What would you think if I told you I don't have a problem being around gay people, I just don't like it when they act gay?
Someone said this to me today, and I was a bit speechless. I didn't realize they were acting!
Tammy
...I just don't like it when they act gay!
by Swan 28 Replies latest jw friends
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avishai
Tell 'em " I don't have a problem being around white people, I just don't like it when they act white!" Or some other such ridiculousness.
Now, some folks just out of the closet ARE a pain, and wrap there very identity around being gay. But so are some straight people that have their first relationship and have those constant gross PDA's. Not that it's exactly the same. But it's a close cousin, and folks usually get over it. It's a puppyish phase of a sort that we almost ALL go through to one sort or another, and unfortunately some folks feel that they have to "queen out" when they first come out. Some folks are just "queeny." Hell, some straight guys are. Some straight ladies are butch. Vive la difference!!
Tell the dude he's intolerant.
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Elsewhere
I once saw a bumper sticker that said: "I have no problem with straight people, so long as they don't act straight in public."
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Swan
I actually thought that it was a really bigoted thing to say. But it also amused me because he is our 17-year-old student intern. Perhaps you remember him from this thread. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/96303/1644467/post.ashx#1644467
Without laughing, I said that I'm sure gay people would be comforted to know he was so tolerant of them. He is so self-centered, I'm sure he took that as a compliment.
He has been a real challenge this summer. Fortunately I am a very patient person. I am supposed to be mentoring him, but it has been really difficult at times getting through to him. I was helping him debug a problem on his computer project and went out to the Internet for possible solutions to a cryptic error message that was coming up. He thought the solution I found would fix it, and I replied, not necessarily. I told him that people post lots of misinformation on message boards in the process of trying to find the right answer, but it may not always work out. Or there may be some other factor we were not yet seeing. "Always question your beliefs." I told him. "I never question my beliefs." he replied. "Why would you do that?"
He actually says he values diversity, but then he also said that there are too many Hispanic people moving in. He claims his best friend is Hispanic and he likes Hispanics because they will do the menial work that whites won't do.
I told him that he should really be careful of the wording of his opinions in the workplace, as they could easily be misinterpreted by staff who are gay, lesbian, Hispanic, or have family that are. Hopefully he will take something away with him when he starts back to school in a couple weeks. I wish his future employers the best of luck.
Tammy
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Euphemism
I feel sorry for the kid. It sounds like he's been raised in a very closed environment and just has no idea how he comes across to other people. Kudos to you for doing your best with him.
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Swan
It sounds like he's been raised in a very closed environment and just has no idea how he comes across to other people.
Euph,
You are so insightful! As a matter of fact, he is a very conservative white Christian. A Mormon. But I don't hold it against him.
Tammy
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cruzanheart
Okay, Tammy, sit that poor boy down and make him watch "South Pacific" five times back to back until he can recite all the words to "You Have To Be Taught." Then make him write "I will not be a bigoted white boy" 100 times on a blackboard. If that doesn't make him realize that he's talking nonsense it will at least keep him off the streets for a while. He doesn't need to be out mixing with the general public.
Nina
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Buster
Okay, anyone ready for a dissenting opinion?
And I am not sure of this, because I don't know the speaker or the context. But perhaps our society could do with a little honesty.
I'm certain that there are others out there that read this thread and kept their opinion to themselves. You see, I will preface the next sentence by saying that I know it is my own problem, and I couldn't give a rip if it was two guys walking down the street. But I could be made uncomfortable by two gay men being affectionate in public. If it we were in a group, say at a restaurant or bar, or perhaps at a party at house party, I would likely get uncomfortable. I know I'm not the only one.
Can it OK to be uncomfortable with something without being labeled a bigoted jerk?
Is the solution really that he should knuckle under the PC tyranny and keep his opinions to himself?
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Cygnus
My best friends hug me and tell me they love me on a one-on-one basis, and we're not gay, but I wouldn't get offended if somebody mentioned it looked "gay" unless they were trying to be assholes.
