by Daniel Relph

Created on: April 05, 2010   Last Updated: April 07, 2010

To prevent and fight homophobia we must first understand what homophobia is. The Encarta Dictionary defines homophobia as, “an irrational hatred, disapproval, or fear of homosexuality, gay and lesbian people, or their culture.” The same dictionary defines phobia as, “an irrational or very powerful fear and dislike of something such as spiders or confine spaces.” In the science of psychiatry phobias are looked upon as a disabling mental illness and the list of phobias include, Aquaphobia (fear of water), Claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces), Gephyrophobia (fear of bridges), Xenophobia (fear of strangers, foreigners or aliens), and many more. There is even an affliction called Phobophobia (fear of having a phobia.)

As you can see the definition of the phobia called homophobia is broader than the definition of phobias that are mental illnesses. The definition of homophobia also includes “disapproval.” The word “disapproval” is a political tag that only has meaning in the rhetoric used to further the gay community’s agenda. The word “disapproval” reflects the cultural values in the diverse population of the United States. Many of our cultures feel that all people should participate in the conception and raising of children in the family settings; many parents especially feel their children should have children and feel that a homosexual life style is a threat to these values. There are also many religions that feel that homosexuality is immoral. The moral values of the cultures found in the United States are as diverse as the people. There are many culture values that reflect the morals of the segments of our population. In our diverse population there are segments that think it is immoral to do many legally sanctioned things. Some are against drinking alcohol, others are against eating meat, gambling is frowned upon by others, animal rights people are against wearing furs and there are many more; some even think it is immoral to drive large SUVs.

Homophobia is not the problem; the affliction is much broader; and, homosexuals are only a part of the targeted groups. The trouble comes from people that think they should impose their cultural values on other people with violence. Taking a hatchet into a bar and breaking up the fixtures is no longer tolerated even by the so called “Born Again Christians:” but blowing up a Humvee dealership is now in tacitly approved by the group many call

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>