I think that there are people out there who are cruel and hurtful - they SHOULD be ignored, since they feed off of the attention they get in response to these comments.
I think that there are people out there who are uneducated and have a skewed view of humanity, often an egocentric, ethnocentric, "heteronormative" (re: homophobic) view. These people should have things patiently explained to them. They may be unwilling to change. Move on to tactic 1. However, if all you do is whine and bitch and rage and scream, rather than actually speaking plainly and openly and calmly and politely, they're even more likely to dig in their heels and become more resistant and prejudiced and biased.
I also think that there are people out there who like to joke. About everything. Themselves, the things they love, the things they hate, the things that don't matter to them. I personally see this as the South Park comedy method - make fun of everything equally. That's not to say they don't respect and even understand what they're making fun of. Hell, they could be making fun of themselves. You really don't know. So, especially if people are willing to communicate and even apologize for any misunderstandings or hurt caused by their words, I don't see the harm in making fun.
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I think that there are people out there who are uneducated and have a skewed view of humanity, often an egocentric, ethnocentric, "heteronormative" (re: homophobic) view. These people should have things patiently explained to them. They may be unwilling to change. Move on to tactic 1. However, if all you do is whine and bitch and rage and scream, rather than actually speaking plainly and openly and calmly and politely, they're even more likely to dig in their heels and become more resistant and prejudiced and biased.
I also think that there are people out there who like to joke. About everything. Themselves, the things they love, the things they hate, the things that don't matter to them. I personally see this as the South Park comedy method - make fun of everything equally. That's not to say they don't respect and even understand what they're making fun of. Hell, they could be making fun of themselves. You really don't know. So, especially if people are willing to communicate and even apologize for any misunderstandings or hurt caused by their words, I don't see the harm in making fun.