🚀 go-pugleaf

Ken writes:
> ...  Why are people more will-
>ing to articulate their negative views of homosexuals than of other minorities?
>
>I urge those of you attending the Midwest Political Science Association Meeting
>to attend the panel on which the results of the APSA study of the status of les
>bians and gays in the profession will be presented. Some of my colleagues on
>this discussion list might find the results enlightening.

  I won't be there - but I have some ideas on this, based on my
experiences in moving from the North-east US to the South-east US and
living through a major change in public opinion and behavior.  I'm
thinking of the changes regarding articulation of negative views of
Black Americans during the 1959 - 1974 years.

  During this time span people became much less willing to articulate
negative views, to cast racial slurs, to use the N-word, ...  It had
become socially unacceptable to speak in that way - and rather than such
negative language receiving explicit or implicit support, or even benign
neglect - it caused the speaker to be shunned in most circles.  Not only
in well-educated circles, but in the general population.

  (Yes, I know there were exceptions - but I think I'm accurately
reporting the overall mood of the populace as accurately as can be done
in such a short summary.)

  Therefore my conclusion to the initial question is that this reflects
that there is a sense on the part of people that negative views of
homosexuals are more publically-acceptable than negative views of other
minorities.  Following this thought, I would further conclude that this
sense of public acceptance does accurately reflect the public mood.

  In effect, the articulators of these negative views have conducted
their own polls, and do understand the reactions that their negative
views will evoke.

--henry schaffer