I hope you've all seen what happened in Moscow today (Sunday).
In the US, I think homophobia is less than it was a generation ago, but I've seen little improvement in the last few years. Nasty, vile people like Rosie ODonnell, pedophile priests and so many gay teachers doing students hasn't helped the public image at all. And where I live, a certain religious cult teaches that homosexuality is a choice pure and simple, and there is no biological or genetic influence. One chooses to be gay. Unfortunately, most kids raised in this "religion" are taught to never question the church authorities and are the most homophobic kids I know -- and there are so many gay members who are deeply closeted. How bad are they? At a local high school, a number of GLT students wanted to form a club. They got a brave straight teacher to sponsor them. They started having meetings. Within a week, outraged parents (all members of aforementioned cult) demanded it be stopped. The school wouldn't, or couldn't. So, parents had their kids get into the club, vote themselves into office, and promptly disbanded the organization. The Gestapo lives!
In the US, I think homophobia is less than it was a generation ago, but I've seen little improvement in the last few years. Nasty, vile people like Rosie ODonnell, pedophile priests and so many gay teachers doing students hasn't helped the public image at all. And where I live, a certain religious cult teaches that homosexuality is a choice pure and simple, and there is no biological or genetic influence. One chooses to be gay. Unfortunately, most kids raised in this "religion" are taught to never question the church authorities and are the most homophobic kids I know -- and there are so many gay members who are deeply closeted. How bad are they? At a local high school, a number of GLT students wanted to form a club. They got a brave straight teacher to sponsor them. They started having meetings. Within a week, outraged parents (all members of aforementioned cult) demanded it be stopped. The school wouldn't, or couldn't. So, parents had their kids get into the club, vote themselves into office, and promptly disbanded the organization. The Gestapo lives!