Why is acceptance still so difficult?

[Lyell]

My position is that people have and will always have legal (or in some countries, moral) freedom to protect their own lives from harm and that legislation won't help Steve Urkle in an Alabama Clan Rally if he doesn't have a .45 on him.

Now I know the point is to be respected as equals and not be discriminated against, but that's the funny thing about respect. You have to earn it. Marching down the street in which you have no legal authority to do so, waving rainbow flags in the air and turning it into a protest when they stop you, REPEATEDLY, is not the way to go about getting it. Just makes you look like outlaws.

The objective is to get straight people to be comfortable around gay people. Breaking the law only gets you bad attention. And while the article makes it seem as though atleast one person understands that laws need to be changed instead of broken, I get the feeling he's the exception and not the rule.

There is no need to have a "Straight Pride" parade. Heterosexuality is the social norm.

It's also aspects of our private lives. Who we screw, when and how is typically kept to ourselves. We don't make it a point to let everyone know.

I have heard heard straight male co-workers describe in detail their sex lives, and yes, I did have a problem with it.

Okay, so someone divulged private information, information better left behind closed doors. And it didn't settle right with you. How is this any different? Because it's a parade and not just an individual? Because it's obstructing traffic instead of in a work setting?

As far as I know, "nerdsex" isn't against the law.

But homosexual sex acts are illegal in some parts of the world (and until recently, were here in the US). People are arrested, jailed and convicted of violating those laws every day.

And just how are people being convicted of these offenses? Are they advertising their bedroom pleasures or have the 'Salem homo trials' started up?

[Torch]

Being a nerd today is not the same thing it was 15 years ago.

Yes, Microsoft stock options are quite sexy nowadays.  ;)

I believe part of the purpose of parades is to raise awareness.  It is easier to attack someone when you do not see them as human.  The more you are aware of those different than you, the harder it is to not see them as human.  Can I prove this?  No. 

Actually, it's the same strategy the Fascists used against the Jews before and during WWII. When you dehumanize something, it's much easier to make it disappear.

Also, I believe the parades help those that do hide who they are realize they are not alone.  Surely, that is something all of us can relate to.

Another good point.

[MasterMischief]

My position is that people have and will always have legal (or in some countries, moral) freedom to protect their own lives from harm and that legislation won't help Steve Urkle in an Alabama Clan Rally if he doesn't have a .45 on him.

I am not sure I understand your point here.  Are you saying that there will always be hate and no amount of legislation will prevent that?  If so, I would agree.

Now I know the point is to be respected as equals and not be discriminated against, but that's the funny thing about respect. You have to earn it. Marching down the street in which you have no legal authority to do so, waving rainbow flags in the air and turning it into a protest when they stop you, REPEATEDLY, is not the way to go about getting it. Just makes you look like outlaws.

I agree that if you break the law, you should expect to pay the consequences.  However, sometimes the law needs to be broken.  I hope that if I were living in America during the middle of the 1800's, that I would have aided run away slaves.

Breaking the law only gets you bad attention.

What is the old adage?  "No press is bad press?"  How about, "The squeaky wheel gets oiled."

If I understood the story, it was the mayor who did not grant permission for the parade.  If they carry on anyway and then are arrested in front of witnesses, some of those people may wonder why they were arrested.  Thereby increasing awareness of the mayor's prejudice.  Yes, they broke the law.  But if they did not, people may not have been aware of the mayor's activities.

[Lyell]

You wanna know what my first impression was? Probably not, but I'm gonna put it here anyways. These people have applied for parade permits, repeatedly. And every time they're denied, they do it anyways. Rather than negotiating the issue with the mayor or taking the issue to the Human Rights courts in the first place they dramaticized events for the sole purpose of gaining attention from the masses. Proper channels existed, and instead of using them, they opted for the route that would get them the media's attention.

Squeeky wheel mentality makes me sick. It's why the major corporations and banks were 'bailed out' by tax payer dollars instead of internal business changes and external marketting strategies. You know, the things proper businesses do when they need money? There's a system in place in most civilized countries to get the laws changed. Conveniently those same countries also have laws against stringing people up to trees and burning them.

The underground railroad may have been necessary in the 1800s but 200 years later the limp-wristed railroad has no place.

Acceptance is hard because I don't wanna know your bedroom habbits. I don't want to know about what goes on in your household. I don't want to see you stimulating your mate in public. Hell, I don't even want to see straight people doing that. It's gross no matter your preference. And yet there's a huge following that thinks the best method to gain acceptance is to shove all that information down everyone's throats. Not helping your cause. Sorry.

[MasterMischief]

Proper channels existed, and instead of using them, they opted for the route that would get them the media's attention.

They did not feel the proper channels were working.  Do you honestly think you would only use proper channels if you felt the law was treating you unfairly and every time you tried to get it changed you were told, "Sorry.  That is just the way it is.  Suck it up."?

There's a system in place in most civilized countries to get the laws changed.

And it is very unsympathetic to a minority that is discriminated against.  There are enough people who fear change and people who simply do not care to make it exceedingly difficult to get laws changed.  Look how much resistance there was to the civil rights movement.  How many people wanted those 'uppity blacks' to sit down and shut up?

The underground railroad may have been necessary in the 1800s but 200 years later the limp-wristed railroad has no place.

I disagree.

It's gross no matter your preference.

Are you sure this is not your real issue?  I do not particularly want to see two men kissing either.  But it has never been forced down my throat.  The few times I have seen it, I have simply looked away and continued on my merry way.

[Nico]

I am going to lock this.