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Post subject: Int. study: widespread dislike for gay neighbors
 Posted: Apr 20, 2007 - 03:23 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1195
Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
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International Study Shows Widespread Dislike For Gay Neighbors
Quote:
(New York City) An international study of attitudes towards gays shows large number of people still do not want gay neighbors.
People in Northern Ireland showed the most distain for having a gay
neighbor. Thirty-six percent of those questioned said they did not want a gay or lesbian living next door.
The study, "Love Thy Neighbor: How Much Bigotry is there is Western Countries", was co-authored by Prof. Vani Borooah of the University of Ulster and Prof. John Mangan, a professor of economics at the University of Queensland in Australia.
It was based on statistics from the Human Beliefs and Values Survey, conducted in 24 Western countries between 1999 and 2002.
In Italy opposition to gay neighbors stood at nearly 29 percent, despite a recent separate poll that showed a majority of Italians believe same-sex couples should have domestic partner benefits.
The disparity between the two sets of numbers shows that people tend to support gay rights in the abstract but not are not as supportive when confronted in their own neighborhoods.
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"The dignity of an animal is measured by his capacity to revolt in the face of oppression." -- Mikhail Bakunin
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Post subject:
Posted: May 02, 2007 - 04:56 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Chris Crain has gotten around to this one. His post on it isn't half bad. For the mathematically challenged, however, he has provided this lovely graphic. It's largish, so I'll just link to it -- pleasantly legible though.
Link
Naturally, the graph only illustrates those countries that were part of the study. Brazil isn't there, nor is Jamaica. Still, the graph shows three clear groupings of nations.
At the top you have Sweden, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Denmark with less than ten per cent (sometimes a lot less) responding in a homophobic manner. That this percentage is greater than zero is clear because I can recall at least two news stories regarding hate crimes from countries on this list.
Next there are the traditional liberal democracies: Germany, Norway, Spain, France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Finland. They range from about 15% homophobic to nearly 20% homophobic, a state of affairs that is reflected in the fact that I can recall news stories about homophobic hate crimes from at least half of these countries within the last year. (To be fair, I cannot recall any news stories originating in Luxembourg, apart from that invasion that wasn't one.)
Finally, there is New Zealand, the USA, Great Britain, Australia, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Northern Ireland. No huge surprises here... most of these countries are well represented in the news of the day. The only real oddness is Northern Ireland -- it properly belongs in a fourth group of its own; the disparity between the level of homophobia found in this country and Italy, the next most homophobic country, is as great as that between Germany and Iceland.
Among Mr. Crain's comments on this study was this bit:
Quote:
I’ve always resisted the idea that opponents of gay rights are bigots. It has struck me as a cheap shot that polarizes the debate, rather than attempting to reason and address concerns. There’s not much point in reasoning with prejudice, of course; the whole idea is that’s animus without any logic to it.
Ah, yes. I would hope that Mr. Crain soon disabuses himself of this notion. It is a twisted nest of error in my view.
This reflex to "resist" is... odd. I see Edmund White's "good school citizen" in it. At it's base is the idea that if a Gay can be natty enough, 'progressive' (or 'conservative') enough, polite enough -- basically, a model citizen -- then the straights will stop hating him. It's rubbish, you know.
Which brings me to the next point -- what are opponents of gay rights if not bigots? If you resist the idea that they are bigots, then they must be something else... what would that something be? Since Mr. Crain calls this a "cheap shot," I can only imagine that his answer would have to be "right." They aren't right... they're bigots.
Mr. Crain knows why this debate isn't really a debate at all, he knows why the situation is polarized -- "There’s not much point in reasoning with prejudice, of course; the whole idea is that’s animus without any logic to it." This would be the good school citizen's frightfully polite way of rephrasing the word 'bigotry,' and no -- there is no reasoning with bigotry. |
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"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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