I just starting reading this Q & A section a few days back. I am so shocked at the amount of hatred and venom some people throw at folks just trying to network. I'm straight, but my son, and some of my best friends are gay. Are you (as in LGBTs) subjected to this sort of ignorance and unjustified hatred frequently in the real world? If so, how in the world do you handle it?
2007-04-26 21:28:20 · 13 answers · asked by PJJ 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
There is a lot of hatred in the world, at large. This Y!A forum is only a fraction the hate people endure. Fortunately, being gay is mostly about love and affection.
Gays are used to ignoring the hatred and focusing the wonderful and fabulous aspects of BEING ALIVE.
Set you attention upon the things which nourish and edify your soul. Reject and detach from the things that bring you down. If necessary, avoid reading them, at all.
There is so much beauty and love in the world, don't let the nasty monsters get you down! They are in their own lonely and angry prisons, and you can Thank God every night that you don't have to live inside their heads, right?
2007-04-26 22:00:19 · answer #1 · answered by Kedar 7 · 9⤊ 0⤋
What Kedar and Riverotter said.
This level of hatred is par for the course amongst the ignorant and bigoted, especially those with a religious agenda.
How do we cope? I openly laugh at the sillier comments; and deal with the more serious ones as they come along - I try to do it with good humour, mocking the ridiculousness.
If people meet me and like me, it is usually hard for them to suddenly change their minds when they find out I am a lesbian (I don't wear a huge badge).
If the first thing people know about me is that I am a lesbian, and make disparaging comments, I try to calmly (sometimes difficult) ask them to explain why they hate gay people so much.
Like all prejudice, it is almost always due to ignorance ... most have never knowingly met a gay man, or a lesbian. Many people are "shocked" to discover that I am gay ... as I "look so normal".
The reaction I hate the most? "Love the sinner, hate the sin" from the Christian hypocrites who hide behind that to avoid dealing with me as a real person, with real feelings and emotions.
There is always going to be hatred, and gay-bashing; but to be honest, I really have no idea why it enrages so many people so much.
.
2007-04-27 05:06:06 · answer #2 · answered by abetterfate 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Its the last form of publicly accepted prejudice, well it comes with the label unfortunately. some for religious or personal reason's cant handle this thing called the golden rule. Do unto others. So sometimes you just gotta let it go as soon as you hear it other times give them a tongue lashing of epic proportions. I am a Trans woman started life as a boy ending as a woman, so when i leave the house there is like this Hugh flashing some might say flaming sign right above my head saying come see this!! I have developed one hell of a razor sharp tongue and have had many a young tough macho "men" quiver in there dockers its worth it when there friends start laughing at them. I also was in a lot of fights as a kid so on more than 1 occasion when it got physical well lets just say they don't like to talk about the time the tried to beat up a transsexual again great feeling when it happens in front of their friends for them all to see.
2007-04-27 04:59:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I just get on about my business and focus on things that are not negative. Some people love to display their arrogance and they are ignorant when it comes to treating other people with respect. I ignore them and find worthwhile people with whom I associate. The big thing is to not let it affect a person. For some, that can be very difficult if they are feeling they have no support.
We often get attacked by religious fanatics who pimp God as means of backing their inner hatred toward other humans. Again, I ignore them. They are no better than anybody else, and their obvious spiritual pride is an indicator of personal shortcomings that they are trying to disguise. If they believed as they say they do, they would respect the teachings of the bible when it says that people will be judged with the same amount of judgment as they give to others. It isn't terribly difficult to see through their thin rhetoric.
Also, hanging out with supportive people helps. I live in a city with a large gay population. During our PRIDE parade last year, all members of City Council and the Mayor marched in the parade, as a means of support. Teachers, police officers, doctors, lawyers, fire fighters, ministers and ordinary people all marched together. For those in smaller areas, it is difficult, but people should try to believe in themselves (and not buy into condemnation), and seek out areas where they have support.
2007-04-27 06:29:51 · answer #4 · answered by SB 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I'm straight also. I have alot of gay friends and I used to enjoy answering questions in this category. There's so many trolls in this section posting hateful things that it gets really tiring weeding through all the crap to find decent questions to answer. I've supported the gay community for a long time and have gotten into several heated debates with homophobes over the years. The vast majority were idiots and I defeated them with wit and intelligence. I think alot of these trolls are paranoid, self-loathing closet queens or rabid attention seekers who need to get a reaction out of people. How sad their pitiful, pathetic lives must be.
2007-04-27 05:41:46 · answer #5 · answered by DawnDavenport 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am a 40ish gay white woman & have been insulted on a daily basis for most of my adult life, I am good looking w/ a great figure & never taken for a lesbian at first. I have learned that to be happy is my responsibility & mine alone. I am in a 10 yr relationship. I am as happy as a person could be, but I'd be lying if I said that all the slurrs I hear flying out of peoples mouths don't still bother me. If I have to hear one more 8 yr. old kid say "THAT IS SO GAY!" one more time.......
I'll just put up with it like I have been for years.
Thanks for noticing something is wrong with intentionally hurting others to make oneself feel superior. It is people like you that make everyone feel better & have hope for the world.
2007-04-27 09:55:17 · answer #6 · answered by Cheryl 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, I'm still closeted and in high school, but I hear people throwing "the f word" around in a derogatory sense every day. The funny thing is that the people who use the word so frequently claim they're not at all homophobic. I really don't know what to think... But that's pretty much the worst of it for me, it's not so bad.
2007-04-27 04:48:02 · answer #7 · answered by VenusianaisuneV 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's lost all it's power to hurt or admonish me, because I overcame it as it was coming from myself, and after that, nothing anyone says is of any importance.
Got a problem with gays? Get over it.
Don't believe in gay marriage? Don't get married to one. (And curse that pool boy of yours for reminding you of it day after day!)
Gays are destroying society (and to a lesser extent, the English language even)? Move to Mars and learn to speak Martian, because we're not going anywhere.
The bottom line is, whether people "agree" with homosexuality is irrelevant, because it is, always has been, and always will be. Technically speaking, you don't have to "agree" with gravity, but jump off a tall building and see if you don't change your mind. For a second, anyway.
And kudos to you for being so accepting of your son! I'm sure he's a much better person for having a mother that he knows will support him, no matter what. I can only wish my mother were the same ... but alas! She'll have to get over it!
:)
2007-04-27 05:35:09 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
We can be but most people here are very intelligent. Our section has a resident Troll who masquerades in multiple accounts and faces. You've seen one of his incarnations on your first post. The rest aren't any better. Usually people have a bit more tact.
Most of us are trying to muddle through here. I wish your son and your friends the best of luck. It can be hard for people coming out but it was harder twenty years ago. The amount of hatred we can be subjected to depends on where one lives. Small towns are horrid and larger cities, although usually more open can have pockets of hatred that can erupt without warning.
We welcome you here, if you don't mind the Troll. He's pretty easy to spot after awhile. Please give your son and friends regard and welcome. Blessings.
2007-04-27 05:04:12 · answer #9 · answered by Mama Otter 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
What you see here is a SMALL example of what is dealt to gay and lesbian people day in and day out.
It is one reason for the high gay suicide rate... considering the hate and filth are coming from people in your own family as well outside the home.
Can you imagine living like that all your life?
2007-04-27 04:51:06 · answer #10 · answered by Marjorie Astrofsky 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋