My first interview was with Clay Westbrook, the older brother of a friend of mine from high school. Clay is twenty-three years old, and he just graduated from LSU this past year. He says that his political views fall closest to being Libertarian. My second interview was with Thomas Williams, a sixty-seven year-old English teacher and counselor from New Orleans. I got to know him through playing tennis, and I was happy with how casual and honest he was in the interview. Both Westbrook and Williams gave me very straight-forward answers, and I think that for four questions, we really covered a lot of ground. I gained a lot of insight into their personalities and beliefs during the brief interviews. I recorded both interviews as an iPhone voice memo, allowing me to accurately transcribe their responses.
Interview One: Clay Westbrook (23)
-What's your stance on abortion?
- “I feel like abortion should be totally legalized for any scenario. I mean, obviously they should draw a line in terms of how far into a pregnancy you can abort a baby, but otherwise I think there are plenty of good reasons for getting an abortion. If someone knows that they don't want to raise their child, whether they're broke or just don't want kids, then that potential child has nothing to look forward to but bad parenting. I know people say the baby is technically alive after two months or something like that, but nobody has ever remembered the womb, so to me it hardly counts as being alive. My earliest memory is from when I was like three years old. If I knocked up a girl you can bet that I'd ask her to abort it. I'm in no position to raise a child, and neither is this hypothetical girl that I've knocked up. A baby shouldn't grow up with parents that didn't want it.”
-How do you feel about pornography?
- “I mean I don't hate it if that's what you're wondering. I don't really partake in it so much as I did when I was a teenager, but I don't really see anything wrong with it. I guess its pretty degrading to women, but the girls in the videos know exactly what they're getting into, and it seems like they enjoy the job. I guess basically I'd say that a man's entertainment is his own business.”
-How do you feel about homosexuals adopting children?
- “To be honest, I find homosexuality to be a little gross, but most of the gay people I've met seemed pretty caring and responsible. Obviously that's not always true, but as far as I'm concerned, if someone wants to be a parent that bad, they'll probably do a decent job of raising their kid. As long as they aren't making the kids cross-dress, I guess it would be fine. I think homosexuality is more genetics than the way you're raised. I can understand why it upsets people so much though. I really can't stand people that are against gay marriage though. Not that I think gay marriage is some sacred rite, but it just doesn't make any sense to be against it. Even if you are strongly opposed to homosexuality, a gay marriage in no way affects the sanctity of your own marriage. If you think that gay marriage is invalid, then just laugh at all the invalid weddings. Don't make the whole thing illegal. Just let everyone believe what they want and do what they want. You can't ban gay marriage just because some obscure bible verse is opposed to it. What if my religion allows for gay marriage? Would the government just discount my religion?”
-How do you feel about couples living together without being married?
- “I don't see what the problem is. My godmother's son lived with a girl for eight years without getting married. Although I think they recently broke up because the girl was fed up that he wouldn't commit to marriage. I guess that could be seen as depressing, but I think he dodged a major bullet. He knew they weren't close enough yet to make that leap, and it showed in the fact that they ended up breaking up. I think it's a good development though. Especially in recent years as marriages are ending in divorces more and more. Living together without being married is pretty much a necessity to ensure that a couple can stand each other over long periods of time. You could totally love someone then realize that y'all are a horrible match when you start living together. Marriage is just a ritual anyway. You shouldn't have to tie the knot to say that you love someone or to live with someone, particularly if you aren't religious.”
Interview Two: Thomas Williams (67)
-How do you feel about abortion?
- “I don't even really know, to be honest. You always hear different information depending who's telling it to you. A woman once told me that the babies scream during the abortion procedure. I find that a little hard to believe, but it'll definitely make you think twice. I know there are some situations where I wouldn't want to go through with having a kid, but I'm not sure I could bring myself to abort it. There are probably a lot of poor folks that can't even afford to have their child because that's one more mouth to feed. So the morality is a little ambiguous I guess. On one hand you might be saving the baby from a crappy life, but on the other hand, you're not even giving it a chance to live. I once saw a sign that said 'What if Jesus was aborted?' Kind of a ridiculous sign, but it stuck with me. Makes you think at least.”
-How do you feel about pornography?
- “It's kind of a ridiculous form of entertainment when you think about it, but to each their own. I've never watched any of that, and I can't say that I've missed out on anything. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with pornography, but I certainly kept it away from my kids. The internet wasn't an issue back then, though, which made it a lot easier. I guess porn's okay with me as long as the kids aren't watching it.”
-How do you feel about homosexuals adopting children?
- “I'm not entirely opposed to it, but it strikes me as a little bizarre. Why would a homosexual want a kid anyway? If you want a kid, finding someone of the opposite sex would be a little more practical than adopting. It feels like they want kids as a fashion statement or an accessory more than anything else. They'd never say, 'This is my son so-and-so,' because they don't even want to look at it like that. They don't really want to be parents. They kind of just want a fashionable pet. I guess that's a little harsh. I know gay people would care about their kids. But I can tell you, if I was an orphan, I would pray to God I got adopted by a traditional couple. It's hard to comprehend how much a parent can influence their child's behavior. A kid with gay parents has pretty high odds of ending up gay.”
-How do you feel about couples living together without being married?
- “I don't see anything wrong with it. My wife and I lived together for about a year before we were ready to get married. We knew all along that we would get married, but we just needed time to sort everything else out. I figure couples go through that sort of thing all the time. I see no issue with taking some time before deciding to get hitched. Even if you don't get married at the end. There's nothing wrong with an unmarried couple living together.”
Westbrook and Williams both saw instances where having an abortion would seem like a morally viable option. They both seemed to agree that if a parent doesn't want their child, that child could be in for an unpleasant life. Williams was much more hesitant in his response though, because he was far more concerned than Westbrook about the life of the unborn child. Westbrook believed that memories were an essential part of being alive, and that there was nothing wrong with aborting a baby because it would be completely unaware of ever having a chance at life. Williams was a little more squeamish, but perhaps more empathetic, in his assessment.
Neither subject took any offense to pornography. I found it funny that Williams was so opposed to young people seeing pornography; meanwhile, Westbrook said he watched porn as a teenager, but not anymore. It seems that they both believe in a maturity level for porn, but they have vastly different scales.
Williams and Westbrook differed most on their opinions regarding homosexuals adopting children. Neither expressly said that they were opposed to it, but they expressed varying degrees of doubt. Westbrook seemed to be fine with homosexuals adopting children, so long as they didn't try to force the kids into acting the same way. He believed that homosexuality was mostly genetic, meaning two responsible homosexuals could raise a happy heterosexual child. Williams seemed to be somewhat opposed to the idea of homosexuals adopting children, claiming that they would treat their children as 'accessories' and inadvertently drive them towards homosexuality. Williams was far less a believer in nature over nurture than Westbrook. Westbrook also went on a tangent about gay marriage, and his opinion was essentially: it doesn't affect you, so it shouldn't bother you. I regret not asking Williams how he felt about gay marriage, though I imagine he would have given me a similar response.
On the issue of cohabitation, Williams and Westbrook were completely on the same page. They both believed that it is morally and logically appropriate for a couple to live together before getting married.
Clay Westbrook and Thomas Williams were interesting subjects to interview, because I felt like they had very similar personalities. There were certainly significant differences in their beliefs, but I think their age difference plays a role in that. It was easy to tell in the responses that Williams was from an older generation. He could see the argument for abortion, and yet he was still resistant to the idea. Williams saw pornography as something for anyone but children, whereas Westbrook dismissed porn as something for teenagers. I think that difference was a direct result of the digital age. The internet has completely changed the way adolescents learn about sex.
Cover Photo: Image Source
Muy buenos puntos de vista, conocer acerca de las personalidades de estas dos personas de distintas edades y formaciones nos abre a un panorama mas global de los temas expuesto. Excelente post. Saludos.
Awesome interview...
I totally love the answers given to the questions asked.
And this
Is so so so true.
I am an orphan, lost both mom and dad before the age of 7 (though I'm way passed adoption lol) but I would have rejected being adopted by a gay parent. If allowed to choose.
No offense to gay couples here.
That's just my personal judgment.
excellent interviews friend, great job
Great job on both interviews, @youdontsay! I find it quite interesting when i have the opportunity to hear someone's POV, someone who is no public figure and just an ordinary person, no matter their occupation!
Nice post thanks for sharing..
Excelente forma de presentar el tema. Bien por ti.