In her letter of Nov. 10, Janice Hastillo Brown wants to have her world both ways: heterosexual and bisexual. In my experience, conservative Christians teach there is solely heterosexuality or perversion.

One cannot identify as “bisexual” or “homosexual,” merely “heterosexual” or “led astray by demons.” That Ms. Brown chooses to identify as bisexual, yet lead a heterosexual life, only confuses the issue..

According to conservative Christian theology, she would not be bisexual. That she wants it both ways is inconsistent; she ought to identify as either “ex-bisexual” or “heterosexual” and be done with it.

She states she is inured to name calling — while she chides name callers when the names are “Bible-thumper” or “homophobe.” Which is it? You’re either inured, or you’re not. You may not have it both ways.

The theme here is consistency.

Other recent letters claim that farmers are derided by the rest of humanity, that farming is more important than quality-of-life issues, while at the same time maintaining that homosexuals ought not complain about their lot because, after all, they choose to “abstain from the norm.”

Until farmers are regularly chased and beaten with baseball bats by drunken youths shouting “Goddamn farmers!”; until farmers are driven from their homes, businesses and places of employment by well-meaning Christians who maintain that one should hate farming but love the farmer; until a farmer is robbed, beaten and left for dead on a deer fence, farmers ought not complain — if for no other reason than because it sounds like so much whining.

Iowans wanted the Freedom to Farm Act. Iowans got it. Iowans were warned that the Freedom to Farm Act would precipitate a crisis such as the one we’re currently living through.

Iowans brought this crisis on themselves. In contrast, no homosexual chooses to be homosexual.

Now, farmers demand government intervention.

Contrastingly, homosexuals maintain that one’s state of grace is insufficient grounds for denial of rights every other American enjoys

Farmers say that the family farm is being subsumed by agribusiness. Why is that bad? A large corporation can farm 1,000 acres just as easily as a family.

Is sentimentality the best reason to defend family farms? It certainly appears to be the only reason in these pages.

In Shasta County, California, Benjamin Matthew Williams confessed to killing two gay men as they slept. He said, “I’m not guilty of murder. I’m guilty of obeying the laws of the Creator.” He cited Leviticus 20:13, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.”

As long as there are people such as Matthew Williams, who, in the name of Christianity, justify killing gay people, ag students ought to stop whining about press coverage, contemplate the “real world” issues at stake, realize where the bias is and discern how at least four of them (and one of their mothers) perpetuate it.

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Karl von Uhl

Resident

Ames