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> "I like gay people a lot" A little off topic from your post, but this is one of those gross generalizations that just actually portrays you as not getting th

by leokun 13y ago

> "I like gay people a lot" A little off topic from your post, but this is one of those gross generalizations that just actually portrays you as not getting the gist of the problem with bigotry. "gay people" are not a homogeneous group of like-minded people. Discrimination against sexual orientation or being transgendered is a sad and unfortunate injustice, but these are simply traits shared by a diverse set of people. In this world there is a wide range of many wonderful people and horrible people and everyone in between. The distribution of sexual preference has nothing to do with where they end up in that range. Each person is an individual actor, and not a representative for others who they may share a trait with, but when you say you "like gay people a lot" it is obvious you don't understand that. In fact, it seems kind of a bigoted, ignorant thing to say, even if you didn't mean to say anything mean.

deleted 13y ago
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Tloewald 13y ago
Clumsily said but the point - don't be a dick — is valid. I take it to mean "I have nothing against gay people although I don't really know any". It's funny because the opposite clumsy-ism is "some of my best friends are..." With the idea you can be a total douche towards some group but it's Ok because you're nice to the ones you actually know.
chrischen 13y ago
> A little off topic from your post, but this is one of those gross generalizations that just actually portrays you as not getting the gist of the problem with bigotry. leokun, he never stated that. I think you read too much into his statement. When people say "I like x a lot," they really mean "I like most of x a lot that I have met." Seeing as you probably don't know the guy/girl, you really can't say if he can legitimately form that opinion. Thought experiment: what if rdl has in fact met many gay people and liked them. Would you still call him a bigot for saying that? rdl was simply stating a fact. He should not be scolded for stating a fact of his personal preference. Gay people aren't homogeneous, but they do share similar traits (being attracted to men being only one of them). So it's not unlikely someone can like certain things about gay people as a whole. The argument that saying you "like gay people a lot" is bad is almost as inane as saying "I'm not racist—I don't see colors"—you'd be blatantly ignoring the uniqueness and distinctness of human peoples and ignoring the fact that it's not that we're not different, it's that we shouldn't treat each other unfairly because of inconsequential differences. Finally, "I like gay people a lot" is a subjective generalization. It's not really in your authority to judge what type of opinions he should or should not be forming because it is possible that he has met many many gay people and have liked them all. The statement by itself is not really harmful or insensitive, but I agree it can imply that the person who's saying it is naive about gay people and what they're like. That's probably where you saw the bigotry, but it was merely a projection. However, it's not proof that the he/she is naive about gay people. I think you made a logical mis-leap and inferred his bigotry from statements many actual bigots do make. The OP could either have been 1) Has not met many gay people. Therefore he is making a subjective generalization. But this doesn't affect anyone else but himself. 2) Has met many gay people and likes them. Therefore he is not really even making a generalization, but simply stating a fact of personal opinion. In neither of your cases is your scolding really warranted though, but what's even worse is you don't even know which case it is in the first place. You're also diverting attention from the real issues, and from real bigots by focusing on this, and encouraging people to focus on this.

by leokun 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

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Tloewald 13y ago

Clumsily said but the point - don't be a dick — is valid. I take it to mean "I have nothing against gay people although I don't really know any". It's funny because the opposite clumsy-ism is "some of my best friends are..." With the idea you can be a total douche towards some group but it's Ok because you're nice to the ones you actually know.

chrischen 13y ago

> A little off topic from your post, but this is one of those gross generalizations that just actually portrays you as not getting the gist of the problem with bigotry. leokun, he never stated that. I think you read too much into his statement. When people say "I like x a lot," they really mean "I like most of x a lot that I have met." Seeing as you probably don't know the guy/girl, you really can't say if he can legitimately form that opinion. Thought experiment: what if rdl has in fact met many gay people and liked them. Would you still call him a bigot for saying that? rdl was simply stating a fact. He should not be scolded for stating a fact of his personal preference. Gay people aren't homogeneous, but they do share similar traits (being attracted to men being only one of them). So it's not unlikely someone can like certain things about gay people as a whole. The argument that saying you "like gay people a lot" is bad is almost as inane as saying "I'm not racist—I don't see colors"—you'd be blatantly ignoring the uniqueness and distinctness of human peoples and ignoring the fact that it's not that we're not different, it's that we shouldn't treat each other unfairly because of inconsequential differences. Finally, "I like gay people a lot" is a subjective generalization. It's not really in your authority to judge what type of opinions he should or should not be forming because it is possible that he has met many many gay people and have liked them all. The statement by itself is not really harmful or insensitive, but I agree it can imply that the person who's saying it is naive about gay people and what they're like. That's probably where you saw the bigotry, but it was merely a projection. However, it's not proof that the he/she is naive about gay people. I think you made a logical mis-leap and inferred his bigotry from statements many actual bigots do make. The OP could either have been 1) Has not met many gay people. Therefore he is making a subjective generalization. But this doesn't affect anyone else but himself. 2) Has met many gay people and likes them. Therefore he is not really even making a generalization, but simply stating a fact of personal opinion. In neither of your cases is your scolding really warranted though, but what's even worse is you don't even know which case it is in the first place. You're also diverting attention from the real issues, and from real bigots by focusing on this, and encouraging people to focus on this.