Politics. For example, terrorism is bad, right? It is "pollitically incorrect". However, there are "politically correct" terrorists now identifying themselves as feminists.

There is a major asymmetry here that you do not acknowledge. Many (most?) homophobic people wish to see their fear/hatred of homosexuals codified or preserved in law. They are against gays marrying, they are against gays adopting children, etc. In contrast, I see no movement to deny homophobic people equal protection under the law. Everyone is allowed to hate whomever they decide to hate. It's just a bad basis for public policy. . . .

You know, I've never chased a homophobic person down the street yelling. I've never beat one up. I've never called one slurs, thrown things, killed one... I've never implied that they're inextricably perverted, that they have sex with their children, or anyone else's children, that they're going to hell, that they're on equal level as a dog ("What's next, marrying pets?"). (not all apply to all homophobes, of course.) I have shaken my head sadly when they have their children handing out anti-gay pamphlets or yelling slogans they're too young to understand, but I do the same for anti-abortion protesters -- and I roll my eyes when it's little kids at causes I support, too. I have stopped being friends with one... but really, it's more that we lost contact after I told her I was gay and her first reaction was to move 8 inches down to the end of the step we were sitting on. So I think she started that. Yes, if I treated them the way I've been treated, that'd be wrong. No question. I'm not arguing that. I'm arguing your assertion that the way we treat them, or the way most of us treat them, is similar. The worst I've known of is someone throwing pie at fred phelps. I don't hate them. I don't understand them. I get angry with them, sometimes, and I feel that killing someone because they're gay should carry the exact same penalty as any other pre-meditated murder. but I don't "hate" them, and especially not in the way they hate me.

Because most Homophobes are closet case homosexuals in the first place and are very violent in comparison to your general gay person, there violence stems from the fact that they are in denial and the harder they fight it the more violent they get it's a psycological paradox, Real men are simply confident in their sexuality without violence it's not needed ... if your going hate something hate for the facts not based on belief simply because what you believe may not be the facts and facts equal truth and the truth is nature does what it does for it's own ends and puposes and evolutionary changes are triggered by enviromental conditions there is nothing in the our ancestory that say we did not descend from a hermaphoditic species probably in responce to adverse enviromental changes and with the prevalency increasing just what envirometal changes are we creating that may be triggering it... ~Nemo~

I guess the door is supposed to swing both ways, but when you're talking about leftists they are exempt from the rules that they place on society. I've never agreed with the term homophobes. It means to be afraid of a homosexual. I've never met anyone that is afraid of them.

It's wrong to be repulsed by people who preach hatred and intolerance? Whether it's because of sexual orientation, race, religion, culture, etc...hatred is an evil thing. Most people I know find bigotry (in any form)abhorrent. There is hate..and then there is hating hatred. Big difference!

I don't care how people feel. Everyone is entitled to have what friends they'd like, marry who they'd like etc. The trouble with bigots arises when they want to inflict their prejudices and biases on the rest of us and codify it in the law doing things like banning gay marriage or disallowing gay adoption. Don't like gay marriage...well then by all means...if you are a guy don't marry a guy! Seems simple doesn't it? I don't hate small minded, ignorant, bigoted people...I feel quite sorry for them. It must take a ton of energy to maintain that awful state of mind day in and day out.

I don't hate homophobic men, I just wish they'd stop visualizing me having sex. Jeesh! I don't know about you, but I don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about things I'm not into.

Maybe because people do not choose to be Homosexual but people do have a choice about being homophobic.

Yeah that is quite a good point. I've wondered a similar thing before myself. The thing is, although we may view homophobes as ignorant, hateful, nasty people; they don't get discriminated against for it, or abused in the same way that they abuse homosexuals for peacefully being who they are.

You can't tolerate everybody. If you really care about one group, then you are also against the opposing group.