Do you speak up?

[Sapphire]

The other day, I stumbled upon Tolerance.org - on their "Speak Up!" page.
http://www.tolerance.org/speakup/index.html

Tonight, I had one of those opportunities to practice what I preach.

My husband and I were out for dinner. There were two couples, probably in their late 50's, talking at a table across from us. One of the men was a very loud talker. I got to hear his opinions on politics, the economy, religion - and homosexuals.

He mentioned that someone he knows had a son "come out" of the closet. He said to one of his companions, "I mean, which would you rather have - a gay or a serial killer for a kid?" His companion didn't answer right away and the guy said, "You have to think about it, don't you? Tough choice."

The pedophile/homosexual compairison is common - but I think that's the first time I've heard homosexuality equated with being as equally undesirable as a serial killer.

Then, talking about someone else's daughter - "You can see how sad her father is. She and her 'partner' even had a wedding. Yeah, we know a lot of dysfunctional people," followed by laughter.

There were just a bunch of comments like this.

As my husband and I were leaving, I stopped at their table and said, "Sir, if you're going to voice your homophobic slurs in public, could you at least do it quietly enough that you don't subject everyone around you to them?" He said, "Huh? I didn't say anything.." I just walked away.

Please - PLEASE spend a few minutes on tolerance.org http://www.tolerance.org/speakup/index.html - and learn how to speak up. These types of attitudes breed hate. It's got to be confronted and stopped at the source.