Thread: Bible thumper with anti-gay logic. Help me out here, guys.

This is the main argument which sticks out to me:

P1: There are only two possible explanations for why suicide rates among homosexuals are higher than those of heterosexuals: (1) Society makes them feel bad about it or (2) they're naturally predisposed to suicide, making homosexuality a mental disorder.
P2: But those suicide rates are higher even in places where homosexuality is accepted.
C: Therefore, explanation (1) fails, so homosexuals must have a mental disorder.

This argument is valid but not sound. I'm going to deal with P1, since I don't know whether P2 is true or not but I'll assume it is.

There may be more explanations for the higher suicide rates than not being accepted by society. For example, it could be because less people are gay than straight, making it harder for gay people to find partners, which may lead to higher levels of unhappiness. Also, there may be other side-effects to being gay which actually aren't accepted by society (I don't know whether this is true or not, but it's still a possible explanation). Furthermore, I think it's important to note that it's highly unlikely that homosexuality is ever completely 'accepted' anywhere. Even when it is socially acceptable, it is almost certain that people will have unspoken biases which will cause them to treat gay people differently, particularly among younger people. The suicide rates go down significantly once the person enters adulthood; most suicides occur among adolescents and teenagers. Anyone who has been in school through the ages of 10-15 or so knows that kids will tend to bully other kids for being noticeably different in any way.

Considering all of this, it seems a lot more likely that one of these reasons, or some combination, is the real explanation for the higher suicide rates.

Also, even if he did have the right reason, that homosexuals are naturally more predisposed to suicide, that still doesn't make it a mental disorder. A lot of regular human attributes which are certainly not mental disorders may make them more likely to end up committing suicide, such as being introverted or more emotional than average.

Originally Posted by Dianeva

Also, even if he did have the right reason, that homosexuals are naturally more predisposed to suicide, that still doesn't make it a mental disorder. A lot of regular human attributes which are certainly not mental disorders may make them more likely to end up committing suicide, such as being introverted or more emotional than average.

Great. Now I'm 3x more likely to commit suicide.

Originally Posted by Dianeva

Also, even if he did have the right reason, that homosexuals are naturally more predisposed to suicide, that still doesn't make it a mental disorder. A lot of regular human attributes which are certainly not mental disorders may make them more likely to end up committing suicide, such as being introverted or more emotional than average.

I want to add, being male. More males commit suicide than females. Is being male a mental disorder?

Originally Posted by Woodstock

Great. Now I'm 3x more likely to commit suicide.

Lol, obviously it wasn't meant like that. And with the male thing added, 4x.

Originally Posted by Dianeva

Is being male a mental disorder?

In some ways.