Quote from: SophieD on April 16, 2016, 05:20:28 PM
Granted I am getting older myself, but I don't think the bigotry is correlated with age. There are lots and lots of transphobic younger people (and lots of allies of transgender people who are older). I wish it were so simple, but I don't think that bigotry just dies out, whether is is transphobia, racism, antisemitism, or you name it.
I never meant to imply that bigotry is strictly correlated with age, nor did I intend to malign peoples of advanced age in general. I apologize for having done so and for any offense I've caused.
If I may offer an explanation as to what I DID mean, it is my experience that the older you are the greater the tendency to become more set in your ways and resistant to change. Young people are also perfectly capable of making up their minds and refusing to be swayed on an issue. But if you've made an effort to continue learning and evolving, if you reassess long held beliefs in the light of new evidence, then you probably will not stagnate intellectually.
I do not believe this sheriff does any of these things. I believe his world view was established during childhood, in church, and has changed very little since its initial formation. In such a case, with each passing year the odds decrease that he will suddenly become an enlightened individual that has compassion and empathy beyond his own nose.
That's all wild speculation though. I might be completely wrong and he may be a giant teddy bear up close who is perfectly willing to educate himself or be educated on issues of which he's ignorant. Such as when he conflated gay and trans, or the way he seemingly considers trans-women to be men, or the socially tone-deaf joke about the closet not having a door in 20 years, all the while using threats of violence to encourage trans people to stay in the closet.
Or maybe we're completely misreading what he meant? Maybe he meant that the only thing he would have a problem with is if someone who considers themselves to be a man entered the women's restroom, and he's actually a trans supporter who thinks people should use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identities.
Quote from: Laura_Squirrel on April 16, 2016, 08:22:34 PM
Severe mental illness.
In defense of the mentally ill, that doesn't necessitate being an awful person. Some of the sweetest people I know are mentally ill. I know
I do my best to, at the very least, not make the world a worse place to live in, though I may be failing miserably at that.
Either way, here's some more pretty music
