{"tag":"bigotry","articles":{"blog\/mythology\/religion-isn-t-really-on-my-mind-anymore":{"key":"blog\/mythology\/religion-isn-t-really-on-my-mind-anymore","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2022-06-03T13:19:48+02:00","publishedAt":"2022-06-03T13:19:48+02:00","group":null,"category":"blog","subcategory":"mythology","slug":"religion-isn-t-really-on-my-mind-anymore"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"religion-isn-t-really-on-my-mind-anymore","title":"Religion isn\u0027t really on my mind anymore","intro":"\u003Cp\u003ERecently, I\u0027m getting approached online by people trying to pick a fight about religion\nand about how terrible I am for not being a fan (to put it mildly).\nWhich surprised me quite a bit, since I honestly don\u0027t remember the last time religion was even properly on my mind,\nlet alone having brought up this topic publicly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cp\u003ERecently, I\u0027m getting approached online by people trying to pick a fight about religion\nand about how terrible I am for not being a fan (to put it mildly).\nWhich surprised me quite a bit, since I honestly don\u0027t remember the last time religion was even properly on my mind,\nlet alone having brought up this topic publicly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESure, it used to haunt me for years. I was brought up very religiously,\nI wasted tons of time in church, on prayers, and on trying to reconcile the scientific knowledge of the world\nwith the massively anti-scientific views presented to me as facts in church and school\n(yes, school, I had more religion lessons in school than biology or physics).\nReligion and the process of freeing my mind of religious thinking, used to be a huge part of my live.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u0027ve spent years on researching other religions and non-religious points of view, making up my mind,\nreverting my conditioning; but now it\u0027s just\u2026 not there anymore.\nNow I can separate facts from mythology, I\u0027m happy to live in a secular country,\nI\u0027m not in touch with the birth family, I haven\u0027t been in a church for years, nor have I been proselytised to (much).\nBasically, the topic of religion became so \u003Cem\u003Eirrelevant\u003C\/em\u003E to me that I needed some internet users looking for a debate\nto remind me that it\u0027s a thing, and one that has shaped me so profoundly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo here\u0027s a thing: I\u0027m happier that way. Openly challenging religion and hearing the same old boring counterarguments\nover and over again was unbeliveably exhausting. And also quite pointless at this point.\nI\u0027ve already said all I wanted to say, I put in writing my reasoning, my anger, my experiences.\nI made sure I had heard everything that could possibly change my mind.\nAnd now I\u0027m basically done \ud83e\udd37\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut\u2026 now that the strong emotions are gone it might be worth pointing out a few things, at least so that people stop bothering me:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJust because I\u0027m not religious and explicitly anti-religion, doesn\u0027t mean I hate religious \u003Cem\u003Epeople\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nI used to be very religious myself, after all \u2013 so I know perfectly well why do people fall for religion.\nIt\u0027s a very enticing scam \u2013 just like astrology, fortune-telling or homeopathy,\nexcept much bigger thanks to passing it on from generation to generation.\nBut speaking out against the scam and the scammers doesn\u0027t mean I hate its victims.\nInforming them about how the scam works and letting out my own frustration about having been scammed in the past\nisn\u0027t the same as hating them.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EI\u0027m absolutely against religious people being persecuted, discriminated against, or having any less rights than anyone else\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nThere are, though, unearned privileges granted to churches in many countries that I\u0027m openly against:\ntax brakes, blasphemy laws, influence on politics, even automatic membership of bishops in the parliament, and more.\nMe saying \u201cthere\u0027s no reason for a church to get a tax break or a for bishop to be guaranteed a seat in the House of Lords\u201d\nisn\u0027t in any way comparable to homophobes calling me slurs, threatening physical violence,\nor legally preventing me from marrying the person I love.\nI get it, me attacking your religion \u003Cem\u003Efeels like\u003C\/em\u003E a personal attack on you \u2013 but it\u0027s not.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReligion isn\u0027t like queerness. It just isn\u0027t.\u003C\/strong\u003E\nI get comments like \u201cyou don\u0027t wanna be attacked for being queer, but you attack religious people?\u201d,\nand it\u0027s such a misplaced comparison. Religion is a belief system, an ideology, an opinion.\nIt\u0027s a subject of debate and criticism.\nTelling a gay person \u201chere are ten reasons why you should stop being gay\u201d would be as pointless\nas explaining to a black person why they should stop being black.\nHowever, persuading people to change their \u003Cem\u003Eopinions\u003C\/em\u003E, including religion, is a perfectly normal thing to do.\nReligious people do it all the time, trying to convert others to their faith!\nYes, it\u0027s possible to discriminate against someone based on their religion,\nand there have been plenty of religious wars and people suffering just because of what they believe in \u2013\nbut me saying \u201cI don\u0027t respect your beliefs, I actually consider them harmful\u201d is nowhere near any of that.\nMe simply saying \u201cI\u0027m not religious, and I believe the society would be better off if nobody was\u201d,\nand explaining why I believe so, is not discrimination.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYes, I do recognise the value of religion in the past, its influence on art, philosophy and even science.\u003C\/strong\u003E\nSure, I\u0027d argue that all of them would probably be perfectly fine, if not better, without the patronage of churches,\nsince the human need to express ourselves and to understand the world around us is universal,\nbut I have to set aside the what-ifs and admit that in the universe we \u003Cem\u003Edo\u003C\/em\u003E live in, the reality has been shaped by religion on a large scale.\nNot just that, I\u0027ll admit that in the past believing in a higher power was actually\u2026 a pretty reasonable thing to do \u2013\nin the absence of better explanations of the world, I\u0027d probably be religious too.\nBut that\u0027s the past. We now live in the world soooo massively different from how it looked like millenia, centuries or even decades ago.\nClinging to outdated belief systems that aren\u0027t compatible with our modern understanding of the universe \u2013\njust because it used to have value in the past \u2013 just doesn\u0027t sound like a good idea to me.\nWe can appreciate the past without still living in it.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYes, I do mean all religions.\u003C\/strong\u003E\nMy personal experience might have been euro- and catholicism-centric,\nbut it\u0027s not like I know nothing about other mythologies; I spent a lot of time in my teens getting acquainted with alternatives,\nfrom different branches of protestantism, to islam, buddhism, taoism or pantheism;\nI was clinging to the religious way of seeing the world while trying to escape the homophobia and dogmatism of catholicism.\nSure, religions are diverse. Some are more queerphobic, others less. Some are more internally consistent, others less.\nSome are more compatible with the scientific facts, others less. Some are more harmful and entitled, others less.\nBut in the big picture they\u0027re all saying the same thing:\n\u201cI claim to know how the world works based on something that ultimately can\u0027t be traced to anything other than some person making it up,\nI can\u0027t provide any convincing proof or evidence for my claims, but you must believe what I\u0027m saying and give me money, or be punished\u201d.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMany people have tried to convince me over the years that I should believe this or that thing.\nAnd honestly, I\u0027m tired of listening to them.\nIf there\u0027s no evidence to what you\u0027re saying, I\u0027m not believing it, simple as that.\nI\u0027m not going to no hell, there\u0027s no samsara, and thunders aren\u0027t cast by Zeus.\nAnd I\u0027m justifiably angry for having been fed those lies in the past by people financially and politically profiting from it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven though I know it wasn\u0027t my fault in any way, I still feel embarrassed and kinda sorry for having been religious.\nThe world would be so much nicer, if we collectively cared more for evidence and reason \u2013\nand I used to be a part of a system actively working against that goal.\nOh well, I did my part trying to counteract that. It was exhausting, and I\u0027m done.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELike, I\u0027m still against religion, I\u0027m still gonna speak up against it if necessary,\nI\u0027m still gonna have an occasional chuckle at its expense \u2013\nbut having taken an hour to write down those afterthoughts above is basically the limit of\nhow much I\u0027m willing to let the topic of religion occupy my mind anymore.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor me, life without religion is amazing \u2013 and that includes flame wars about religion.\nI\u0027m done. Please don\u0027t at me.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["faith","religion","indoctrination","abuse","respect","santa claus","mythology","bigotry","atheism","science"],"hasMore":true,"image":null,"introLite":"\u003Cp\u003ERecently, I\u0027m getting approached online by people trying to pick a fight about religion\nand about how terrible I am for not being a fan (to put it mildly).\nWhich surprised me quite a bit, since I honestly don\u0027t remember the last time religion was even properly on my mind,\nlet alone having brought up this topic publicly.\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cp\u003ERecently, I\u0027m getting approached online by people trying to pick a fight about religion\nand about how terrible I am for not being a fan (to put it mildly).\nWhich surprised me quite a bit, since I honestly don\u0027t remember the last time religion was even properly on my mind,\nlet alone having brought up this topic publicly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESure, it used to haunt me for years. I was brought up very religiously,\nI wasted tons of time in church, on prayers, and on trying to reconcile the scientific knowledge of the world\nwith the massively anti-scientific views presented to me as facts in church and school\n(yes, school, I had more religion lessons in school than biology or physics).\nReligion and the process of freeing my mind of religious thinking, used to be a huge part of my live.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u0027ve spent years on researching other religions and non-religious points of view, making up my mind,\nreverting my conditioning; but now it\u0027s just\u2026 not there anymore.\nNow I can separate facts from mythology, I\u0027m happy to live in a secular country,\nI\u0027m not in touch with the birth family, I haven\u0027t been in a church for years, nor have I been proselytised to (much).\nBasically, the topic of religion became so \u003Cem\u003Eirrelevant\u003C\/em\u003E to me that I needed some internet users looking for a debate\nto remind me that it\u0027s a thing, and one that has shaped me so profoundly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo here\u0027s a thing: I\u0027m happier that way. Openly challenging religion and hearing the same old boring counterarguments\nover and over again was unbeliveably exhausting. And also quite pointless at this point.\nI\u0027ve already said all I wanted to say, I put in writing my reasoning, my anger, my experiences.\nI made sure I had heard everything that could possibly change my mind.\nAnd now I\u0027m basically done \ud83e\udd37\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut\u2026 now that the strong emotions are gone it might be worth pointing out a few things, at least so that people stop bothering me:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJust because I\u0027m not religious and explicitly anti-religion, doesn\u0027t mean I hate religious \u003Cem\u003Epeople\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nI used to be very religious myself, after all \u2013 so I know perfectly well why do people fall for religion.\nIt\u0027s a very enticing scam \u2013 just like astrology, fortune-telling or homeopathy,\nexcept much bigger thanks to passing it on from generation to generation.\nBut speaking out against the scam and the scammers doesn\u0027t mean I hate its victims.\nInforming them about how the scam works and letting out my own frustration about having been scammed in the past\nisn\u0027t the same as hating them.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EI\u0027m absolutely against religious people being persecuted, discriminated against, or having any less rights than anyone else\u003C\/strong\u003E.\nThere are, though, unearned privileges granted to churches in many countries that I\u0027m openly against:\ntax brakes, blasphemy laws, influence on politics, even automatic membership of bishops in the parliament, and more.\nMe saying \u201cthere\u0027s no reason for a church to get a tax break or a for bishop to be guaranteed a seat in the House of Lords\u201d\nisn\u0027t in any way comparable to homophobes calling me slurs, threatening physical violence,\nor legally preventing me from marrying the person I love.\nI get it, me attacking your religion \u003Cem\u003Efeels like\u003C\/em\u003E a personal attack on you \u2013 but it\u0027s not.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReligion isn\u0027t like queerness. It just isn\u0027t.\u003C\/strong\u003E\nI get comments like \u201cyou don\u0027t wanna be attacked for being queer, but you attack religious people?\u201d,\nand it\u0027s such a misplaced comparison. Religion is a belief system, an ideology, an opinion.\nIt\u0027s a subject of debate and criticism.\nTelling a gay person \u201chere are ten reasons why you should stop being gay\u201d would be as pointless\nas explaining to a black person why they should stop being black.\nHowever, persuading people to change their \u003Cem\u003Eopinions\u003C\/em\u003E, including religion, is a perfectly normal thing to do.\nReligious people do it all the time, trying to convert others to their faith!\nYes, it\u0027s possible to discriminate against someone based on their religion,\nand there have been plenty of religious wars and people suffering just because of what they believe in \u2013\nbut me saying \u201cI don\u0027t respect your beliefs, I actually consider them harmful\u201d is nowhere near any of that.\nMe simply saying \u201cI\u0027m not religious, and I believe the society would be better off if nobody was\u201d,\nand explaining why I believe so, is not discrimination.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYes, I do recognise the value of religion in the past, its influence on art, philosophy and even science.\u003C\/strong\u003E\nSure, I\u0027d argue that all of them would probably be perfectly fine, if not better, without the patronage of churches,\nsince the human need to express ourselves and to understand the world around us is universal,\nbut I have to set aside the what-ifs and admit that in the universe we \u003Cem\u003Edo\u003C\/em\u003E live in, the reality has been shaped by religion on a large scale.\nNot just that, I\u0027ll admit that in the past believing in a higher power was actually\u2026 a pretty reasonable thing to do \u2013\nin the absence of better explanations of the world, I\u0027d probably be religious too.\nBut that\u0027s the past. We now live in the world soooo massively different from how it looked like millenia, centuries or even decades ago.\nClinging to outdated belief systems that aren\u0027t compatible with our modern understanding of the universe \u2013\njust because it used to have value in the past \u2013 just doesn\u0027t sound like a good idea to me.\nWe can appreciate the past without still living in it.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYes, I do mean all religions.\u003C\/strong\u003E\nMy personal experience might have been euro- and catholicism-centric,\nbut it\u0027s not like I know nothing about other mythologies; I spent a lot of time in my teens getting acquainted with alternatives,\nfrom different branches of protestantism, to islam, buddhism, taoism or pantheism;\nI was clinging to the religious way of seeing the world while trying to escape the homophobia and dogmatism of catholicism.\nSure, religions are diverse. Some are more queerphobic, others less. Some are more internally consistent, others less.\nSome are more compatible with the scientific facts, others less. Some are more harmful and entitled, others less.\nBut in the big picture they\u0027re all saying the same thing:\n\u201cI claim to know how the world works based on something that ultimately can\u0027t be traced to anything other than some person making it up,\nI can\u0027t provide any convincing proof or evidence for my claims, but you must believe what I\u0027m saying and give me money, or be punished\u201d.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMany people have tried to convince me over the years that I should believe this or that thing.\nAnd honestly, I\u0027m tired of listening to them.\nIf there\u0027s no evidence to what you\u0027re saying, I\u0027m not believing it, simple as that.\nI\u0027m not going to no hell, there\u0027s no samsara, and thunders aren\u0027t cast by Zeus.\nAnd I\u0027m justifiably angry for having been fed those lies in the past by people financially and politically profiting from it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven though I know it wasn\u0027t my fault in any way, I still feel embarrassed and kinda sorry for having been religious.\nThe world would be so much nicer, if we collectively cared more for evidence and reason \u2013\nand I used to be a part of a system actively working against that goal.\nOh well, I did my part trying to counteract that. It was exhausting, and I\u0027m done.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELike, I\u0027m still against religion, I\u0027m still gonna speak up against it if necessary,\nI\u0027m still gonna have an occasional chuckle at its expense \u2013\nbut having taken an hour to write down those afterthoughts above is basically the limit of\nhow much I\u0027m willing to let the topic of religion occupy my mind anymore.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor me, life without religion is amazing \u2013 and that includes flame wars about religion.\nI\u0027m done. Please don\u0027t at me.\u003C\/p\u003E","words":1300,"readTime":6,"lang":"en"}}},"projects\/opinionated-queer-license":{"key":"projects\/opinionated-queer-license","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2021-09-13T18:39:26+02:00","publishedAt":"2021-09-13T18:39:26+02:00","group":null,"links":[{"icon":"gavel","colour":"primary","url":"https:\/\/oql.avris.it","displayUrl":null}],"category":"projects","subcategory":null,"slug":"opinionated-queer-license"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"opinionated-queer-license","title":"Opinionated Queer License","intro":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n                \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n                    \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022230.35072711719\u0022\u003E                \n                \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n                \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022230.35072711719\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n                \n            \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI create lots of things, mostly software, and I put them on the Internet for free.\nAs an author I have the right to decide under which conditions do I waive my copyrights.\nCommon practice is to just pick one of the permissive licenses,\nmany of which aim to maximise the user\u0027s freedom\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut I don\u0027t care.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n                \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n                    \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022960\u0022 height=\u0022460.70145423439\u0022\u003E                \n                \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n                \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022960\u0022 height=\u0022460.70145423439\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n                \n            \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI create lots of things, mostly software, and I put them on the Internet for free.\nAs an author I have the right to decide under which conditions do I waive my copyrights.\nCommon practice is to just pick one of the permissive licenses,\nmany of which aim to maximise the user\u0027s freedom\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut I don\u0027t care.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe whole point of me giving away stuff for free is to make the world a slightly better place \u2013\nso if someone wants to use them for evil, then screw their freedom.\nI\u0027m queer, I\u0027m a member of minoritised communities \u2013 and I can\u0027t just blindly worship \u201cfreedom\u201d\nin a world where so many use their freedom to actively hurt the most vulnerable.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI don\u0027t want my work to be \u003Cem\u003Efreely\u003C\/em\u003E used \u2013 I want it used \u003Cem\u003Efor good\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, my license prohibits any use by big corporations, cops, military, or use in a bigoted or violent way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u0027re free to use it too, just keep in mind that I am not a lawyer.\nThis license is inspired by and based on\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/leftcopy.org\/\u0022\u003ELeftcopy\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/thesocialdomain.org\/\u0022\u003EThe Social Domain\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/firstdonoharm.dev\/\u0022\u003EThe Hippocratic License\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/github.com\/jgrey4296\/acab\/blob\/main\/LICENSE\u0022\u003EACAB License\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/paste.sr.ht\/~boringcactus\/ed023ccf9d7a5559612d6e60f0474d6c3375349d\u0022\u003Ethe fuck around and find out license\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/anticapitalist.software\/\u0022\u003EThe Anti-Capitalist Software License\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\u0022\u003ECC-BY-NC-SA\u003C\/a\u003E,\nand \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/github.com\/jamiebuilds\/license\u0022\u003EJamie Kyle\u0027s MIT License\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["license","queer","human rights","bigotry","copyright","anticapitalism","acab"],"hasMore":true,"image":"https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_small.png","introLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022115.1753635586\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI create lots of things, mostly software, and I put them on the Internet for free.\nAs an author I have the right to decide under which conditions do I waive my copyrights.\nCommon practice is to just pick one of the permissive licenses,\nmany of which aim to maximise the user\u0027s freedom\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut I don\u0027t care.\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/oql_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022115.1753635586\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI create lots of things, mostly software, and I put them on the Internet for free.\nAs an author I have the right to decide under which conditions do I waive my copyrights.\nCommon practice is to just pick one of the permissive licenses,\nmany of which aim to maximise the user\u0027s freedom\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut I don\u0027t care.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe whole point of me giving away stuff for free is to make the world a slightly better place \u2013\nso if someone wants to use them for evil, then screw their freedom.\nI\u0027m queer, I\u0027m a member of minoritised communities \u2013 and I can\u0027t just blindly worship \u201cfreedom\u201d\nin a world where so many use their freedom to actively hurt the most vulnerable.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI don\u0027t want my work to be \u003Cem\u003Efreely\u003C\/em\u003E used \u2013 I want it used \u003Cem\u003Efor good\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, my license prohibits any use by big corporations, cops, military, or use in a bigoted or violent way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u0027re free to use it too, just keep in mind that I am not a lawyer.\nThis license is inspired by and based on\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/leftcopy.org\/\u0022\u003ELeftcopy\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/thesocialdomain.org\/\u0022\u003EThe Social Domain\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/firstdonoharm.dev\/\u0022\u003EThe Hippocratic License\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/github.com\/jgrey4296\/acab\/blob\/main\/LICENSE\u0022\u003EACAB License\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/paste.sr.ht\/~boringcactus\/ed023ccf9d7a5559612d6e60f0474d6c3375349d\u0022\u003Ethe fuck around and find out license\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/anticapitalist.software\/\u0022\u003EThe Anti-Capitalist Software License\u003C\/a\u003E,\n\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\u0022\u003ECC-BY-NC-SA\u003C\/a\u003E,\nand \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/github.com\/jamiebuilds\/license\u0022\u003EJamie Kyle\u0027s MIT License\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","words":203,"readTime":null,"lang":"en"}}},"blog\/society\/too-queer-to-represent-queers":{"key":"blog\/society\/too-queer-to-represent-queers","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2019-12-15T17:21:28+01:00","publishedAt":"2019-12-16T22:36:00+01:00","group":"nonbinary","category":"blog","subcategory":"society","slug":"too-queer-to-represent-queers"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"too-queer-to-represent-queers","title":"Too queer to represent queers?","intro":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n                \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n                    \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022720\u0022\u003E                \n                \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n                \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,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\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_small.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border-bottom\u0022 width=\u0022480\u0022 height=\u0022720\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n                \n            \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s sad, being a member of a minoritised community and seeing some of its members turn against the others. Like in case of that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E twitter discussion\u003C\/a\u003E on whether or not \u201cweird looking\u201d people and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/blog\/too-queer-to-represent-queers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E drag queens\u003C\/a\u003E should be allowed to represent us, or even mention publicly that they are queer, for fear of giving us a bad reputation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be that asshole who answers \u201cno\u201d to this question.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\n                \u003Cnoscript\u003E\n                    \u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022600\u0022 height=\u0022900\u0022\u003E                \n                \u003C\/noscript\u003E\n                \u003Cspan class=\u0022hide-noscript\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABgAAAAkCAYAAACTz\/ouAAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAGfklEQVRIia2WTY9cVxGGnzof93b3dE93z0z8OTghBCEFQySUSARYZBGyy4YVYof4AyDxA1jxE1ixYAVLxCICC0WERBBFiIADDpETktieGbvHHnu6p+f2vfd8FIseTzxISYTDK7VaKl1Vnap6q96SRVXpnTf\/zPALF+lurANwEGFYWj4TVAGwzz\/3zZ\/86hc\/RxX22sx0OmVroYwKoVuWiMhD\/QAUcF\/\/1nPs1IZnnnmK4XgNEUFVMWI+UwIighVB7uzt6YcfXmPQ7yMi1E1N4QuqxYJBv8\/+dIpqxhpLTJHhcEhVVTjnSSnR1DX9QZ8YEzFGHnv0Auvr68eBXEoJY4QQA\/1+n4P5Ac55AJq2xXvHYDDg\/LlzlGX5v2eSclYjQggB7z0xRpxzxx80TfNQjo8DxJRUsyJGHtrJxzoXwanC9rWrzBuOaz1cW8Nad9zwsvAYY+h1yhPZfRpSzsg\/\/t3qL\/\/QkEzLEyuZEJWzz464O1d83bD9+1exOiVT8sTjzzE6P8BmsHsZVxr205T9uCBlw2IRmdXC62+dRlX48Q8s7vZ+5u3Lhwyb22xnR\/AFT18csjtL+Fng8p+u4tMElRVm9fP068QKyr+uZF4ohRv9mp28D0mYHkTuzi2\/fnkDRfjeiwanqiTNKBFF0BSWHLaCcUJoA0ZrjAgvX3mN8\/cKduuS1ckWk\/GTnNocs9WJoBnIlCadKJOD5VQrCcSQEoiAChgHIbbY3ODLgm+cWYXNdZ7FsDG6wGo4RQhbBNNiRIgxEk\/6XwbIQCKiKqSUyQJJlyyIKdDkSBM6LOaRzWrMcK2D1Q53NxLv25rFNGJQFq1St7p8oB4HUFSURCZrJKlAVmIEK9DGgMaI1jW7YYsL70GxcYrp5ufRYSKEgnAnoKoctsp8IegDGRgQ1ICqklFSiohCSKAW2hRowyFp+jZNrHlnveDK2pjJasXiyYIbO9fZunWTOiZiTsQc4YEQDgFEaLOQsxJZ1n+6UE6PheyGwJhpd0x9a4v3tm\/y7e\/\/iNFjAIG\/vfI6B\/szxJVsnL+IKzy93oTQdBAzwiFCTIn9u9uYbAms8O7lW0y2I24tkcoVJvEc+81twodXufClp3n0KY\/rOt7542UmuzvkekpWy3R2G4zD21scyg8gFzgBnPOsDM+Q1bNoI49\/9Qz7o8QXT0Uu\/ewuB7NdUnuApEjRHwFCDpm\/v\/pX2rDApADWkpsDSIlY\/BPTPUBZx4iAWIgal40WSElpGzg8bJjPb5K1QlMFJHpeMFnI0wXbb7+L04wYxcQK6l3EZHI+xOm7yyYbWdJRk5BVURVCUBLwl9+8RJhdR2ONQXCaKLqe3CrdN67ww717uFzjii7GZERaRMBIxoQ3lgvvnTdv6m9\/egl3bwuKAknKha+dYe9uzd5rlxBNmNEaEjOLU6e59eJ3eORzm7T39hnfuMm1rkXKDp3xGGsEsQXWOjCW7z7zyFIPYhOW45vz8v9oUuQ+4Y50VnNGrQMUBTQrxhxJ6\/1tf5+hAoUVXIyJ2aLCiMFagwLCcux9b4VJnek5QRVCFowkHh34T13Vs\/khrtdFUsrK\/19rjrITXEiJSbXHwPcopMDa5T10X0JTzkez+NE5ct92XJ6PQwI3bxfsXH2F\/RvXWXvsBZq2ZXUwYHd2SKfbYzAc4fyyJAOrdMuCmBLeO1a63U\/0H2JEqrrV2d4tZrvXyINNmrYlpUQUh\/EeNCNiSFkZdxyaE8YY6rqhKPzyhjIGRLDGUFUV1jq8d5w9e3YZIKSEs5bJZELKmRgizlnOnTv3UPWPMQLgnOOEgvf6AzplgX9A2OumAYROWZxwMpsfUhaesvjIvqhriqI4cRhIG6LGqsZ2yo89XaqQ6Diz3CufgCXFT8KZrOxceonVRza5c2YNFFJKOO+IMWGtYbfc4OIwEbMHFGsdddOwPhoym89x1jJaHWCMOWYaHDW5jkl\/9951RoMh6\/d2sNZSVRXee7wvaJoakCNKKjEmisITQqDwBW1o8d4jCClnCu8JMVBVC75y8cvLVZFSxjvL+x98gPeeuq6Xx26MIBzPxolyZCXESFkWpLRU+pzz8fm5vrbGaDQ+2eSiKGjbll63h6pSlMXypUVBiomyLJcUThFrLb2jS6IsS2IInD59mk6nc\/IlKWdtQ1RV1dnBXOum1QdRLWpd1I3+N9qX39J8WJ+wzauFxphO2CTnrFkV+2lj\/5D4D3Sp1EZG637hAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC\u0022 data-src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_big.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 class=\u0022border\u0022 width=\u0022600\u0022 height=\u0022900\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n                \u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n                    \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\n                        \u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\n                        twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\n                    \u003C\/a\u003E\n                \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n            \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s sad, being a member of a minoritised community and seeing some of its members turn against the others. Like in case of that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E twitter discussion\u003C\/a\u003E on whether or not \u201cweird looking\u201d people and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/blog\/too-queer-to-represent-queers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csvg class=\u0022icon\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022#light-link\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E drag queens\u003C\/a\u003E should be allowed to represent us, or even mention publicly that they are queer, for fear of giving us a bad reputation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be that asshole who answers \u201cno\u201d to this question.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E gay guy who thought that those \u201ceffeminate\u201d of us shouldn\u2019t really talk loud about their homosexuality \u2013 cause they would only strengthen the stereotypes and make the lives of \u201cus, normal gays\u201d harder to live.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E gay guy who enjoyed drag queen shows and who liked his queen friends personally, but who advocated against them being in drag when they represent the whole LGBTQ+ movement to the rest of the world. I didn\u2019t want the world to think that \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of us are like this.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was so wrong of me.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause our strength comes from diversity. Because our fight doesn\u2019t make sense if we only fight to be safe, and not for the ability to be ourselves. Because our fight doesn\u2019t make sense if we don\u2019t fight for \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of us.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI wasn\u2019t just restricting others \u2013 most of all, I was restricting myself. I\u2019m a nonbinary person, but I\u2019ve spent a huge chunk of my life \u003Cem\u003Epretending\u003C\/em\u003E to be a man, instead of living a fabulous life free of gender norms. All just to make some bigots more \u003Cem\u003Ecomfortable with my existence\u003C\/em\u003E. Well, fuck them.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you want to make the oppressed shape themselves in a way that the oppressor wants them to, you\u2019re playing by their rules, and you\u2019ve already lost. You\u2019re working towards a \u201ccompromise\u201d between bigotry and being oneself, between hatred and happiness \u2013 a compromise that makes everyone unhappy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u2019re valid just the way you are. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019re really worrying so much about the \u003Cem\u003Eimage\u003C\/em\u003E of the community, show the world an image of queer people coming together hand in hand, as \u201cstrange\u201d as they might be, united in diversity \u2013 and not fighting each other who\u2019s the \u003Cem\u003Eright amount of gay\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["acceptance","aliens","being yourself","bigotry","expression","fight","gender norms","inclusivity","lgbtq","non-binary","nonbinary","queer","representation","transgender","weird"],"hasMore":true,"image":"https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_small.png","introLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022360\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s sad, being a member of a minoritised community and seeing some of its members turn against the others. Like in case of that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E twitter discussion\u003C\/a\u003E on whether or not \u201cweird looking\u201d people and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/blog\/too-queer-to-represent-queers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E drag queens\u003C\/a\u003E should be allowed to represent us, or even mention publicly that they are queer, for fear of giving us a bad reputation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be that asshole who answers \u201cno\u201d to this question.\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cfigure\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_big.png\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/image\/lgbalien_mini.png\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 width=\u0022240\u0022 height=\u0022360\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cfigcaption\u003E\n                    \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E\u003Csmall\u003Etwitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u003C\/small\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n                \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s sad, being a member of a minoritised community and seeing some of its members turn against the others. Like in case of that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/natancombigirl\/status\/1205554427324719106\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E twitter discussion\u003C\/a\u003E on whether or not \u201cweird looking\u201d people and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avris.it\/blog\/too-queer-to-represent-queers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022\u003E drag queens\u003C\/a\u003E should be allowed to represent us, or even mention publicly that they are queer, for fear of giving us a bad reputation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be that asshole who answers \u201cno\u201d to this question.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E gay guy who thought that those \u201ceffeminate\u201d of us shouldn\u2019t really talk loud about their homosexuality \u2013 cause they would only strengthen the stereotypes and make the lives of \u201cus, normal gays\u201d harder to live.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI used to be \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E gay guy who enjoyed drag queen shows and who liked his queen friends personally, but who advocated against them being in drag when they represent the whole LGBTQ+ movement to the rest of the world. I didn\u2019t want the world to think that \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of us are like this.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was so wrong of me.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause our strength comes from diversity. Because our fight doesn\u2019t make sense if we only fight to be safe, and not for the ability to be ourselves. Because our fight doesn\u2019t make sense if we don\u2019t fight for \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of us.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI wasn\u2019t just restricting others \u2013 most of all, I was restricting myself. I\u2019m a nonbinary person, but I\u2019ve spent a huge chunk of my life \u003Cem\u003Epretending\u003C\/em\u003E to be a man, instead of living a fabulous life free of gender norms. All just to make some bigots more \u003Cem\u003Ecomfortable with my existence\u003C\/em\u003E. Well, fuck them.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you want to make the oppressed shape themselves in a way that the oppressor wants them to, you\u2019re playing by their rules, and you\u2019ve already lost. You\u2019re working towards a \u201ccompromise\u201d between bigotry and being oneself, between hatred and happiness \u2013 a compromise that makes everyone unhappy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou\u2019re valid just the way you are. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019re really worrying so much about the \u003Cem\u003Eimage\u003C\/em\u003E of the community, show the world an image of queer people coming together hand in hand, as \u201cstrange\u201d as they might be, united in diversity \u2013 and not fighting each other who\u2019s the \u003Cem\u003Eright amount of gay\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","words":382,"readTime":2,"lang":"en"}}},"blog\/society\/homophobia-is-the-new-racism":{"key":"blog\/society\/homophobia-is-the-new-racism","type":"article","published":true,"meta":{"createdAt":"2019-08-12T13:37:50+02:00","publishedAt":"2019-08-12T20:34:00+02:00","group":null,"category":"blog","subcategory":"society","slug":"homophobia-is-the-new-racism"},"content":{"en":{"slug":"homophobia-is-the-new-racism","title":"Homophobia is the new racism","intro":"\u003Cp\u003EHomophobes get offended when I compare their anti-LGBTQ bigotry to racism.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGood.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","content":"\u003Cp\u003EHomophobes get offended when I compare their anti-LGBTQ bigotry to racism.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGood.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe analogy holds: both homophobia and racism are basically taking one harmless quality of a person (be it skin colour or sexual orientation) and using it to divide the population into the privileged and the discriminated group.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s only two differences:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne: people can hide their sexual orientation and gender identity in order to partially avoid the discrimination \u2013 people of colour generally don\u2019t have such option.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd second: while racism is almost universally considered evil and shameful, homophobia is sometimes regarded just an \u201copinion\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, when you call out their anti-LGBTQ bigotry as being not that different from racism, they understand how insulting a racist label is, yet they cannot find any explanation to why they are any different from one.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey aren\u2019t. And maybe this comparison will make them understand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Csvg xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\u0022 style=\u0022display: none;\u0022\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E","tags":["bigotry","discrimination","homophobia","lgbtq","racism","tolerance"],"hasMore":true,"image":null,"introLite":"\u003Cp\u003EHomophobes get offended when I compare their anti-LGBTQ bigotry to racism.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGood.\u003C\/p\u003E","contentLite":"\u003Cp\u003EHomophobes get offended when I compare their anti-LGBTQ bigotry to racism.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGood.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe analogy holds: both homophobia and racism are basically taking one harmless quality of a person (be it skin colour or sexual orientation) and using it to divide the population into the privileged and the discriminated group.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s only two differences:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne: people can hide their sexual orientation and gender identity in order to partially avoid the discrimination \u2013 people of colour generally don\u2019t have such option.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd second: while racism is almost universally considered evil and shameful, homophobia is sometimes regarded just an \u201copinion\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, when you call out their anti-LGBTQ bigotry as being not that different from racism, they understand how insulting a racist label is, yet they cannot find any explanation to why they are any different from one.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey aren\u2019t. And maybe this comparison will make them understand.\u003C\/p\u003E","words":146,"readTime":null,"lang":"en"}}}}}