This, my friends, is brilliant:
The above,
anonymous post -- which made its way to me via Reddit -- is brilliant because it cuts to the core like a sharpened blade, piercing the issue with swift, efficient strokes.
But the word itself...
It's interesting to note that "homophobia" was coined by the (heterosexual) psychologist George Weinberg in the late 60s. As applied to heterosexuals, the word referred to a specific fear. As Gregory Herek of UC Davis notes:
Weinberg used homophobia to label heterosexuals' dread of being in close quarters with homosexuals...The word first appeared in print in 1969 and was subsequently discussed at length in Weinberg's 1972 book, Society and the Healthy Homosexual.
Weinberg intended for this fear of homosexuals to be identified as a phobia. However, the connection between fear and hatred is often inextricable, and today homophobia clearly refers not just to a fear of gays and lesbians, but a hatred as well. In fact, the ADL
makes this distinction, defining homophobia as either a fear
or a hatred, both of which often inspire violent reactions, discriminatory policies and theology-based bigotry.
I guess one could debate whether it's either or both simultaneously -- whether fear is the root of hatred or vice versa.
Personally, I'd love to see every homophobe treated by the medical establishment as though they were suffering from a horrible malady.
But since that's not happening, I'll just go along with the anonymous poster, and call them what they are: fucking assholes.
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