It was a terribly confusing post from me, my bad. I meant I dont think my friends would be accepting of my sexuality. I have body image issues, I hate the way I look, I have anxiety and depression as a result of it. In my opinion, being gay is hard enough for some ppl to accept, but being ugly AND gay would just 'disgust' ppl more. It's for this reason why I say I don't think my friends would be very accepting. I can't even accept myself, that's a big problem too.

If someone uses 'gay' as a perjorative, I tend to crack a joke literalising whatever they said as referring to homosexuality as a way of letting them know that I disapprove. But mainly that I disapprove that 'gay' is such a lazy term to use when the English language has such a rich variety of insults.

For most other types of bigotry, (which I admittedly haven't seen very much) I generally try to confront the person and demand them to justify whatever they said. The only problem is that I find it really difficult to remain calm and debate rationally in that sort of situation

Yes, with one further point: It's letting them know that not everyone agrees with them. Intolerance thrives in isolation.

I can relate to what you're saying. With hindsight, I can see that when I was younger I was influenced by a perception (from tv, movies and porn) that gay people were all super-attractive, hard living, drug-taking, clubbing, camp-talking sexaholics with excellent fashion sense, and I really couldn't see how I fit in. It was only once I came out and met other gay people, that I realised that gay people are, in the end, people. Just like everyone else.

Here's how I normally deal with it: http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=1200

When it comes to persuading people, the benefit is usually for the observers, who can be convinced or might be on a journey of changing beliefs. I've never known a public debate to change the mind of a debater, but every single debate sees audience members change their minds.

Or you could post really awesome comics in your blog.

Not until the next time I mistakenly assume people already agree with me.

I think the only disagreement was whether or not the comic was any good. Which it wasn't.

The what?

Devonian.

+rep for honesty

I'm not sure whether I am a bigot or not, and I don't care.

*waits for MM*

I don't plan to go to Poland any time soon, so if you're waiting you'll be there a while.

Oooooooh

http://i.imgur.com/jU3bF.png

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/2716/ju3bf.png

... The plates are empty. You didn't even care enough to make any dinner.

I ate all waiting for you to come. And all others went home. And the cake was pretty big :(

Joe ate it

My dad had/has some pretty batshit insane things to say about Zionism, Jews in general, Greeks, Mel Gibson and to a certain degree Italians. He would basically go on old hippie tangents about how Zionistic Lizard Men are going to rape our graves and that they were getting me addicted to video games through the pixels, the brighter of which he deemed 'masturbatory.' If I didn't at least grunt a non-Mediterranean sounding syllable in response he'd call up a friend and repeat everything he'd just screamed into a wall at length, once his stream of consciousness had a bit of time to ferment. He also defended Mel Gibson's right to call women 'sugar tits' at Christmas dinner one year, and just would not drop it.

So I tuned him out by becoming interested in remarkably terrible music and eating candy. This evolved into listening to slightly better music and smoking cigarettes. Someone needs to draw all of this, by the way.

I still say fire is the best way to combat bigotry.

Like in "fight fire with fire"?

I hate to bring up the subject of that comic which BM posted in his blog a while ago, but fighting fire with fire and being confrontational is a very, very bad way of getting those who don't agree with you to listen to you. The comic and the response to it was a good example of this.

You could have the most politically correct view ever in the history of the universe but people will infact disagree with you and go against your opinion if you yell it at them.

I was meaning lighting them on fire as a joke haha

But srs. It's hard to try and reason with a bigot. I know, I've tried. Even remaining cool and level-headed (at least for me) is a bit of a challenge because they just keep on and on with whatever they're saying. Fortunately I've never blown up on someone like that, but yes, fighting fire with fire is not a very good idea.

I was talking to this guy on Friday who claimed it is impossible to be gay, and that those who are didn't try straight sex first.

He was coloured every shade of stupid, an ideal person who was raised on myths. I honestly wanted to smash his teeth in, alas my friend had a thing for him so I deferred to her wishes.

Next time...

Well I lost my virginity with a girl, I'd love to tell him that fact and hear his response.

I had the "gay is a choice" conversation with a friend at the pub last night, the amount of times I've been asked by people "is being gay a choice" urgh, drives me insane. Though to be fare, he was really drunk, I could barely have a conversation with him.

I think what most people are really driving at with that question is "Couldn't you choose to live a lie for my convenience?"

I don't.

(in response to the thread title, didn't read the rest)