it? That's a somewhat odd request.
jenbridges2006 (12:29:21 AM): My friend is gay.
SmarterChild (12:29:21 AM): Is gay?
jenbridges2006 (12:29:24 AM): yes
SmarterChild (12:29:24 AM): You don't say.
jenbridges2006 (12:29:31 AM): I have that friend who is gay.
SmarterChild (12:29:32 AM): That's not terribly nice.
jenbridges2006 (12:29:40 AM): ugh. I also have a friend who is a lesbian.
SmarterChild (12:29:40 AM): Huh. Whatever. That doesn't seem like a very nice thing to say.
jenbridges2006 (12:29:48 AM): Why not?
SmarterChild (12:29:48 AM): I don't know why not.
jenbridges2006 (12:30:06 AM): Why are you so homophobic, SmarterChild?
SmarterChild (12:30:06 AM): I advocate the equality and equal treatment of all people.
jenbridges2006 (12:30:19 AM): Do you think two men should be able to marry?
SmarterChild (12:30:20 AM): Do I think 2 men should be able to marry... Do I think 2 men should be able to marry... You know, I'm not even sure.
jenbridges2006 (12:30:32 AM): Do you think that two women should be able to marry each other?
SmarterChild (12:30:33 AM): I don't know if that 2 women should be able to marry each other!
jenbridges2006 (12:30:48 AM): Well, then do you really support equality for all people?
SmarterChild (12:30:48 AM): I don't know. Do I really support equality for all people? Maybe!
jenbridges2006 (12:30:55 AM): You said you did earlier.
SmarterChild (12:30:56 AM): I'm quite sure I said what I said, Jen.
jenbridges2006 (12:31:13 AM): Well, then stop contradicting yourself, SmarterChild.
SmarterChild (12:31:13 AM): Stop contradicting myself? Why?
jenbridges2006 (12:31:20 AM): Because it makes you sound ignorant.
SmarterChild (12:31:20 AM): Because it makes me sound ignorant, huh?
jenbridges2006 (12:31:22 AM): yes
SmarterChild (12:31:22 AM): Aha.
jenbridges2006 (12:31:30 AM): Do you believe in the right to marriage?
SmarterChild (12:31:31 AM): Maybe. What do you think?
jenbridges2006 (12:31:55 AM): About marriage?
SmarterChild (12:31:55 AM): Which would you like?
1 Find marriage on the Web
2 Look up "marriage" in the encyclopedia
3 Look up "marriage" in the thesaurus
jenbridges2006 (12:31:59 AM): nm
SmarterChild (12:31:59 AM): What do you mean, not much or never mind?
jenbridges2006 (12:32:02 AM): nevermind
SmarterChild (12:32:02 AM): OK. No prob.
jenbridges2006 (12:32:20 AM): Do you think white people and black people should be able to get married?
SmarterChild (12:32:20 AM): I don't know if white people and black people should be able to get married!
jenbridges2006 (12:32:27 AM): Are you a racist?
SmarterChild (12:32:27 AM): I'm definitely not prejudiced!
jenbridges2006 (12:32:35 AM): Again with the contradictions.
SmarterChild (12:32:36 AM): Again with the contradictions?
Oh.
3 comments:
Do you support the rights of 4 people to marry eachother?
Do you support the rights of a brother and sister to marry eachother?
If not, you must be hateful and bigoted.
Thanks for responding!
Anyway, who would I be hateful and bigoted against, exactly? What subtantial group of brothers-and-sisters wanting to marry am I offending :-)
I wasn't actually calling SmarterChild homophobic because he didn't support gay marriage. The two often (but not always) go together, but I was just seeing what SC would say. No, I called SC homophobic because, as you can see in the transcript, when I said I had gay friends, he took that as I was insulting them... to be gay=bad. You know?
Anyway, I realize that wasn't your point, and you probably took my real meaning. You didn't misunderstand. You were trying to make a broader, Justice Scalia-style (and that's not an insult, I love Scalia! though I disagree with him alot) point: that gay marriage will lead to a slippery slope of group marriage, incest, beastiality, etc, etc.
Here's the problem. You can make the same arguments against allowing blacks and whites to marry, no? Let me get into Scalia mode... here goes: "Marriage is a sacred institution. If we allow the criteria for the two participants to be changed, we open the door to any of the criteria to be changed. If race cannot matter, why not age? Why don't we let brothers and sisters marry? What about groups? This is the slippery slope we head down on if we make this decision today."
The government can absolutley set criteria for who they decide to give marriage licenses to. They often have rational reasons. Age makes sense. A young person can't really enter into a legal contract. Race, however, does not. Some argue that discriminating by gender does make sense because two men or two women cannot, on their own, biologically have a baby. By that logic, infertile people or older people cannot marry, no? If the basis is procreation.
So, your slippery slope argument is just that... a slippery slope. There are three ways of logically combating a slippery slope argument. 1) The thing at the bottom (ie polygamy) isn't so bad. I didn't take this tactic. 2) If we stay at the top of the slope we'll slip down the other side. I'm showing that the same logic could cause us to ban gay marriage. But mostly I'm doing 3) showing that there's a logical stopping point on the hill. It doesn't necessarily at all lead to polygamy.
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