Why not deride christianity, lol? I was born far, far, from the imperialist core, and this rotten ideology of defeatism, individualism, the just world hypothesis, the myth of meritocracy, etc. has freaking wrecked my life. It had seeped into the collective unconscious in the lands that used to be united by the people’s power of the Soviets, and it had ruined many a life even before the collapse of USSR (Parenti gives a pretty good analysis of this in, I think, the second chapter of Blackshirts and Reds). I am a good example - I used to be my own freaking big brother. It’s dialectical materialism that has set my mind free. It’s comrades Lenin, Stalin, Mao, who were humans, just like me, who have helped me begin understanding the world. And I, by no means, blame “the rotten West” of all our woes, but Marx damn it, what we used to have in these lands - and what we could have achieved!..

Interesting. I’ve had this poster saved for future reference, heh. I think we come from very different perspectives on this issue. I think ostracism from either side should not take place on an individual basis - individual representatives of marginalized groups should not be isolated from a movement, and their struggles should be acknowledged as a part of the collective struggle. “Identity politics” is a tactic that distracts our attention from our main goals of the universal liberation. Commodification of everything is absolutely happening; and we must address this through education - informal, if that’s all we have. We do have to be careful not to push folks away. Also, I do not see any necessity in moralising people’s sexual preferences. Monogamy is not in any form advanced or a sign of a highly developed society.

I’m going to offer a few of my personal thoughts, not based on anything in particular. It appears to me that you are pathologizing sexuality, not only homosexuality or queerness, all of it. Human sexual desire is based on seeking out pleasure. Humans like to experience pleasure, and are going to be seeking it out, no matter what the status quo is. “Unusual” sexual relationships must have existed always. There are traces of it everywhere - I am not just talking about the Hellenistic stereotypes; but the fact that people like sex, and have always looked for it; and human sexuality is often fluid - you may develop intimate relationships with whoever. Gender is questioned nowadays, and for a good reason - have you ever loved a friend, and have you ever had sex with someone you don’t care about? Love and sex have been perverted by monotheism, desire to control and manipulate (yes, some “traditional” values were a necessity at the time of their emergence, but what necessitates prejudice now?). Childhood trauma and religious upbringing may lead certain individuals to develop “unhealthy” sexual preferences (due to the taboo; the forbidden fruit effect). But the question is, what is “inherently” harmful about homosexual relationships? The statistics may be skewed because we have many, MANY victims of trauma and abuse go without help and develop their own coping mechanisms that may or may not be connected to sexuality. The expression argument you offered seem to fall in the same category - people may develop fetishes due to various factors (religious trauma included). I don’t think you realise how much harm monotheistic religious indoctrination has brought upon the entire world. Religion goes hand in hand with patriarchy and “religious ethics” go very well with capitalist propaganda of the myth of meritocracy and the just world hypothesis. I am also noticing you going the “good old days” route; and seeing religion favourably. Monotheistic religions HAVE SMASHED people’s bonds with each other and nature. Religion has contributed LARGELY to the perversion of human desire. F. Engels’ The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State gives a curious glimpse at the possible lack of “traditional” family in the past (the anthropological data has dated, of course; I’m not sure what the modern finds can point to). Overall, the fight for ALL of the oppressed people has to be our goal; yes, the performative imperialist pretence at diversity and inclusivity is a spectacle to divide us further; but we must cast aside individual views of ethics and strive for liberation of all.