Are all homophobics evil?

[pandasftw]

Because I have the US flag as my avatar, you feel it's OK to be insulting?

Why is your opinion on homosexuals the only acceptable one?

Because there is not one good reason for gay hatred just like there is not one good reason for racism

[pandasftw]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that evil is a shallow concept, an intellectual shortcut that does much more harm than good. Motives and intents are vastly more complex than the good/evil paradigm.

If we're asking if homophobes are morally wrong rather than evil, I'd say yes, as much as a person can be morally wrong while thinking they're morally right.



I'm a bit confused by this. Will you tolerate LGBT rights, but not an LGBT presence in the media? I think it's worthwhile to point out that gays consume the same media, which is overwhelmingly heterosexual, with little complaint. Yet when they're represented in a single TV show, you're annoyed.

I think he's refering to the stereotype that glee is portraying as the character is over flamboyant kind of like the will smith/tyler perry for black people

[Grogybear]

What does the "phobic" part actually mean at the end of that sentence?

If it means to fear, to misunderstand or to be made feel uneasy by (as in archnaphobia) then I would argue that the majority of people are at least a bit homophobic (including myself).

If it means genuine hatred then its a different thing. Does anyone know the greek/latin for hatred?
As far as I can tell only religious people are ever this intolerant.
The intolerance comes from the religious obsession with sin and as a result, sex. They're drilled from an early age that sex is bad and homosexuality is a ticket straight to hell. When you've been brainwashed you're capable of any belief, no matter how repugnant.

[el ايمان]

I define homophobia as the unease when presented with homosexuality. When i speak of those who are intolerant of homosexuals, I call them intolerant or bigoted.

[grandpa]

I define homophobia as the unease when presented with homosexuality.
When i speak of those who are intolerant of homosexuals,
I call them intolerant or bigoted.

It compares similarly to other prejudices, where there is either "unease" (from being around someone different) or an actionable ideological platform of hatred. When it comes to the latter, we've done a pretty good job running them out of steam, but there are still plenty of organized bigots out there.

Grandpa h.

[Dieval]

Because there is not one good reason for gay hatred just like there is not one good reason for racism

Making a comparison between racism and homosexuality is insulting to the victims of racism.

Again, people do have their own reasons for not accepting gay people...usually it relates in someway to religion, but who are you to say that your beliefs are > theirs? Just because YOU can't come up with a good reason to to not accept gays, doesn't mean there are zero.

[brendand]

Making a comparison between racism and homosexuality is insulting to the victims of racism.

It is incredibly ignorant to divide discrimination on the basis of "which discrimination is worse than the other". It is self-serving and nonsense to say that one type is less valid for a point of comparison when both are fundamentally based on benign factors of a person that would otherwise have no effect on anyone else, save for offending someone's own illogical prejudices. So no, it is not incredibly offensive. Racial, women's, and sexual civil rights are all built on the foundation of the precedent. The fact that you so quickly dismiss that is reflective of a rationalization that places discrimination against gay people as a much more acceptable practice. Though that may be true today, it is quickly changing and you will hopefully see the inherent flaws that plague that very viewpoint.

Again, people do have their own reasons for not accepting gay people...usually it relates in someway to religion, but who are you to say that your beliefs are > theirs? Just because YOU can't come up with a good reason to to not accept gays, doesn't mean there are zero.

I don't know why you think you need a good reason to accept gays. If you like someone, you like them. Why would you be fixated on who they are having sex with? Is that really part of your criteria when choosing to accept someone into your life? Most people do not reveal their sex lives when they meet someone for the first time, nor do they require approval of their sex lives when they are choosing who to accept, so your basis for accepting people would be otherwise really odd, if that is the case. Why can't you keep your dirty laundry to yourself and expect the same of others? Gay people are just people - why are you so fixated on what they do in the bedroom?

For the record, no, homophobes are not inherently evil. But remember, the word "phobia" essentially means an irrational fear. That, of course, does not give them jurisdiction to act on their delusions.

[Dieval]

I don't know why you think you need a good reason to accept gays.

I don't know why you think everyone has to accept everyone else. Hitler was an evil person who had his own (wrong) ideas....Should we have accepted him?

If you like someone, you like them. Why would you be fixated on who they are having sex with? Is that really part of your criteria when choosing to accept someone into your life? Most people do not reveal their sex lives when they meet someone for the first time, nor do they require approval of their sex lives when they are choosing who to accept, so your basis for accepting people would be otherwise really odd, if that is the case. Why can't you keep your dirty laundry to yourself and expect the same of others? Gay people are just people - why are you so fixated on what they do in the bedroom?

So, you're whole point is that people don't know other people are gay, so we should just accept them regardless....good point..however, RACISM is based on outside appearances, which people have ZERO control over, making racism a far more egregious form of discrimination.

It is incredibly ignorant to divide discrimination on the basis of "which discrimination is worse than the other".

No, it's not. See my example above.

For the record, no, homophobes are not inherently evil. But remember, the word "phobia" essentially means an irrational fear. That, of course, does not give them jurisdiction to act on their delusions.

For the record, did I ever say that I was referring to my own beliefs?

People are entitled to their own opinions, as long as they don't harm other people or break laws....if people choose to not except homosexuality, so be it.

You are as "right" in your views as others are "right" in their views.

You didn't answer my question - what makes your beliefs > theirs?

[el ايمان]

While I agree that comparisons between victims of homosexuality and victims of racism can be insulting to the latter, I'd say that these cases are pretty specific, and that the OP hasn't done so yet [in this thread, that is].

And there are plenty of reasons not to like gay people, not that any of them are applicable in the real world.

[Senor Hoint]

I don't know why you think everyone has to accept everyone else. Hitler was an evil person who had his own (wrong) ideas....Should we have accepted him?

Except that homosexuality is not a set of ideas or an ideology, or an agenda.
It's a different sexual orientation over which a person has no control.
And in any case there's no reason to discriminate against homosexuals even if it were a choice.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't gross me out a little, but I'm not a pussy. I can deal with it and I don't let that little bit of unease, as someone else said, get in the way of how I deal with people.

To quote Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird, "folks are folks."

[Dieval]

Except that homosexuality is not a set of ideas or an ideology, or an agenda.

....there's definitely an agenda for some gay folks...

It's a different sexual orientation over which a person has no control.

..it seems like there's still some debate going on there... Queer by Choice dot com seems like a good example, although i didn't explore the site very thoroughly..

And in any case there's no reason to discriminate against homosexuals even if it were a choice.

I never said there was..however, people are entitled to their own views and if people choose to believe homosexuals are wrong, then so be it. That doesn't make them evil...now if they went out and started murdering homosexuals, THAT would qualify as evil.

[el ايمان]

I don't think evil is the right word for this thread. I can't think of any people I would describe as "evil".