Somewhere Over the Rainbow

On my Rome-to-Hong Kong flight, I watched the "Straight Guy in a Gay World" episode of 30 Days, where they sent homophobic Ryan to San Francisco's rainbow village—the Castro District.

That the Christian conservative's homophobia would somewhat subside by the end of his stay was expected. What amazed me was that as accepting of gay people as he'd become by the end of the 30 days, he held on to his conviction that homosexuality is a sin and a choice.

It's always upsetting to see protestors with signs and slogans condemning homosexuality as a monstrous sin; the words they use convey so much hatred that it makes anyone question just how much of Jesus' preaching they really understood. It's quite another level of frustration to see kids as young as six or seven participating in these rallies. You know their "beliefs" are spoon-fed to them by ignorant parents.

Teaching children to hate—that's a monstrous sin.

As much as I enjoy watching Adam Sandler and Kevin James, I can't say I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry was anything more than a cheesy good laugh. But I do appreciate such a comedy touching on the gay rights subject matter, hence giving an introductory lesson to their mainstream audience who could otherwise be uninformed.

I wish guys like J who've had little to none encounter with gays could have something more profound than an Adam Sandler flick, perhaps a similar experience as Ryan's, through which to learn once and for all that aside from homosexuality, gays and lesbians look for the same things in love and life as the next straight person.

And to the many a straight guy who thinks he's once been come on to by a gay guy, please. Just because a man across the bar so much as looked at you, it doesn’t mean he's gay, and it certainly doesn't mean he wants to hump you.