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From a purely numbers standpoint, aren't they kind of fight?
Not many gay people were "out" in the 90s. Tons of gay people out today.
So from a recordable numbers standpoint, the number of known gay people HAS gone up drastically since then.
I think the bigger question to that fear mongering would be:
They're not right because they numbers didn't go up from conversion. They went up because people could admit who they are without fear of violence. The true number didn't change, we just became capable of getting a more accurate count.
Right, I think this is the point that the above comment is making as well. That the numbers of publicly/out gay people went up because of a more accurate count thanks to a less hostile sociopolitical climate.
I think the point that's being confused in that comment is that the fear mongering was obviously bullshit, and modern bigots pointing at any increase in LGBTQ+ identification nowadays may continue to use those statistics as justification for anti-LGBTQ+ platforms. Instead of engaging that argument that the hate mongers have always known is in bad faith, it's much more to the point nowadays to make them explain what they think is wrong with increased LQBTQ+ identification, or as the original comment put it, "Yeah, and?"
Thats exactly what I just said though....
No, it isn't. You responded to a comment about conversion and are making it sound like conversion was successful.
I think they were saying conversion may seem successful to some because of how the numbers look.
No, I said thats how the census views it. All the census is, is a collection of numbers without context. 1990s, not that many recorded gay people. Key word RECORDED. Today, much higher. Therefore the census sees a jump. The conservatives tried playing this off as a scare tactic, as "THERES MORE GAY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!!!! AHHHHH!!!!"
And I said my response was
Ah, it came across as thinking they were actually right, that conversion was the reason for the increase. I think that misunderstanding is why you're attracting down votes.
I understood you. I don’t think it’s you, there are many who were never trained in deductive reasoning. It sucks because it limits effective communication.
"We wouldn't have so much Covid in America if we'd quit testing."
Yeah, that tracks.
All those people were always gay though. They're just safe enough now to say it.
My god, the downvotes. Had the same thought. No one was out in the 80s and 90s, I was there. I can see idiots thinking people were converted, hence the rise in numbers.
I think the vast majority of people are saying, "Yeah? And?" People generally don't give a shit any longer. Notice the conservatives aren't banging the gay-hate drum and have pivoted to trans people?
TBF they are often caught banging the gays like drums...they needed a new enemy that they haven't got caught banging repeatedly. So much self-loathing in that party.
...you're either an idiot, or trolling. Either way, you deserve the downvotes.
How am I an idiot for saying that census data shows more people admitting to being gay, and it not being a problem?
Because it’s not that they were “fight” (sic), but that people aren’t as afraid to be honest.
Yeah, obviously. But autism rates are going up because doctors are better at diagnosis and people are more comfortable being identified as different, which some assholes attribute to vaccines. Of course they’re not going to look at higher rates of LGBTQA+ self identification as a sign that people are more comfortable being themselves, but instead as evidence that CRT or fluoride or whatever is at fault and must be banned.
You tripped in a circle jerk and got taken out of context or just misunderstood and pounced on. I am pretty sure everyone in this chain is pro-LGBT or at the very least not homophobic. When passions are high and people are defending a cause close to them, the internet has them trained to go off on a hair-trigger. I catch myself doing it too. Sometimes it is justified when an actual shithead comes in and says some evil stuff, but the friendly fire can be just as brutal. I got banned from a subreddit (and ended up leaving reddit mostly), because a mod that likely shares ideologies with me permabanned me for "being racist" for using the word "criminal" (which they read as "black"). The one person in my life that means everything to me, is black...I am 99% sure I am not racist, and she would SO TELL ME if I was! 🤣 Don't take it personally, and don't let the overzealous push you away.
Here's a story your girlfriend/wife will get a kick out of.
I am white. My whole family is white, however our last name is mostly thought of as a black name.
In the 1960s my grandfather was planning a vacation for the family, which included my dad as a teenager.
So in those days, no internet, phones existed but were a hassle to find the phone numbers for places in other cities as phone books were local only.
So my grandfather writes a check for what it cost for a family vacation in mertle beach. He mailed it directly to the hotel. The hotel had ads on television which told you where to mail the check and how much. You did this months in advance. They mailed you back the list of dates you could reserve for, you mailed back the completed form, they cashed your check, and mailed you back a confirmation letter stating everything was set with your reservation.
At least thats how it's SUPPOSED to work.
My grandfather 5 months ahead of the vacation sends off his correct check, does everything the right way, money in the bank, innitial forms completed, ect ect ect.
Three weeks later he gets his reply from the hotel.
"Dear Mr (Family last name), While we do appriciate your interest in staying at our resort, we do not allow (pretty bad word here, starts with N) at our establishment. Whites only." They also stamped his already filled out check with "VOID", and returned it, ripped in half.
I'm too young to ever known my grandfather. My only memory of him is me in the late 80s his hand dangling off the side of his hospital bed. I remember him talking, but I was shorter than the hospital bed. So I only saw his hand. I'm told that he was a mostly calm individual who just worked his ass off to provide for his family. What made him happy was making others happy. But when he got mad, it was like a tornado. If my dad, or aunts heard him yell, they knew shit was getting real.
So my dad is upstairs in his room as a teenager when my dad got that rejection letter. Suddenly he hears from my grandfather downstairs "ALRIGHT GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE!!! NOW!!!! EVELYN, GET MY CAMERA!!!"
Evelyn was his wife, my grandmother. He NEVER yelled at his wife. He yelled at the kids when they fucked up. He never yelled at his wife. So you better beleive all my aunts and my dad raced down there in an instant to not make things worse. They saw my grandmother setting up a camera. My grandfathers face literally red with anger. None of them saw the letter, so they had no idea who fucked up, or what happened. They just knew not to poke the bear. Lots of "Yes sir. Right away sir." until they could figure out what's happening and why.
"ALRIGHT!!! NOW THAT WE'RE ALL HERE, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A GOD DAMNED FAMILY PHOTO!!! AND WE'RE ALL A HAPPY FAMILY!!! EVERYBODY SMILE!!!"
The way my dad told the story, he was sure even neighbors several houses down were smiling in their own living rooms, to not further anger my grandfather. I'm sure he's exaggerating, but it helps set the mental visual of my family nervously smiling with a pissed off man behind them using a squeeze pump to take a family photo.
He sent back to the original hotel a letter with a copy of the rejection letter. His new letter read:
"Dear (hotel managers name), in light of our recent correspondance, I have included a recently taken family photo. In your rejection letter responding to me, I was informed you do not allow people of color on your grounds. This is a mentality that I cannot tolerate. I will not be seeking any further reservations with your establishment as I do not conduct business with racists. America is a melting pot, with which all men are created equal. We've faught wars over this, both foreign and civil. Our country will not move forward until civil rights and liberties are respected by all for all within our borders. I will seek my family vacation elsewhere."
Included was that photo. Just to show them that despite our last name, everybody WAS white, and it was a white person looking down on their racism.
I know this post was long winded, but you being called a racist by clueless idiots who don't know what they're talking about just reminded me of the story my grandfather had to deal with racists.....who were clueless idiots that didn't know what they were talking about.
And all because people lose their ability to think when dealing with sensitive subjects.
Are not familiar with the right-wing fear mongering about the "Gay Agenda"? Read about it.
What numbers database are you referencing? Is there a GayTaBank somewhere that I need to know about?
I said it multiple times. The census. They know which areas have whom living where. They track all that. And they track when people move in or out, but not context as to why. So from their perspective there's this sudden burst over 20 years of gay people popping up, not realizing they didn't just pop up, or suddenly turn gay. They've always been there, just not recorded as such. So now they have to find ways to explain that. This coming from the same people who explain what happens on this planet as being done by an invisable man in the sky, who controls everything, has all knowledge of all things at all times, but somehow just can't balance a budget He needs money. Always needs money. 10% of your income has to go to the sky man to pay for clouds or something. It's never explained why these tax exempt churches need so much money.
.......and these are the people explaining these shifts in numbers to roughly half the country. Now despite the fact that I would NOT say that half the country is homophobic, their leaders sure are! So even if they personally have nothing against gay people, their politicians used scare tactics for years trying to condition their base to be homophobic. The problem is, they aren''t. At least not overwhelming majorities. So the gay people started coming out. But that goes against the leaders talking points. They couldn't have been gay the whole time, because that would mean they were wrong. If they're wrong, then they have no political power. And so now they have to explain the census data.
There's tons of gay people, coast to coast, and there's no appocolypse. There's no great doom. Nothing happened. And that threatens their position.