Gay? So what?

Today, I read on Twitter about someone who shouted “disgusting” at a gay male couple, who were walking along holding hands. I believe it was in an area in London that gay people often frequent. I read it with an equal measure of amusement and annoyance, because with the advancement of time, there has been an acceptance that we are not all the same. As we progress, we learn and understand human behaviour better than we used to, and we have a greater tolerance towards minorities as we evolve and develop within society.

Same humans, different biology.

A lack of acceptance in this day and age, when we have become more enlightened in matters of sexual orientation, is like living in the past. When people cite religion as reason to condemn anyone who is different, my religious tolerance diminishes. I am tolerant of every religion, as long as those religions are based on love, not hate.

We don’t have a choice as to what we are born as.

In the school playground, when a bully targets another child, they will often encourage other children to join in, on the implication that the child is different somehow. In adult society we have “Othering”.

Othering is a phenomenon in which some individuals or groups are defined and labelled as not fitting in within the norms of a social group. It is an effect that influences how people perceive and treat those who are viewed as being part of the in-group versus those who are seen as being part of the out-group.

People who have the playground bullying mentality, are the same type of people who cause the persecution of marginalized groups.

Some people, frown upon same-sex marriages, and I wonder why that is. The purpose of life is to love and be loved. It is only because of love that the world survives. If there was only the destructive influence of hateful oppression, humanity would not be able to continue.

So, coming back to the hand-holding couple, does their behaviour bother me in any way? No. Do hateful people who are spiteful and oppressive towards other people in society bother me? Yes.

Every man and every woman is entitled to whatever happiness they can get in this difficult world, and be who they really are without being persecuted.