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Isn't it amazing how quick public opinion is changing in favor of us?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by MassiveExtract, Sep 1, 2014.

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Who caused the change?

  1. Obama and his peeps.

    1 vote(s)
    2.6%
  2. Young squirtles are more tollerant.

    15 vote(s)
    39.5%
  3. The media has been invidaded by gays.

    3 vote(s)
    7.9%
  4. Truth - less religious fanatics. Much less

    14 vote(s)
    36.8%
  5. More gay people are being born? Think about it.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  6. Other

    5 vote(s)
    13.2%
  1. MassiveExtract

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    It doesn't matter if you're in Ireland, Australia, U.K, France, etc... public opinion on gay marriage, and gays in general has been changing at a rapid pace. I remember ten years ago how nobody spoke in a good manner about gays, at least, where I live. Now, although some do still have negative views toward us, the majority don't seem to care.

    I have a friend of mine that hates how things are, because of the intolerance, and yet I always tell her, "Has there ever been a better time to be gay, when right before your eyes, unlike any other point in history things are drastically changing? Honestly, this is probably on of the best times to be gay in my opinion, because when we look back historically, it'll just be like reminiscent of the 1960's for blacks, stonewall was just the beginning.

    What do you think caused this change, at least in Western civilization? In my opinion it's probably the media, and government. In my country, ever since Ricky Martin came out it has opened the way for everybody else. Suddenly people saw the biggest public figure in Puerto Rico as a good, honest and amazing human being. Now the government is supporting it, the news media is supporting it and young people - a more open generation is accepting.

    I think opening up, has made people realize that a lot of people are gay. Most of my straight friends were a bit at an oddness with gays, until I came out and suddenly I'm noticing a web of support from them. Hell, one used to be anti-gay marriage, no he thinks they should be happy.

    (!)
     
    #1 MassiveExtract, Sep 1, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2014
  2. Wuggums47

    Wuggums47 Guest

    I really wanted to vote Obama and his peeps, but the truth is that the intolerant people are slowly being replaced by a young generation of hippies. Soon the whole world will support the "gay agenda".
     
  3. One Man Army

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    Surely this is the end of Western civilization as we know it

    [/tongueincheek]
     
  4. QueerTransEnby

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    Around here, we have a looong ways to go.
     
  5. OGS

    OGS
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    I think it snowballs. The better it gets the more people come out. The more people who come out the more people see that for the most part we are awesome and mow our lawns (which is all people in the suburbs really care about:lol:slight_smile:.

    Seriously one of the leading indicators of how accepting someone is of gay people is the number of openly gay people they interact with on a regular basis (when I have the occasion to either be open with someone about being gay or not I always think that the next time someone says something awful to them about gay people I want them to think in the back of their mind, hmm I bet that's not true of that nice young man at the bank, maybe it's just not true at all...). The more open we are the more accepting people become. The more accepting people become the easier it is for even more people to be open. The easier it is to be open the more people are open, and so on and so on.

    It is truly amazing the progress we've made in the twenty-some-odd years I've been out...
     
  6. Argentwing

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    It's because people from Gen X and Y are replacing the boomers in positions of influence as far as I can tell. The trappings of previous eras are going away. Ever so slowly in some places, but the wheels are turning and it makes me happy.
     
  7. BryanM

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    It's a mixture of a lot of things.

    - Pres. Obama being the first sitting President to support LGBT Rights is a major victory and watershed moment, and him defeating Governor Romney in 2012 helped seal the fate of Section 3 of DOMA in 2013.
    - Young people are far more tolerant than the older generations of X, Baby Boomers, and Silents.
    - LGBT people are far more influential in the media.
    - People are becoming more and more fed up of religious dogma.
     
  8. HM03

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    I'm happy about it :grin: I'd like a little more positive attention on trans*, and other less accepted sexuality and gender identities though :slight_smile:
     
  9. Stripe101

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    It doesn't matter if young people are more tolerant. People base beliefs of of what they're taught. It's the media.
     
  10. resu

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    I would say it's because more people are coming out, not just celebrities but "normal" people (and everyone realizing that LGBT people are everywhere), and the legal restrictions are being dismantled. First it was the laws against homosexuality, and now same-sex marriage is a real possibility.
     
  11. Damien

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    Yes. My eldest daughter, says that at her school, if anyone makes a homophobic comment, they are usually quickly chastised for it by their peers. When the current lot of youth are the ones running our societies, I believe things will be a lot better for us lgbt folks. The tide is definitely turning.
     
  12. PICollins91

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    Kind of a mix of all the poll choices really, people's perception of other people often change when they actually get to know them.
     
  13. stocking

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    I think people who actually came out and weren't scared to and also people realizing their friends were gay and weren't the scary mothers they thought they were .
     
  14. Fallingdown7

    Fallingdown7 Guest

    It's amazing how far we've come. We still have a ways to go, but there has been a lot of progress in recent years.
     
  15. Damien

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    Yeah, they realized that being gay or lesbian isn't contagious...you can hang out with one and not end up that way yourself hehe. In other words, yes we are safe to be around, we don't bite :icon_bigg
     
  16. Wooly

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    Yes! That's why I believe coming out is so important. Most of my friends hadn't been very exposed to LGBT people until I came out. Now they are completely supportive of gay rights and are more careful with what they say. I feel like the biggest and most important influence I can have right now on LGBT rights is through coming out to my school and extended family (I'll do it in the next few months, I hope). People are starting to realize that gay people are everywhere and they aren't bad people.
     
  17. MCairo

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    Well, younger generations tend to be more tolerant towards gay people, at least in the West, maybe because they have more access to information.
    Also, the media has been playing a major role in this. Movies, TV series (in my country, brazilian soap operas) and the news have been showing lots of gay characters and support for the movement.
    All this creates a positive feedback, because this encourages many to come out, and more people coming out means that more people will get used to it.
     
  18. daisy448

    daisy448 Guest

    Nowadays were less reliant on the church so there are more children growing up thinking it's ok :slight_smile:
     
  19. Hexagon

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    It's really rather simple. Support reaches a critical mass, then homophobic attitudes become unsustainable. Bit like a lump of radioactive uranium. Although in the case of social trends, homophobia will remain in a pretty small section of the population for quite a long time, probably until the concept is unheard of. Also, despite the fact that a majority of people won't be openly hostile, and will say they support queer rights, there will remain a pretty much subconscious current of homophobia that will take some time to eradicate.

    We'll make it eventually. It's just the way things work. Things change, and people will find other things to hate.
     
  20. CongoColorado

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    I'm going with less religious fanatics.