tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694092506511551308.post5802451272509902137..comments2023-04-12T10:45:21.979-04:00Comments on Deathday Letters: Thoughts About the Documentary BridegroomShaun Hutchinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01480241164653893038noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694092506511551308.post-48525235831086063362014-08-06T08:38:48.789-04:002014-08-06T08:38:48.789-04:00Agreed. And I think exposure can even change the h...Agreed. And I think exposure can even change the hearts of people who aren't bigots. I mean, even growing up I wasn't a very prejudiced person, but I never would have become the fierce ally I am today until it affected me personally because some very important people in my life were LGBTQ. Well, maybe never is too strong a word, I hope I would have felt the way I do regardless, but we'll never know.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694092506511551308.post-1444117730039484082014-07-23T10:37:40.931-04:002014-07-23T10:37:40.931-04:00You know, I think that's actually the way it&#...You know, I think that's actually the way it's going to happen. I mean, all the parades and court cases and everything draw attention to the fight, but the real change happens one person at a time. I remember when I came out at home, and my dad was really uncomfortable. He accepted me, but as a cop, the only gays he came into contact with were the ones he was arresting, so he had a low opinion of gays. I moved away to RI for a couple of years. When I returned, I noticed a change in him. He was asking me if I was going to Pride, he was more interested in my life and seemed much less uncomfortable asking me who I was dating. Come to find out, one of his friends, another cop he respected immensely, had come out. Once my dad realized that gays were people, just like everyone else—that there are good ones and bad ones and silly ones—his whole attitude changed. <br /><br />We see the same thing happening with traditionally conservative politicians. Their worldview changes when they find out they have a child or a sibling or a parent who's gay. <br /><br />I can't count the number of times I've "come out" to someone I've known for a while who's said something like, "You can't be gay, you don't act ." <br /><br />That's why this documentary was so effective. It put a human face on the struggle for equality. People can discuss gay rights and say things like, "I don't think gay should get married because it's a sin." But it's much harder to say things like, "Shane and Tom shouldn't have been allowed to get married because it's a sin." Because how could anyone see their story and not see how in love they were? I don't know how anyone could watch their story and not recognize that they deserve the same rights as everyone else. Shaun Hutchinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01480241164653893038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6694092506511551308.post-51423626501448120102014-07-23T10:17:20.194-04:002014-07-23T10:17:20.194-04:00I hope and pray that the majority of homophobia co...I hope and pray that the majority of homophobia comes from ignorance, and not maliciousness. I honestly believe that the more ignorant people have LGBTQ people come into their lives, and demonstrate that they are ... well "perfectly normal" isn't quite right, but that they are human being just like anyone else, the more ignorant people get to know them, the more ignorant people will realize and accept that love is love.<br /><br />The truly malicious bigots probably cannot be stopped, but hopefully evolution will be rid of them eventually.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.com