| monocle_layton said:
I wonder how many people would still be homophobic after such an event. If he is capable of changing his views, then I hope more people do as well. |
Well given he said he apologized while she was alive it seems that he did change his mind much earlier, but this also would have happened in a time where it was absolutely normal to still be publicly homophobic so one father's acceptance just wasn't enough.
That's the thing with entrenched views and beliefs that you've held your whole life and are shared by your community, though: they almost always go completely unchallenged until you personally have cause to reevaluate them, as the people around you only reinforce your preconceptions.
That's the sad thing I've seen many times with kids who came out in the past (still happens today, but less often), as their parents' knee-jerk reaction was often to reject it and attempt to "fix" them. Generally, the parents come around rather quickly once they've had time to digest what has happened and realize they love their kid far more than some unfounded hostility towards homosexuals that had been drilled into them from the time they were born. The end result is often that former "apathetic" homophobes become some of the most ardent supporters of that community, as they feel the need to protect their kids from the homophobes they know from personal experience are myriad in their communities.
The one time I can say I personally experienced something like this was my former apathy towards the drug-addicted, as once I'd had friends and family go through it and I saw how easy it is to fall into and how difficult it is to get out I realized my previous view was simply lazy and convenient so that I didn't have to take their plight seriously. Sometimes it requires that personal experience as it otherwise doesn't even occur to you to reconsider your views.
Last edited by Johnw1104 - on 12 December 2017
