We’ve all heard the term ‘homophobia’ which definitely has its place in today’s society, yet often times I think the word may be overused as I believe in many instances, it’s more hate than it is fear that drives people to oppose LGBT equality.
If you think about it, when people fear things, they react differently than when they hate. We don’t see too many people running down the street screaming for their life after seeing a LGBT person. The more usual response is disgust. You don’t beat someone to death simply because you fear them nor would you support a law that would execute people for being gay because you fear them…but you would because you hate them.Now I will admit that I think that hate is often times caused by fear. People who fear spiders often have a hate of spiders that’s based solely on that fear, but again, the reaction often is different.
That’s why I believe that when we label religious organizations as homophobic, they actually should be relieved we’re not calling them out for hate. After all, wouldn’t fear be forgiven quicker than hate…that is if you follow the Christian train of thought?
Such as in the case of the St. Vincent’s Cathedral School in Bedford who refused to allow a 4-year-old daughter of a lesbian couple attend their school.
The school’s administrator told the couple the school was not “a good fit for their child” because the values and morals taught at the school were contrary to values and morals the child would learn at home.
However, I wonder if the parents were Buddhist or Muslim if they’d be told the same thing? Would a child be rejected as a student if the parents believed in pro-choice? What if one of the parents had or was having an extramarital affair? What if one of the parents like to drink one too many adult beverages on the weekends? Would those differing morals and values be reason enough to reject a child? Possibly, but I have a hard time believing they would, which leads me to believe this isn’t just homophobia, it’s not a fear, it’s hate.
So what are your thoughts?
SOURCE: GAYAGENDA
The Difference Between Homophobia & Hate | Gay News from Gay Agenda - GayAgenda.com
i agree, homophobia has less and less to do with fear these days...it's just being demonstrated as hate from most of the peopls that's opposed to the gay lifestyle.
ReplyDeletethe thing about many adults who feel fear, especially those with privilege who are told that their beliefs are central, especially in violent war based countries such as the US, is that a fear response leads to feeling very small and powerless...vulnerable. This can lead to anger directed at the object of fear. How dare they make me feel so off balance, so tiny, so without agency, so unable to control my responses or my environment. I don't like that feeling. Nope. Not one bit. I don't like them, either. In fact, I think I need to punish them, to hurt them. If I hurt them, if I lash out, I will feel more in control of myself, my reactions and my environment. I will make the environment more safe for me, more comfortable for me by making it less safe for them. If I make them feel unsafe enough then they will go away, they will cease to exist. It will almost be like they never existed and then I will be happy and in so doing I will no longer be fearful. This is me saying that in my experience the fear response actually contains a fairly complicated dialogue that in some people, in many people leads to violence. It plays out time and time again. Feel fear, lash out, move the object of the fear back or obliterate it completely.
ReplyDeleteDA SEEKAH - YOU ARE SO RIGHT!
ReplyDeleteDARK DAUGHTA - THANKS FOR THE LIGHT ON THIS SUBJECT. I ALWAYS HAD THESE THOUGHTS, BUT DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO ARTICULATE THEM...THANKS!
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