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dsc

(52,164 posts)
Mon Dec 10, 2018, 07:46 PM Dec 2018

Shattering the Homophobic Status Quo

https://medium.com/james-finn/shattering-the-homophobic-status-quo-fe7cf9f59e9f

Yes, homophobia is the default status quo —
People casually accept its baked-in reality. I once wrote a story about the baker in Colorado who refused to serve a gay couple. I reject the insidious idea that a business owner can use religious doctrine to violate civil rights law. It’s just as wrong to use religion to justify homophobia as it is to justify racism.

So many people don’t get that, though. They defend religious homophobia strongly and constantly, even though they’d never defend religious racism.

A man commented on my baker article to tell me that everyone has a right to an opinion. That I have to accept that I might not be right, and the baker in Colorado is simply expressing deeply held religious beliefs.

No, I replied. The baker is stigmatizing and excluding gay people. He’s using his religious beliefs to justify the marginalization of innocent people, the marginalization of members of a minority. I told him that his own comment defending homophobia was itself a form of hate-based homophobia.

But I didn’t say anything hateful at all, the man objected. There are two sides to every issue. You aren’t being reasonable.

end of quote

This article is rather interesting and makes some very valid points. When will we decide that being anti gay is as much a problem as being anti black or anti Hispanic?
13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Shattering the Homophobic Status Quo (Original Post) dsc Dec 2018 OP
Tell that to Kevin Hart. cwydro Dec 2018 #1
Fuck Kevin Hart! Celerity Dec 2018 #8
Yes, I read them. cwydro Dec 2018 #11
Great article - much needed FreeState Dec 2018 #2
Awesome. Behind the Aegis Dec 2018 #3
+1 +1 +1 912gdm Dec 2018 #5
More people NEED to read this! Behind the Aegis Dec 2018 #4
Thanks, guys! James Finn Dec 2018 #6
Welcome to DU The Polack MSgt Dec 2018 #7
Thanks James Finn Dec 2018 #10
Welcome. Eliot Rosewater Dec 2018 #9
Good article and welcome to DU! Rhiannon12866 Dec 2018 #12
welcome to DU! gopiscrap Dec 2018 #13

FreeState

(10,572 posts)
2. Great article - much needed
Mon Dec 10, 2018, 08:31 PM
Dec 2018

"That’s how ingrained homophobia is —That man couldn’t or wouldn’t see plain bigotry when it was staring him in the face. He argues with a straight face that defending bigotry isn’t hateful."

Unfortunately this statement is all too true, even here on DU. Often homophobia is defended as pointing "semantics" or people being "too sensitive". It's all homophobia and there is no excuse IMO.

Behind the Aegis

(53,963 posts)
3. Awesome.
Mon Dec 10, 2018, 09:41 PM
Dec 2018

Too bad it will likely fall upon deaf ears. A whole lot of straightsplainin' goes on anytime the topic is GLB issues or about homophobia. Some people are "woke" to racism and sexism, but when it comes to homophobia (and a few others), then those people are decidedly "asleep". We get to hear the aforementioned 'splainin' along with various "excuses", which if used in regards to other groups, would be shouted down and outright rejected; to wit: some of their best friends/family members who are gay say....; we shouldn't piss off people who are our allies; we need to understand there are greater evils in the world; what about heterosexism? (no, I am NOT even kidding!!); shift focus to GLBT as the "bad guys" (just look at some of the comments regarding the recent Kevin Hart issue) ("Maybe the Academy Award people are gay racists?" ) ; well, I once ate out a chick (female)/or I got my dick sucked by a dude off and on for years and he was the best at it (male); I'll watch anything with David Schwimmer in it.

Ok, the last one is a "Family Guy" joke, but the rest, sadly, aren't jokes and are often employed by so-called allies. I will also point out the last paragraph, which is very important too:

Some of us even defend it. That’s the saddest thing to me. Some of us make excuses for official and institutional homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia. We can’t bring ourselves to just say that discriminating against LGBTQ people is morally wrong. It’s like we don’t know how to break out of our toxic mindsets and thinking patterns.


Just like there are blacks who defend or make excuses for racism, or women who do the same in regards to sexism/misogyny, or Jews who do the exact same when it comes to anti-Semitism, there are those in the GLBT community so conditioned by a heterosexist/homophobic culture and society, they end up spewing some of the same hate or worse, defending it!

How do we stop it? We confront it and no matter the push back, we stand our ground and fight against homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, just like we would any other form of bigotry.

James Finn

(2 posts)
6. Thanks, guys!
Tue Dec 11, 2018, 11:56 AM
Dec 2018

I'm the author of the piece and I happened to notice this thread from my stats on Medium.com where it's published. Thanks a lot for the feedback and thanks for trying to get the article noticed a little more.

James Finn

The Polack MSgt

(13,191 posts)
7. Welcome to DU
Tue Dec 11, 2018, 12:10 PM
Dec 2018

Come here for the feedback stick around for ... Well, uhhhmmm, there's some arguing, recipes and song recommendations. That works right?

Nah. JK

Really welcome aboard

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