why are gay people so hated and ridiculed in america?

Question

they are the target of so many slanders and hatred. i just dont get the constant discrimination.

it's almost as though we are repeating ourselves. the gay discrimination is eerily reflective of african-american discrimination and charge for equal rights in the 40's and 50's. scary.

Answer 1

keeps people busy will republicans empty the coffers of all the money that they divert to military and oil companies .

Answer 2

You mean people like Leonard Bernstein, David Bowie, Brian Epstein, Malcolm Forbes, Cole Porter, Ian McKellen, Nathan Lane, or those guys on Queer Eye For The Straight Guy?
Yeah. . .
Are you in the same United States as me?
Try looking at how most of the rest of the world treats gays.

Never the less, gays are ridiculed to some extent everywhere in the world. Why? Hmm. Because the lifestyle is aberrant (this is not a defense for the ridicule). Isn't that obvious? I can't think of any aberrant lifestyles that are not ridiculed to some degree, everywhere in the world (think of cults, nudist colonies, hermits, sadists, masochists, etc.). Even if you say that homosexuality is not a lifestyle, per-se, the point still fits (why do people slander the mentally retarded?).
I suppose it is an interesting insight into how societies organize and police themselves.
I am sorry that the word aberrant has negative connotations because that is not my intention. The word refers to any behavior that deviates from the norm - and any behavior that has such a small minority such as homosexuality seems to fit that definition.

Answer 3

While I don't agree with prejudice it is a two way street. Homosexuals account for only 3-5% of America. (5% is the most liberal estimate I have seen) They want to and do have a disproportionate influence on society. Most people do not care what goes on behind closed doors. But when you march up and down the streets in erotic costumes chanting "we're here, we're queer, get used to it" it offends a far greater portion of the population than they occupy, especially the ultra conservative and ultra religious. Both of whom are groups that many in homosexual and Liberal circles in America are met with great disdain. By trying to force others to agree with you you will become a target of bigotry.

Many people do not agree with each other. This is a big country and there is room enough for everyone. Nobody likes having their nose rubbed in something they do not agree with. Gay or straight or otherwise.

Answer 4

The answer to gay ridicule in the US goes back to uneducated traveling missionaries who criss-crossed the country during the nineteenth century.

These preachers, who usually set up tents and collected donations for their services, preached 'hellfire and brimstone' fundamentalist Christian religion to most of the population based in small towns and rural areas. Thus our birthright of freedom of speech given by the Founders was squandered in ignorant fear of old testament bible-thumping instead of being spread and enchanced through liberal arts education.

Today, most of the country has been inculcated not with real education, but with the remnants of that indoctrination, which has the features of groupthink, silly solutions, and persecution of minorities along with suspicion of anyone who is different.

Need proof? The same unscrupulous folks also turned to selling snake-oil cures and mystery pills. You'll find that Americans are similarly gullible as far as medicines go, gulping down whatever they're told is the latest cure as the way to good health instead of simply adhering to preventative care. I can't tell you how many people think that if two aspirin is good, four must be better!

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

"In America" ....?

Maybe you don't know any "gay history." Let me fill you in on this.

One hundred and eleven years ago, in 1895, one of England's most popular playwrights, Oscar Wilde, was convicted of multiple counts of "sodomy," which (according to a mid-20th Century movie about Wilde) means that he was convicted of "engaging in acts of gross indecency with another male person." Because of how many counts of "sodomy" he had been convicted of, the judge threw the book at Wilde and sentenced him to the maximum punishment allowed under statute at that time, 2 years in jail at hard labor.

"I just don't get the constant discrimination." Well, at least you recognize that it has been "constant" rather than something that has only been cooked up recently. This "constant discrimination" has been handed down to us for centuries from our British forebears; our common laws and our statutes were predominantly based on the common law of England before the American Revolution.

It could probably be said that in America, we tend to stubbornly maintain the status quo more so than in England and the rest of Europe. I don't think it is appropriate to label the desire for stability and constancy as hateful.

P.S.
I'm gay.

Answer 6

They are hated in other countries, don't forget that in many large countries (India, middle eastern countries) you can not be out at all. I'd say part of what fuels the continuing hatred in the US is christianity.

If it were not for xianity jumping on the anti-gay bandwagon, there would be far fewer means of attacking homosexuailty.

ANd as you can see by some of these posts, ignorance really helps the anti-gay movement.
More prone to molest children?
Homosexuality has nothing to do with molesting. That's pedophilia.

Perverted degenerates? For wanting to have relationships and sex with adult men? What is perverted about that?

Answer 7

I don't think they are being rediculed at all. Some of them are maybe but those bring it on to them self.

If I told someone constantly that I like chicken salad, it would get old quick. Just like the gay agenda. Wanting to be equal is understood, but not actually being equal and wanting special treatment is not understood. Too much drama.

Answer 8

Let's all pretend to be MACHO MEN! All the homophobic men panic and I think they are jealous because they want to love another man but don't have the guts to admit it. Sorry guys but for over 40 years I keep hearing the same sh*t day and and day out. Most of these guys would rather be with their male friends golfing, fishing, drinking beer then being with their wives.I think heterosexuals don't really give it much thought. What goes on in someones bedroom is their business.

Answer 9

because people in america wanna make fun or hate anyone that is any different than they are. it's sad. i'm sure i'm even guilty of it at times. i don't hate any one group of people, but i get a little hostile when i get angry. to me gays are people, just regular people who love a little diferently. i don't think people should be ridiculed for something they have no control over. i honestly believe you don't choose who you fall for or are atttracted to, that comes from an individuals insides. i happen to like guys and am usually attracted to guys who are about 6 ft. tall and weight between 160-180. but i would date any guy that had a good heart and could make me laugh. i know i can't get the guys i check out because i'm not built nicely, i'm cute, but overweight. which is another prejudice widespread in america. not all overweight people are that way because they eat with shovels.

Answer 10

I'll put it to you this way: How does a Hetero Pride parade sound?

Stupid, right? Yet we have to have every damn gay pride parade shoved down our throats like it's actually a news event or something.

Stop flaunting your gay-ness and you'll stop making yourself a target. Live your gay life; I don't care. But quit trying to force me to support you.

Answer 11

Lots of reasons...the biggest has to do with the right wing defending the idea of the nuclear family.

One man and one woman.

This article explains some of it.

http://www.socialistworker.org/2004-1/490/490_08_BehindAttacks.shtml