Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Noah Michelson has a piece up over at Huffington Post with a simple checklist to determine if one is anti-gay.

So, to clear up any confusion, here’s an easy test to see if you’re anti-gay:

•  If you have a gay friend (or sister or coworker or…) but still think that queer people should not be able to get married, then you are anti-gay.
• If you’re fine with queer people as long as you don’t have to see them kissing or holding hands, then you are anti-gay.
• If you don’t have anything against queer people but wouldn’t want a gay man leading your son’s scout troop, then you are anti-gay.
• If you think that inside queer people there is anything lurking — however small — that causes us to have any less integrity or humanity than straight people have, then you are anti-gay.

Basically, if you’ve got an issue with queer people and whom or how we love or live or get off — whether you’re a grandma in Detroit or the Pope in the Vatican — then you’re anti-gay. 

I can’t argue with Noah, because it is the insidious tendrils of intolerance that chip away at our self-respect and confidence, things I’ve described before like being told to “tone down the gay” for example. I “tolerate” a lot of “tolerance” (is that even a thing?) from people that I care about – I make excuses and justifications and get all excited over small signs of progress.

But the key is that I look for progress. Now that all of our grandparents have passed, there’s simply no more excuses for arguments about older generations whom we never expect to budge in their resistance to equality. Religion is not an excuse, age is not an excuse, ethnicity is not an excuse (hello, Russia) and fear is not an excuse.

Check out the rest of Noah’s essay for other excellent points.