Friday, October 15, 2010

Why They Hate Us

I have a theory as to why there seems to have been a rise in anti-gay violence. It's not just that LGBT folks are more visible than before, both in the media and in the neighborhoods; it's that as we become more visible we are proving to society just how normal–how just like them–we are, and that scares the bejeezus out of them. It is essential to certain fragile psyches to have us as a debased Other. The more strides we make in ceasing to be Other, the scarier we become to them.

As for religious hatred, there's a whole extra layer of meaning. When we claim homosexuality as an essential trait and an identity, it calls into question the inerrancy of their foundational scriptures, which see homosexual acts as individually chosen acts of sin. When we contest by our very lives (e.g., my 'homosexual agenda' for today includes getting lunch, finishing some work tasks and buying groceries on the way home, where I'll watch tv and play with the cat) that the full integration of our sexual orientation is part of a wholistic personality, it is like pulling a thread out of a sweater. Once that thread unravels, more threads unravel, and soon the whole sweater (i.e., their whole religious world-view) is a heap of chaotic threads on the floor. In other words, our very existence challenges their entire purpose in life, and we either must cease to exist, or they must lose the purpose they currently have. It's no wonder their very real hatred trumps any ideals they may have about love and forgiveness. Their hatred of us is a symptom of their clinging to religious belief against all the evidence that the belief is based on falsehoods.

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