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In the way back I had two friends whom were gay and I didn't know.
Both were afraid of how I would react if they came out to me.
One took the secret to his grave. His sister outed him to me at the funeral.
RIP Reinactor Eric. (I know a lot of Eric's).
Chris came out later, because I'd had an epiphany about homo and bisexuals.
Their sexual preferences did not hurt me, I had no invisible friend telling me to hate them, and the important thing was that they were people. Just like me.
It became no different to me than someone liking different music. Especially since I'd taken a couple beatings for my blue mohawk and liking punk.
I've attended several LGBT (back when there were JUST four letters in that acronym) rallies and stood and supported the bents as a straight.
I've been in a couple scuffles over it too.
I've visited a friend in the hospital who was nearly beaten to death because she looked too butch to be using the women's room.
At the core of my LGBT support was a support of liberty and freedom.
Do as you will, harm none.
I am not alone in my shifting of beliefs. As it became socially acceptable to be gay, lots of people discovered they already had a gay friend and I'd say that most of us realized that it'd be kinda stupid to nuke a friendship over the matter.
But remember that whole liberty and freedom thing?
You come after my freedom and liberty I'm going to get upset.
In addition to baking cakes, we're now looking at being forced to take pictures at weddings we have religious objectives with.
Freedom and liberty means the right to tell anyone, for any reason, "no I will not sell you goods or services." It's corollary of the right to boycott or patronize a business.
While I wouldn't have an objection to baking that cake or taking those pictures, I disagree that someone who's in the business of baking or photography should be forced to.
Freedom and liberty means being able to speak your mind, and even be horridly offensive in the process of speaking your mind.
I am looking at several places which will sanction someone for speaking even unoffensively about no liking "teh ghey" but will let stand literal calls to murder a heterosexual.
LGBTQ pundits have become the bigots that I opposed when I started to support gay rights.
I hate bigots.
Their tactics are going to alienate people like me who would normally support them and because they're, by far, a minority, they might find that alienation leads to being ostracized. Not a good place to be.
It really makes one wonder if the Pride flag should be displayed arrayed like a swastika:
The Pride Flag has become the modern Nazi Flag, and we are living in a modern Nazi era.
ReplyDeleteWe peons are allowed freedom of speech, assembly, religion and other expressions as long as they match exactly what our new Übermensch allow us to have.
It's like, well, People of Color.
Want us to hate you all? Make it so that all of the freedoms and advances in treatment are now immoral, illegal, ne passe, and downright wrongthink.
As to 'teh gays,' when some of the normals said "You are asking for freedom without responsibility, and what you want will open the doors for persecutions of normals and conservative gays and also open the doors to outright freaks and mentally ill and mentally criminal people who should be behind bars."
Which is how we now have men competing openly in women's sports. We have the push for active recruitment and training of gays and lesbians and now transgenders in our schools. We have the push for legalization of Adult-Child sexing.
All of this has pushed many libertarian (old school meaning) people into passive and active resistance.
Same thing is seen in the push of non-Christian religions over Christianity. Certain religions have all the rights to make all the noise and do things that would get a Christian church shut down.
Yeah. Funny. Weird things going on.
Want to be my friend? Then you (person saying I need to be flexible) must accept what I believe in. After all, that's what you (person saying I need to be flexible) are saying I must do. Tit-for-tat. Either equal treatment (good or bad) for all or there's no equality.
I'm pretty much on the same page. I don't care what people say or do for the most part as long as it isn't bothering me (or to a slightly lesser extent, not bothering other people). So while I've never been an active "Ally", I've not been on the side of the people calling for all "the gheys" to be sent straight to hell either.
ReplyDeleteHowever... I agree with you that some of the zealots on the rainbow side go too far and make it difficult to support them when they start to hate people who aren't like them... which was what they were originally supposed to be against.
Yeah, but..... Whatever people do "after hours" doesn't concern me, but I do remember my Father, in a lifetime long ago and far away, talking about "creepers". Use the restroom of your choice but realize that others may not share your fantasy, and looking "strange" may get some un-wanted attention. It probably isn't a good idea for folks with "issues" to dress and behave like a "creeper". Protective reflexes are often very close to the surface so it does not pay to look "suspicious".
ReplyDeleteTo further clarify my position, I now openly hate and pity those that hate me just because I fit a check box in their personal checklist of bigotry and racism.
ReplyDeleteHate me because I'm not gay? Back at you. Hate me because I'm white? Back at you. Because I'm male? Back at you.
You (those that don't judge me by the content of my character but by the checkboxes I fit) get what you deserve from me.
Other than that, want to get along? Then look further than your (the evil people's) own prejudices.
And, yes, I have been called a Cracker. Which IS a racist and bigoted statement, especially when said by a not-white non-native Floridian. And I have experienced actual racism and bigotry and hatred of my religion that has cost me promotions, jobs, food, service at stores. So I know what real racism and discrimination is.
They have almost created in me the thing they hate the most. An uber-caucasian Christian hetero conservative male. Ahhh, feel the hate rays emanate from my very pores...