Has your view of LGBT issues changes over the years?

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   icountthetimesposted 12 years ago

   I notice that people generally appear to be much more accepting towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people nowadays. Of course it depends on the area you live in but it does seem to be true, especially amongst many younger people.
   
   Quite a few people I personally know who are more accepting now, I remember a time when that wasn't the case to such an extent, either in the language they used to describe people or their general attitudes. Do you find that you yourself have become more accepting over the years, and if is, why do you think that change occured? Is there an event that you can point towards for instance, many a family friend coming out?

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      A Thousand Wordsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Why yes, yes I have. It happened after I left my religion actually. I stopped caring if people were gay/lesbian/transgenger, or not. Love is love. Many people try to say that anything other than heterosexuality is just lust, but I disagree strongly with that statement, now. I still notice some old feelings that I have towards it, but I try to address and overcome them. For instance, I am VERY much into Anime, but I usually bypass the ones that are gay/lesbian love stories, but I recently forced myself to watch one because I felt like I was being ridiculous, and I like it so far, haven't finished it yet.

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   Cagsilposted 12 years ago

   For peace to come, equality must be made to come forth.

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   ahorsebackposted 12 years ago

   Sure ! Yes it is actually talked about now when there was a time that it was treated in silence , even shame !  Everyone knows a gay or what ever person. But my problem isn't with "them " , its with the amount of change and  civil discourse created by a very small fraction of the population!

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      MelissaBarrettposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      No offense intended, but doesn't it take an opponent to have discourse?  If so, isn't that discourse, in reality, caused by both sides?
      
      (it takes two to fight... among other things)

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      Pcunixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, it really stinks when people's RIGHTS make you uncomfortable.  Poor you.

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   wildernessposted 12 years ago

   Yes.  I grew up and went through school with the then normal jokes and bigotry about "fags", "queers" and other wonderful names.  Nor surprisingly I picked up the "normal" views on the matter.
   
   I took a while, but indeed I have mellowed and discovered that the world isn't all about me - there are other people out there, too.  People just like me, with wants and desires, needs and requirements, people just as important as I am; just people with this one little difference...  A difference that doesn't turn them into a monster or an object of ridicule.

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      A Thousand Wordsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      *tear* If we all came to this conclusion at some point in our lives, this world would be different.

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   brimancandyposted 11 years ago

   I guess having gone through nearly 3 decades of being openly gay, I really don't think the attitudes of regular people have changed that much. Certainly the media, and Hollywood have made moves toward a more gay friendly attitude, as have some of our politicians. But, just like racism, the hate towards the gay community has not changed, it just seems to get scarier.
   
   For example, back in the 1980's it was very fun to be gay. It seemed like everyone was having a party, until AIDS came along and put the GLTB community in the spotlight. The government and the media tried to pass us off as sex starved disease carriers, and it took a lot to convince the powers that be, that they were wrong, which took quite a long time. If they had not dragged their heals on a treatment, because it was just a fag disease, more people would be alive today. Remember when almost everyone freaked out like they were going to die tomorrow?, even though some people with AIDS are still living after having the disease for 20 years or more?
   
   In the 90's when the AIDS scare wound down. The number of Gay activists grew. We held rallies, and parades, and let the government know that we would not go away, and towards the end of the decade we started to party again, and found a level of acceptance that I think is actually better than what we are seeing today.
   
   After 2000, and up until now. The gay community is seen as having an agenda, which is a political word used by people who want to set our rights back 50 years. We have some religious nuts going around protesting military funerals and causing violence over their hatred of gays, and trying to recruit people to their cause. The suicides of gay teens is higher than it ever was, and political groups are trying to pass laws to violate not only gay rights, but a lot of other groups rights as well.
   
   So, when I say scary. You might know what I mean. As we have two rights haters attempting to get into the White House this year. I will hope that the next decade will be better, and even though the last 30 years has been pretty good to me, I feel kind of sorry for someone who has to face this all fresh and new. One thing the new GLBT generation has, that I didn't have growing up is social media and a vast connection to the gay world, and some pretty good gay role models. So there is some hope for the future. Lets hope the rights haters don't make it their purpose in life to change it.

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   recommend1posted 11 years ago

   Brimancandy:  thanks for well considered update that sums the situation really well.
   
   The only difference I have noted here in China is that the ex-pat community, who are notoriously sexist, racist, homophobic, et etc, are divided on this, literally.  The thinking dinosaurs who are openly homophobic now avoid the various meeting places where their obnoxious views are challenged  (usually by me)  rather than me having to avoid being in their company.  This polarisation is a good thing as they all soon get bored with each others company and cave man conversations and the maybephobes soon drift across to 'our' camp and the subject does not come up again.  On an even better note, most of 'them' are migrating from China to Thailand, openly in pursuit of young flesh - now if we could only get the fundie christians to go with them . . . . .

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