Gay men in Ivory Coast attacked nightclub in Florida

Gay guy here. I spent many years in the closet. I didn't come out until my mid-20s. Prior to then, I was terrified at the idea of being gay. I couldn't fathom it and avoided confronting the reality as I thought my life would essentially be over. And I had these feelings despite the fact that I was a very liberal, open-minded guy who was very pro-LGBT.Now, imagine if I hadn't been gay. I'd likely still harbour that "fear" of the idea of it on some level. I just wouldn't have had to confront or overcome it. And I think that is exactly what most bigots are driven by. They have the fear but no reason to confront it.

I hope that your life is better now that you came out and agree completely, too bad the human condition hasn't developed to a point where everyone realises that our petty fights over non existent lines that we drew are inherently worthless and (like you said) I don't see that changing for a long time unless something big happens that everyone sees. Whether it's aliens or infinite free power or a complete removal of money. Something big has to change to stop something that you could argue is hard wired to all species. Fear of the Unknown, fear of change and difference that fundamental fear that saved us from dangerous animals hundreds of thousands of years ago it is strange that we haven't left it behind yet like we have done with so much else while it causes so much strife and damage. Only when it's gone will we as a species be truly enlightened as much as we say we are.

Because religion. I grew up "hating" gay sex because I was taught to be Lutheran. The older I got the more I realized I don't give a shit one way or another. It started out as a general disdain for homosexuality because my religion taught me how sinful it was (which, in the defense of Christians, being gay is sinful. It only matters whether you take the concept of "sinning" seriously), then it turned into supporting domestic partnerships as long as they don't call it marriage, and now...well now I really couldn't care less. I'm what they call a "bad" Christian. I don't go to church, I don't pray, but I believe in a higher being. Well, if I allow myself to cherry-pick what rules I follow then I can't really use "the bible said it's wrong" excuse when it comes to gay marriage. Eventually I just realized it has 0 effect on me.

In Africa there's a ton of negative propaganda about gay people. And in the US it's actually a very similar situation. While it's 'a sin' is the excuse a lot of people use, it's actually that a lot of people don't understand gay people. For a variety of reasons that are too complex to go into without multiple paragraphs, they have odd beliefs about gay people above all, that Gays do unnatural things. Unnatural = bad.We also got marriage equality at a moment when marriage's significance and power as a social institution is declining. Fewer people are getting married and it's increasingly an upper middle class+ phenomenon.