ice?

So one thing I found really interesting today was how homophobic remarks are easily dismissed as harmless. I haven’t used gay as a synonym for pointless or stupid since I was 9 years old and my mother explained to me that it was wrong. In that way I was prejudiced because I wasn’t educated and didn’t know what I was actually saying, and my mother enlightened me to see why it was wrong. I think that is a good example of how simple education can help with some types of prejudice, but I am positive that most people who say ‘gay’ now know what gay really means, but still say it anyways. I am surprised at how many educated people I know who say it but don’t think it’s offensive. Anyways, I thought of this because I was reading about my favorite figure skater, Johnny Weir. A Canadian commentator basically said he was too gay for figure skating and should take a gender test, and Johnny went on Joy Behar’s show and said “it’s figure skating”. While his response was hilarious, I don’t think he should have to be the one to address it. I think the network it was broadcasted on should. The comment is basically saying that gay people are lesser and bad representations, and the person who said it needs to be held accountable. I think the comment is an example of homosexuals being such an underrepresented group that public figures feel it is okay to express prejudiced opinions about them. Johnny is an elite athlete but that comment used one aspect of him to completely undermine him and his performance.