Even those that would defend an individual group's “rights” often attack those that would try to keep it from them. My own belief on this is that it is exactly that attacking-nature that is the problem with society, not the subject of the attacks, and this is true no matter which side is the perpetrator. It's like we've not learnt a single thing from those destructive cold-war years, but instead of countries it's sexual orientations that look at each other with a kind of suspicion and mistrust that can only come from the most complete and disempowering state of ignorance that is possible. If ever we are going to change this, we first need to forgive ourselves, then each other, and then give each other permission to come out of this ignorance finally, and at last.
I've been thinking about Chris's post a lot this week, and it suddenly struck me at work the other day the quote that was nagging away at the back of my brain the other day when I first read Chris's post - it was Voltaire's quote: “I disapprove of what you say, but I defend to the death your right to say it.” Too often people seem unable to be able to agree to disagree and live and let live, and accept that sometimes we're always going to disagree, but also accept that we all have a right to disagree, but not attack.
Chris's words, and the choice of words, with 'suspicion', 'mistrust' and 'ignorance', also reminded me of something that someone said to me, and that was that most prejudice, all kinds of prejudice, comes from fear and lack of understanding. Fear ('psychological' fear, and not fear of an actual event), is most often due to ignorance and a lack of understanding. If you understand something, it's a lot easier not to be afraid of it. Take away fear and give understanding, and the prejudice goes.
Does that make sense? It kind of did in my head, but I'm not sure it does on screen. Anyway, that's Bliss's random thought for the day...
