I used to be a conservative.

[NightTrain]

At one time, I thought it was a given that men were superior to women in every way.

I resented our tax dollars going to inner-city welfare cheats.

I believed that labor unions were socialist scum hellbent on destroying the economy.

I hated actors like Ed Asner and Alan Alda for shoving their liberal politics down the country's throat.

I believed that gays and lesbians were mentally ill and should get back in the closet, where they belonged.

I believed that you should speak English or get the fuck out.

I thought apartheid in South Africa wasn't so bad.

I applauded when Ronald Reagan ordered the U.S. bombing raids on Libya.

I was convinced that Iran-Contra was just a liberal plot to make a good man look bad.

Then, I turned 11! :evilgrin:

[MrScorpio]

1. Some people never grow up

Can you snorf "Freepers?"

[JohnKleeb]

2. now speaking of homophobia

One of my deepest regrets is how I once was, I wasnt "kill the faggots" but I wasnt good either, sigh god fucking forgive me.

[NightTrain]

4. I was just about your age when I overcame my hompohobia.

And I have the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW cult to thank for it!

[JohnKleeb]

5. I think I made my change when I was about 13

I hadn't met anyone who changed my life, I just realized what teh fuck, those guys are people too, so as I grew older, I got more tolerant, I still feel guilty if it matters, did feel proud though the other day when I defended the Generations Accepting All Youth club which is like Gay Straight Alliance, so these idiots were acting all giggly and shit, and I was like oh come on guys its not a big deal, then I told about my cousin Jamie and his partner and how they're just like anyone else. My little brother who is how old I was like four years ago is starting to envolve too and I am seeing the democrat in him.

[last_texas_dem]

6. I think a lot of guys are like that before they've totally matured

I was brought up by with fairly liberal, non-homophobic values but can remember calling things I thought were stupid "gay" when I was as old as fourteen. I knew I wasn't homophobic like my friends but just had adopted their language without thinking about it. It was probably just trying to fit in and be more like them, like so much else that a lot of kids do in middle school/early high school (and we never stop doing to some degree, I guess, just not on the same level) do. I didn't see any harm in it until I thought about the implications one day after I had started to understand things better. It's sometimes disappointing to see how we were influenced to do things against our nature when we were younger but sometimes it's just a part of growing up.

[mark414]

7. i didn't start to get over my homophobia

until i actually met and befriended a gay person

i grew up in a small town (read: repub town), where no one was out with a couple exceptions, and they were ridiculed endlessly. alas, i was one of those who was indifferent, but the thought of being gay just grossed me out.

i'm still getting over it, but whenever a bad thought comes into my head i just say "you're not a bigot mark, so don't think like one."

[last_texas_dem]

8. I know what you mean

I've always lived in a small town where homophobia is generally accepted because of the popularity of fundamentalist Christianity, which seems to work to justify it. I was never what could be called anti-gay but was pretty indifferent in the sense that I let anti-gay comments go unanswered because it's tough to stand up for what you think if you'd be standing alone. I also was, like you mention, grossed-out about the idea of being gay, and it's still hard for me to relate to but I eventually realized this was because I'm straight and am not supposed to understand it in the same way that someone who is gay is, and I could still support equal rights and fair treatment of people who were different from me... I began to view it as a sort of civil rights issue. Also, a couple of friends (of both sexes) I made in high school ended up coming out a few years later and it made it easier for me to understand the implications of homophobia on a more personal level.

[JohnKleeb]

10. I live in a republican town too and I really have met few gay people

The first one who I knew was gay for sure was my cousin and I was 16. I try not to be bigoted, I am just, I dunno I have guilt easily and I am definley ashamed of how Ive been.

[JohnKleeb]

9. yeah my parents arent phobes but I just felt you know assholish

when I look back on it. I changed though and happy I did.

[GainesT1958]

3. Thank goodness when you became 11...

You abandoned childish things!:D

B-)

[NightTrain]

11. +

[Ron Green]

12. RWers like to say that as one gets older, one becomes more

conservative. I think that's true of people who lead fearful lives; they become more and more afraid of losing their "stuff" to others, or more afraid of change in general. I believe that thoughtful people become more liberal as they grow older, realizing that the "free market" is not always the best way to share the wealth of the world.

[NightTrain]

13. That certainly is true of some people, but not of me!

Thankfully.

[Jokinomx]

14. nice post Night Train...

I can say I have never really thought like any of the statements that you posted. Thank Goodness for that... My Dad was somewhat predjudiced... but at least he didn't openly live that way. I think in the end... he had changed. He was a former Detroit City Police Officer and worked undercover arresting gays that tried to pick him up ... this was in the early fifties. He really had a difficult time with gays the rest of his life.... he also carried some negative feelings with Blacks. Again, nobody that new him would have thought that he was somewhat of a biggot.... but I have to say.. only one of my Brothers is kind of like the "Old Man".. ... but have several Sisters that are RW Born Agains....

:toast: