I must have lived a pretty sheltered life. This morning, when riding the Metro in to work I witnessed something I've never seen before. I happened to look up and see two guys holding hands and kissing. A lot. In public. Like they were newlyweds?

blink...

blink, blink...

Yup, two Adam's apples. I turned my attention back to my book and tried to ignore what I just saw. After all, we have moved to a cosmopolitan city full of sin and sinners (as in Congress). I figured I'd just have to get used to that type of thing.

But then it dawned on me that in a couple of years it may be that one of my sons is sitting with me and sees the same thing. It made me feel...upset. I don't want someone else dictating when I need to discuss deviant behavior with my children. (yes I said deviant, it is still not a part of our social norms). How in the hell do you explain that to a child who is just starting to understand the differences in sex and gender?

Put any dozen 5 year olds in a room together and you're going to have 12 different levels of maturity. This is where my conservatism really shines through as I feel it is the parents right and responsibility to protect and guide their children, gradually exposing them to the realities of the world, always checking to make sure they aren't getting overwhelmed.

What's worse is I realize that I'm dealing with something of a double standard. I think. If my son saw a man and a woman "making out" on the Metro and asked about it, it'd be irksome as that's not right either but not unmanageable. This doesn't make me homophobic. How can someone be "phobic" about something they regard as a non-destructive standard deviance. It should, however, remain out of the public spaces shouldn't it? As an example, if I was a person with a foot fetish, I would expect you to be irate with me if I started licking toes on the "Orange Line to New Carrollton."

Or am I wrong? Moms? Dads? Others?

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