Hey. Hey. You there. Look at me. I want you to understand something.
The number one reason you hate something is because you were taught to by someone else who was also taught to by someone else. No one is born with hatred for any one person or group of people. Hatred is taught.
And just like anything else, it can be unlearned. You just need to choose to do so.
No one else can make you choose to not hate. You have to make that choice.
And if the only reason you continue to choose hatred is because they’re different from you, I need you to grow up. We’re all different. That’s what makes humanity pretty fuckin cool. We get to be different and unique and awesome. You do not get to hate just because you refuse to learn and understand. You do not get to be a bigot because you’re ignorant. Your hatred has consequences, it teaches you and those you, willingly or not, pass your hatred onto, that the only correct way to live is your way. It strips you of empathy and enforces a belief that other people are lesser than you because you do not agree with them. It makes you believe that we live in a you vs them world, when the reality is that they just want to live in peace. And other people will use your hatred, they will weaponize it. They will bait and enrage you, and use you to do their bidding. They will convince you that this inhuman “them” is a threat to your children and that they are against “us”, and push you to act violently. They will feed you lies, they will gain your trust so that they may effortlessly manipulate you. They will take even the smallest sign of dislike, and find a way to twist it into full blown, violent hatred.
And I know, because I have watched it happen. Because it almost happened to me. Because the day I discovered that I was lesbian, was the hardest, scariest day of my life. Because I had to confront all of the lies, all of my anger, all of my preconceived notions and all of the hate I had been taught, and ask myself in a tiny voice, “what do I do now?” And I had to learn the hard way, why I was taught to hate. I had to teach myself how to leave those lies behind, had to relearn everything I thought I knew. Had to relearn how to love myself.
And I had to choose to not hate. I didn’t get there alone, far from it, but it was a choice that only I could make.
All of this to say, stop being a hateful bitch because you don’t understand gay people. Drink some water, read a book, learn something new, and have a lovely day. Happy Pride Month.