Homophobia...?

Exactly. No one should judge anyone else. Especially for their beliefs. That's because everyone will have some beliefs which another might not understand or find strange. That's what makes us different from everyone else.

But at the same time Homophobia IMHO is an umbrella term. It can mean different things to different people. I for instance consider the environment around me (including my parents) homophobic because they don't understand LGBTQ+ and don't feel like understanding it. I might interpret Homophobia in a way different from how you may view it.

As for those who believe strongly against LGBTQ+, that is their belief. I have no problem with people holding to their beliefs. For example, If a person doesn't want to interact with Gay or Lesbians and doesn't want their kids to do so because they "have a belief" that they could get infected or influenced, that is their belief. I would call it homophobic if they actively protested against people interacting with Gay and Lesbians in public and condemned the Gay and Lesbians for it. That is homophobia in my opinion. Again it's my opinion and doesn't have to be yours.

That's what Homophobia is, it's an opinion. It an umbrella term and can mean different things depending on the way you look at it. That's how phobias work. I'm afraid of the dark, you might not be. Others might fear the dark for a variety of reasons. If I fear the dark because I feel like ghosts might get me, I'm not actually fearing the dark, but Ghosts. So it's my interpretation of what I fear and what I have aversion for that counts.
But if I wanted the whole world to be lit up because I fear the dark I'd be a weirdo and an idiot. Why? Because I fear it. Others might not.

Just saying.

 

Is that tsubaki I spy!!! :-D

 

Personally, I'd be fine with a person saying "I dislike LGBT, but I'll still be friends with you because you're an awesome person'', why? Because they've got their belief, but they're not using it to discriminate me.

I'm not saying everyone has to be fine with this though.

I mean, could I be considered a bigot because I refuse to date someone who is prejudice (believing all X are Z because they are X)? And to be honest, I wouldn't care if I was considered a bigot here, because I believe them being prejudice is more hurtful than me not dating them.

So I guess it's where someone individually stands on a matter.

I have no idea if what I've said here is hurtful because anything could hurt anyone, but whilst writing this and re-reading I don't think it is hurtful, so I apologize if I have made an offense.

Thank-you for reading.

 

Well I incline to agree with you. Calling someone who disagree with us a homophobe is rather dramatic and an insult to the genuine homophobes who wish us dead, burned in flames and being gutted in hell for eternity. It just isn't 'homophobia' though, anyone who disagrees with the community (using the word community loosely here) risks being called sexists, racists, islamphobes, bigots, fascists, and so on. It is why I really don't believe in tolerance when it is forced on me. To think that all sort of ideologies can exist together while remain fundamentally incompatible is unrealistic.
To sum up, I'm not calling you a homophobe but if you threaten my self interests, I will fight you :icon_wink

 

I agree. everyone who says homosexuals must be treat themselves or must marry with a opposite sex or .... , is not a homophob, not necessarily.

+
Homophob, Racist, Sexist, Terrorist, Sponsor of terrorists, ...
Sometimes these labels uses to force our opponent shut up.
I mean even if this is true that someone is Racist(or anything) we do not have call this person racist every time that we want mention him. This is unfair.

 

"Phobia" means an irrational fear of something. While I do believe there ARE legit homophobes, I think the term is a bit misleading because 9 times out of 10, the so-called "homophobes" disagree with homosexuality, not fear it.

For the most part I do not care if someone doesn't agree with homosexuality. That is their problem not mine. There is a difference between disagreeing and being an ass about it, though.

 

If it's all just words, then what does it really matter? Someone's behavior doesn't suddenly become permissible because we no longer use the label "homophobia" to describe it. This all boils down to the idea that all opinions are valid and deserving of respect by the nature of them being opinions and that's an idea I reject--some opinions are inherently intolerant and some are downright harmful. And the fact is that I don't "respect" someone's belief that homosexuality is a deviant perversion--I have every right to do so. This does not mean that I would support jailing them for having this opinion, but I will not pretend that I give it one iota of "respect". I'm not denying anyone the right to reject homosexuality, but I can still call them out for it if I want to.

I also think there is some misunderstanding of "tolerance". You tolerate a crying baby on a bus--it doesn't mean you have to like it or accept. People will always be free to disagree with and to refuse to accept homosexuals and homosexuality. Just as they are free to do that, I am free to disassociate myself from such people and not view their opinions highly. This "freedom" goes both ways, something that both sides are often unwilling to accept or acknowledge.

As for the writing off of the term "homophobia" because of the meaning of its Ancient Greek constituents, that is just a distraction. Words cannot always be defined by the parsing of their constituents.

 

Homophobia is basically discrimination against homosexuals, and plenty of Christian behavior can fall under that umbrella.

That being said, not agreeing with it, but being willing to tolerate it without forcing people to change is not really homophobia.

Personally, I strongly dislike Christianity and I have Christian friends. I disagree with their religion strongly and would prefer that they abandon it, but It's not my choice to make. Am I a Christophobe? And if It's okay to not agree with homosexuality, isn't it also okay to not agree with religion?