What gets me is that these kinds of people don't seem to understand that LGBTQ+ are just people. Their neighbor's kid could be gay, their own son could be trans, or their longtime friend of 40 years could be queer.

LGBTQ+ are not "others", they are us. Banning books, making homosexuality illegal, taking away health care options from them won't "make the gay go away". It's just something that happens, even in super oppressive states.

Ultra conservatives aren't just jerks, they're also stupid.

[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

LGBTQ+ people exist, have always existed, and will always exist. If they have always existed then their existance is normal. There is nothing that anyone can do to change that.

If the 7% of us that are LGBTQ+ are abnormal are the 2% of people with naturally red hair abnormal? Are the 2% with naturally blonde hair abnormal? The 8% with blue eyes?

[–] Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

They absolutely understand. Right wing ideology needs to "other" people to work. They need a scapegoat that people can fear, feel superior to, look down on, or just hate. There is no better motivator than allowing people to hate, and not feel judged for it.

LGBTQ+, specifically trans people, are the best scapegoat right now. They don't have the numbers to defend themselves. For the most part, people associate with people like themselves, thus hateful people associate with hateful people so a lot of them have never knowingly interacted with a trans person so they're easy to manipulate into believing lies told about them.

This is precisely why the right pushes for book bans. It's not about banning books, or protecting kids, it's about controlling knowledge. You know what happens when you learn about something you fear? You start to understand that thing, and in turn begin to fear it less because you understand it.

The right wants you scared. Scared people don't make rational decisions.