Taking Life Seriously

In any quality opinion piece, one’s opinion on its own is not enough – it leaves the entire argument exposed. Rather, it needs the armour of facts and cited examples that serve to qualify and cement the expressed opinion. Otherwise, any old Jack from the street could write opinion pieces.

This piece employs two useless and really, pathetic, argument techniques: unbelievable generalisation, and rampant over-exaggeration. This, together with unsubstantiated, ludicrous statements that makes the reader clamp his eyes tightly and open them wide just to take it all in. If gay and lesbianism has been the new “fashion” at Rhodes then I must have completely missed the bandwagon. How can you say this? What right gives you to say this? Do you know many straight people who are now gay? Secondly, I was unaware of the spread of a lethal homosexual disease that has left many people “victims” to it. I was half expecting you to warn me about the vampires lurking in the dark recesses of Friars.

In history, we’ve had “swart gevaars”, “rooi gevaars” and “yellow perils”. Now you seem to be telling me to watch out for the “pink gevaar”. One last comment, it was unclear how you made the link between people with HIV and lesbians and gays. People’s HIV status is not their identity, and many people don’t want to declare to the world that they are HIV Positive. So excuse them if they don’t want to wear it on their shirt.