Understanding Bigotry

          Just yesterday I was able to attend, for the first time in my life, the Gay Pride Parade here in my native city. To say that it was heartwarming would be a terrible understatement. It brought me a profound amount of joy to see so many people lined up on both sides of the road cheering on a notion that in so many places in the world is still considered to be evil. There were men, women, children and all people in-between that flocked out by the hundreds (dare I say, thousands) to celebrate the freedom to express your love for anyone. It was a good reminder that it isn't just rebellious or alternative youth that support other sexualities, but people from all walks of life. People from every pay grade and age. As I walked up and down each of the sidewalks, did cartwheels and round-offs in the street, and climbed atop most anything it was legal to climb on (and a few things that I was informed were not) I had a huge smile on my face that I couldn't have shaken if I had wanted.

           One particular moment did not fill me with so much joy and contentment, however. At one point while I stood at the corner of the street that was more or less acting as the starting line for the parade, a man biked up beside me and asked: “Hey, what's all this about?” I responded, somewhat distractedly, that it was the Gay Pride Parade. He immediately grumbled a string of what sounded like curses and then biked down the only way that would take him away from the parade. Now, I don't mean to sound harsh, but fuck that guy. Fuck him in his smug face.

          Some of the more perceptive in the audience might have noticed that the title for this post is “Understanding Bigotry”. I'd like to state from the outset that I don't. That's the point. And I don't mean that in a condescending, “I am better than you” or “I am so much more open minded and learned than you” sort of way. I mean it in the very basic and simple way of I don't understand the function of it. I cannot grasp the notion of hating someone based on the fact that they are attracted to the same gender. It does not fit into my paradigm. It quite literally makes no sense to me. Ignorance of that manner baffles me. I can understand being influenced by the notions of your parents. I can understand being pushed in certain directions of thought based on the ideas that you are surrounded by in your youth. I can understand going with the flow. This all makes sense to me. This is all fairly natural behaviour. What doesn't make sense to me is when an individual is confronted with compelling evidence to disprove those notions, and they still do not. When I have been shown something that makes a notion of mine appear false, I am forced to question it. When I have been shown something that disproves something I thought true, I have no choice but to accept that. Because that is how my brain functions. I cannot understand how people can believe that they should dislike a homosexual based on the words of the bible when there is so much evidence mounted against the credibility of the book. Not even the credibility of the book, but just the hypocrisy of following that phrase and not countless others. But this is unimportant. It is not useful or interesting to repeat once more the most common (although common for good reason) defences against the biblical hate of homosexuals; with the exception of perhaps one person, I am not at all concerned with the thoughts of people who need those to be rehashed or clarified. My point is that I cannot grasp the notion that one can continue to believe something that is obviously nonsensical, and inherently cruel.

          This extends to a great many other things in my life. I don't understand how it is possible for people to hold on to easily dis-proven notions. I don't get how people can manage to put so little thought into something that they are able to labour under such delusions. I cannot rap my head around how people can let false or flimsy ideas change their perception of another human being's worth. I wish that I had something more constructive to say, but really that's all. I simply can't see where they are coming from, and it makes me angry.

~Patches