"LGBT ACTIVISITS COULD BE TO BLAME FOR FALLING LGBT ACCEPTANCE" - Nicole Russell / @russell_nm / June 28, 2019 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/06/28/lgbt-activists-could-be-to-blame-for-falling-lgbt-acceptance/ [AS I SEE IT: Young people are by nature inclined to "go with the flow," to accept whatever the culture, social media, and peers promote. We need for them to be discerning of all that they are deluged with, to truly consider the ideas they are often pressured by others to accept. Maybe they are beginning to do that. We can only PRAY this is true. - Stan]
In a recent hit single, “You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift mocks people who stand firm in their beliefs about sexuality, asking that they stop their bigotry and “calm down.” The music video, which went viral, depicts conservatives as ignorant hicks who reject gays and are driven by animus. They are ugly, dated, and lack basic hygiene. By contrast, the LGBT folks in the video are bright, happy, and boast perfectly coiffed hair. Moreover, the angry hicks are a dwindling minority, while the upbeat LGBT folks are shown to be ascendant—on the right side of history, you might say.
Despite these crass portrayals, which only confirm the left’s worst prejudices, a new survey released Monday suggests that young people are not actually falling in line with the LGBT movement as the common narrative suggests. In fact, they’re increasingly uncomfortable with it.
According to the annual Accelerating Acceptance report, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of LGBT advocacy group GLAAD, the number of Americans 18 to 34 who are comfortable with LGBT people in various situations slipped from 53% in 2017 down to 45% in 2018. And the 53% figure is down from 63% in 2016.
The survey asked men and women of various age brackets whether they are uncomfortable with the following:
Learning a family member is LGBT.
Having your child placed in class with an LGBT teacher.
Learning your doctor is LGBT.
Learning your child had a LGBT history lesson in school.
The largest drop in “acceptance” appears to be among the youngest age bracket.
In 2018, 36% of young people said they were uncomfortable learning a family member was LGBT, compared with 29% in 2017. Likewise, 34% were uncomfortable learning their doctor was LGBT vs. only 27% a year earlier. In addition, 39% said they would be uncomfortable learning their child had a school lesson on LGBT history vs. 27% two years prior.
It appears young women have dropped the most in their comfortability with LGBT people. In 2017, 64% were comfortable compared to 52% in 2018. Also of note, in 2017, people ages 72 and up were the most uncomfortable learning a child had an LGBT lesson in school.
John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, expressed concern over these numbers to USA TODAY: “We count on the narrative that young people are more progressive and tolerant. These numbers are very alarming and signal a looming social crisis in discrimination.” USA Today reported that when Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, looked closer, she discovered the younger age bracket actually interacted more with LBGT people, “particularly individuals who are non-binary and don’t identify simply as lesbian or gay.” She blamed their lower comfort level on “a newness that takes time for people to understand.” Both Gerzema and Ellis blamed the lack of tolerance on the Trump administration’s policy efforts regarding transgender people in the military and religious liberty issues.
But this makes no sense. If politics is really downstream from culture, and there is more equality in America than ever before, wouldn’t the culture reflect and accept that notion of being more tolerant?
A better way to understand the survey results might be to look at how pushy, even aggressive, the LGBT movement has been in ensuring its rights supersede the rights of others. Whether it’s lawsuits for “bathroom rights” or lawsuits against religious people who can’t in good conscience bake a certain cake, the LGBT community is not advocating “equal rights” but supreme rights that marginalize everyone else’s. This aggressive push for LGBT “equality” may actually be backfiring, causing even young people to feel discomfort and alienation.
At first glance, Swift’s song might seem to align with this study, since she too is decrying society’s rejection of LGBT people. But what she ignores, just like Ellis, is that people are uncomfortable for a reason that is likely of the LGBT movement’s own making.
The LGBT movement is now defined by fighting against gender norms, demanding that children in drag become an accepted new normal, and filing lawsuits so that biological males can use women’s restrooms. This kind of aggressive, entitled behavior is difficult to acquiesce to, especially when it infringes upon the rights of others who would rather not participate.
Instead of hoping people would become more “comfortable” around the LGBT community, it may be worthwhile for GLAAD and other groups to consider the effect their campaign is having on other people. Maybe they’re the ones that “need to calm down.”
[italics and coloed emphasis mine]
Nicole Russell is a contributor to The Daily Signal. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, National Review, Politico, The Washington Times, The American Spectator, and Parents Magazine.
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PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against
the disorder of the world. - Karl Barth
"Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer."- Stan
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“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105). For thousands of believers, reading the Bible is a rare occurrence. Please pray with us this month that God’s Word would find its way into the hands and hearts of His disciples.
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105). For thousands of believers, reading the Bible is a rare occurrence. Please pray with us this month that God’s Word would find its way into the hands and hearts of His disciples.
July 1 | PHILIPPINES - “I thank God for the Bible literacy training. Before, I didn’t know how to read the Bible.” Please pray for trainings like the one Deborah* attended. They are provided by local churches through the support of Open Doors.
*Names changed to protect identities
*Names changed to protect identities
STANDING STRONG THROUGH THE STORM - OpenDoorsUSA.org
At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.- 2 Tim. 4:16
SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHO SUFFER
The Apostle Paul knew exactly what it was like to be alone, to be deserted by all who called themselves “brothers” and “sisters.” A former colleague who has done considerable travel among the persecuted says, “It is hard to believe that Christians are the largest persecuted group in the world today. But it is even more difficult to believe that this is so seldom mentioned in our gatherings and church services. More Christians know the names of their favorite actors than their fellow believers who are in prison.”
He continues, “With every trip something in my heart breaks as I hear the echoes of suffering:
I remember the echoes of an Egyptian mother as she shared how her young boy was stuck in a haystack because she refused to deny Jesus.
I remember the sounds of weeping as fellow students in Indonesia
I remember the cries of anguish as we walked from church to church that was burned to the ground on the island of Lombok
I remember the tears of Rebecca in Iran
I remember the voice of Pastor Daniel in Vietnam
I remember the fear of Grace from Sudan
Oh, I remember the cries of Caleb in Eritrea
And I remember the tears of Joy in the southern Philippines as she shared how her fiancé was shot to death in their church in Mindanao .
But, most all, I remember the deafening sounds of silence every time I return home.
RESPONSE
How can I be silent today? How can I not speak on behalf of those who suffer? How can I desert those that belong to the same body that I belong to and who desperately need the encouragement of my interven
This article cites a study of how people seem to be becoming less comfortable with finding out that people they know are LGBT. The article speculates that the aggressive campaign of the LGBT movement is the cause.
ReplyDeleteI have known LGBT people. I have gotten along with them just fine and I suspect many others do as well. The problem is not when both sides disagree - it's when both sides try to force the other side to change, that's the problem.
-herb