Hank, hopefully you don't hate me for this, but I feel like people bash me because I don't support LGBT ideals. I want to make it clear that I DO NOT dislike the people who identify with this, and I am NOT trans/homophobic. I just have different opinions and don't support the idea. I do however support people's right to think and believe whatever they want. It's just that sometimes people decide to hate me because of what I believe, when all I'm trying to do is express my opinions. Thoughts?
Hello Anon,
Every society has weird taboos and beliefs. In some places, women can show their breasts, but not their midriffs, for example. In some cultures, it’s OK for men to have sex with other men and in others it isn’t. Now I don’t know what “LGBT ideals” are, but I’m just going to assume that you don’t think people of the same gender should hook up.
Now, I disagree with a lot of people on a lot of different things. For example, tons of people in America believe that dead people inhabit old houses and that the position of the stars when you were born affects your personality. I think these things are dumb and weird but they don’t hurt anybody or infringe on anyone’s rights, so, I don’t care. I’m not going to hate them for or be frustrated by their weird beliefs.
But the truth of the matter is, your belief that people shouldn’t love the way they do does affect other people. It is, on it’s own, threatening to people who love people of their own gender because you are disapproving of them for something they cannot and do not want to change. And when combined with a national climate that has lots and lots of people actively working to infringe upon the rights of those people, it’s not just an existential threat.
Your beliefs are threatening to other people. Your beliefs do real harm to real human beings.
And you’re allowed to have those beliefs, but people are also allowed to hate them and, yes, even you…that’s just an expression of their opinions. I hope that what they hate are your beliefs and not you, and I hope you know that beliefs can change and modify as we come to know more about the world and other people in it. Please don’t harden your heart, be open to the idea that your understanding of the world might change,
Hank