Please note that I am not saying whether they should or should not be treated that way - I'm not getting into that debate.
My point is that society hasn't always had the supportive attitude towards homosexuals as it has today. Fifty years ago and more society had a very low opinion of homosexuals. But was this as severe as the opinion society has of paedophiles today?
2007-01-02 10:06:43 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Some interesting and reasonable answers.
Things have changed for the better over the last 50 years - especially for gay men. Obviously, however, the same shift in tolerance can never happen with paedophiles.
The observation on 'reasonable answers' does NOT include CHERELLE - who is clearly a psycho nutter.
Maybe she's never experienced any prejudice as a Republican lesbian gun-slinger.
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2007-01-03 02:38:53 · answer #1 · answered by MrsTrellis 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We as a society can learn to and should earn to accept and tolerate the first as in live and let live but as to the second there can never be any leeway or route to any form of acceptance for paedophiles.......they too have always existed but are more exposed today than ever before and rightly so.
2007-01-02 21:46:38 · answer #2 · answered by eagledreams 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is less homosexual hate today than yesterday. surely yesterday there was the extreme end of the spectrum where homosexuality was evenly equated with pedophilia. Today pedophiles are a step lower than homosexuals for certain.
The whole point yesterday was fear that if the kids come in cantact with a homosexual they will be molested. Because there are so many 'outed' today most everyone knows a homosexual personally who they respect or at least like a bit... enuf to feel they are not a danger to society. But yesterday... OH VEY!
2007-01-02 10:13:14 · answer #3 · answered by larrydoyle52 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Your question is a valid one. My only concern is that people may misunderstand and assume you are equating homosexuality with pedophilia, something that couldn't be further from the truth. The vast majority of pedophiles are heterosexual. With that said, it depends how far back you'd like to go. In classical Greece, older men were expected to teach young boys about sex by having sex with them. We are repuled by this today (& rightly so, as children are not capable of deciding such things for themselves). In Rome, homosexuality was accepted, as long as you were the 'top'. Great Emperors like Trajan, and Hadrian were homosexuals, as were some Christian Emperors like Constantine I's son Constans, and Gratian, a very pious Emperor.But I digress. It is true that homosexuality is more acceptable today, but let's not kid ourselves; so far, every state, with the notable exception of Arizona, that has voted on outlawing gay marriage has voted to do so. Only Arizona voted to keep discrimination and bigotry out of their State Constitution. And let's not forget that, while in many states it would be illigal to deny a pedophile who has completed his or her sentence a job or housing, the majority of states do NOT have laws that outlaw housing and employment discrimination against homosexuals. Killing homosexuals is not something that happened only in the past, either. Matt Shepherd was murdered less than a decade ago, and hate crimes against LGBT's is on the rise nationwide, including murders. We have a long way to go, and one can only pray we come to our senses, and soon!
2007-01-02 11:41:59 · answer #4 · answered by ticklishguy8 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It does seem as if peoples hatreds move to the beat of popular fashions. Paedophiles have always been with us, it seems as if they are the flavour of the month to hate right now. Who wiil it be in a few years time, who will the slimebucket Brit press get us to hate then to sell more papers?
2007-01-02 10:56:55 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Until 1967 homosexual acts between males of any age were totally ILLEGAL in the United Kingdom. No one made a public announcement of being gay, so for most of the straight world, gays were people they only read about,.
Not sure how or why you are even equating gays with paedophiles (most paedophiles are straight) but the public really had insufficient knowledge of gays for them to be much of an issue in everyday encounters .However they were certainly not accepted.
2007-01-02 10:22:19 · answer #6 · answered by Raymo 6 · 6⤊ 1⤋
Absolutely, yes. And, although tolerance is growing, there are unfortunately still some sectors of society that STILL think this way. The recent US debates on Gay Marriage being an excellent illustration of that point.
2007-01-03 12:27:06 · answer #7 · answered by pferde 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, people are now more tolerant of most homosexuals today, as attitudes continue to change. There will always be a minority who refuse to accept change.
2007-01-02 10:17:04 · answer #8 · answered by colin.christie 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I would say yes, but only because John Q. Public (and what an idiot he is!) assumed that homosexuals were also pedophiles and were lurking around trying to "recruit" innocent young boys into their "deviant lifestyle."
Ignorance is always harmful.
2007-01-02 11:23:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes, very much so, unfortunately. People as recent as the '70s and '80s still had gay-bashing lynchings frequented, but usually only in the south and midwest
2007-01-02 10:09:09 · answer #10 · answered by guitarherofairy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋