San Jose State President Bans Campus Blood Drives as Part of Nondiscrimination Policy
San Jose State University President Don Kassing has suspended all campus blood drives in protest of a longstanding government policy that bars gays from donating blood and called the policy discriminatory, according to a story in the San Jose Mercury News.
February 5th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
“The agency says it is necessary because gay men are at increased risk for HIV, hepatitis B and other infections that can be transmitted by transfusions.”
That’s a good enough reason for me. The FDA has done the right thing in hurting a few people’s feelings in order to protect the general population. Part of living a high-risk lifestyle is accepting the consequences of the associated decisions and we shouldn’t pander to people who have made decisions that limit their future. We need to let them learn from their experiences and pass that learning on to others who would make the same choices.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Since the FDA position was put in place long before we were aware that HIV+ people were at potential risk for transfusion-based infections, and since all HIV+ people share that risk and not just gay men, and since gay men have always been the ONLY excluded group, whether HIV+ or HIV-, the President of SJSU has made a courageous decision (since few other institutions have also done so). The only disappointing aspect is that it has taken nearly 2 decades for someone to step up about this issue. Bravo to SJSU.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Wow. I may have the flu right now, but even when I’m healthy, your comments make me feel ill.
Apparently, anyone who is not a white heterosexual man is fair game for your discriminatory comments.
LGBT folks do not live a lifestyle anymore than I live a heterosexual lifestyle. Like me, LGBT folks are born with their sexual orientation. It is not a choice.
The federal government is needlessly discriminating against gay men by enforcing a homophobic policy.
Kudos to SJSU. I hope this garners nationwide attention to the fact that this policy, like jim crow, needs to be eliminated immediately.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
“Apparently, anyone who is not a white heterosexual man is fair game for your discriminatory comments.”
Non-whites are still free to give blood, provided they aren’t a male who had sexual relations with another man in the last few decades. Like I said in my first post, if you live a high-risk lifestyle, expect consequences to follow.
“Like me, LGBT folks are born with their sexual orientation. It is not a choice.”
It is a choice. There is no proof otherwise. Some scientists and most GLBT activists insist that there is a “gay gene” but since none has been identified, the historical assumption that homosexuality and other perverse lifestyles are a matter of personal choice or the result of mental instability.
February 10th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I just love how you refuse to give people of color an identity that is free of white people. “Non-whites” centers white people and gives no mention of people of color.
A person is gay. It is not a “lifestyle.”
How can you prove to me that your being heterosexual is not a choice? That you were born straight?
So now you’re conflating being gay with “other perverse lifestyles” and “mental instability.” Your bigotry seems to be endless…
February 13th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
“Non-whites” centers white people and gives no mention of people of color.”
You said “Apparently, anyone who is not a white…” so I used the term “non-white” in my rebuttal. Do you want me to name every group of people on the planet when addressing people who aren’t identifiably caucasian? The diversity crowd is so unbelievably touchy about including everyone under the sun based on every minute detail.
“How can you prove to me that your being heterosexual is not a choice?”
Well, I could choose to have sex with men but I choose not to. If I had sex with men I would be gay, but since I don’t I am not gay. Pretty simple, huh?
I know that you are in the “no blame” camp Eric so I will break this down for you. Every religion and civilization until recently has held that sexual preference was a choice. The new propaganda being pushed by the gay rights establishment is that people are born gay. There is no proof that people are born gay, are genetically predispositioned to be gay or are a certain gender trapped in another gender’s body. Since the new thought is different from what has been the status quo from the beginning of time, some proof is needed from the side that says that being gay is not a choice. Thus far, no proof has been provided. If proof is provided I would be happy to revisit my views in this area.
“So now you’re conflating being gay with “other perverse lifestyles” and “mental instability.”
Being gay is a perverse lifestyle as is polygamous marriage, incest, pedophilia, necrophilia, etc. It is counter to nature and puts men at high risk for a number of infectious diseases such as AIDS, MRSA, herpes, syphyllis and others. No sane person would perform homosexual acts given the risks involved and the fact that sodomy is physically damaging.
“Your bigotry seems to be endless…”
As is your ability to see only one very narrow side of an issue.