The world is too ugly and cruel

[3LB]

I never got the hatred for gay people. I don't pretend to be a crusader for gay rights or have a bunch of gay friends, afaik. I don't pretend to be entirely comfortable around gay couples who are very demonstrative, but then again, I don't like public displays of affection gay or straight.

I was in a bar in Bellingham, WA right after I got out of the Navy. It was a straight bar, but in close proximitey to the college, so there was a contingency of gay and lesbian there as well. I was there with some buddies (who were still in the Navy) on a Saturday and for about the third time in the same bar, I got hit on by a guy. I wasn't offended, as this was the umpteenth time its happened to me (lots of closeted gays in the Navy). This time the dude, though younger than me (I believed) was a tad bit pushy. He was with a "couple" and those two guys were into the PDAs (I think they were also egging their young friend on - the guy eventually to me anyway). One of my buddies saw this happen and he wanted to go raise hell with these guys. He was also discusted with me because I didn't punch the guy who hit on me. On our way out, he tried to call-out the gay guys, he yelled across the bar towards the bartender, "we wouldn't have come here if we knew you let *****s in here". I got mad at him told him to chill the fvck out and shoved me and said, "a guy puts his hand on yer ass and your all smiles, but you tell me to chill?" Then he told me he didn't know I was a f*g and I was lucky I was already out of the Navy. A couple of the other guys with us were perplexed by his behavior, but didn't really admonish him either. Worse yet, the furor the dude was stirring up some of the locals who began flipping the gay guys some crap (they left before we did) That was the last time I saw any of them, and I actually had what I thght was a good friendship with a couple of them.

The point is that no one should have to withdraw into seclusion or pretend to be something they're not just too avoid maltreatment. I don't know of any heterosexual couples who've been in danger of being beaten for PDAs. I don't know any homosexual groups responsible for social attrocities or crimes against humanity. I don't get the fear.

The problem with intolerence and hatred is that when left to fester and grow with no attempt to quell or educate it, it will eventually spill over onto those who think they don't have a 'horse in that race'. Indifference fuels intolerence and neutrality is no shield; the haters don't trust anyone but themselves.

Hatecrime treatment isn't about micro-management, its about education. We need to extricate biggotry out of our society and we do that through education, because after all, we're education into biggotry in the first place.