| People do come out on facebook, it's not by saying 'married' or 'engaged' though. Those are either used for the real purpose(actual marriages or engagements), or for girls and their good friends. 'It's complicated with' is the most likely option for 'coming out', but still far from a lock or even a very strong allusion.
And as far as pro/anti-gay in the past, I don't know what to say. I have certainly used the terms faggot or gay negatively, and have let 'hate speech' occur in front of me without reaction. At the same time I have been rather outspoken in my school about the gay marriage rights and the like. When seeing bigotry I am more likely to point out absurdities in the statements used, rather than outright rejection. This is intended to cause people to think rather than just flat out reject my ideas. If I were to be asked 'Have I been a consistent active supporter of gay life and culture?' The answer would be no, I have said things that I would surely find highly insensitive if I were of a different orientatoin. At the same time I feel that I have been rather steadfast in my reference to the unfairness and ridiculousness of unequal rights being provided to gays, and the need to change that. Even now I would not say that I am perfect in my using the proper language or that I fight as much as I should when I see bigotry. I hope to change this.
At the same time, when I read in this thread that children had their schools changed due to the lack of a progressive atmosphere - I find that quite out of line. Unless abuse caused this, a child should be taught the correct point of view, and be willing to support it even when others ridicule this opinion. And those supporters of change are exactly the types needed in these 'backwards' schools. If we had more leaders expressing how unacceptable gay bashing truly is, we could help change our country and improve the lives of those who actually have to face this unfairness. |