I'm an FSTDT regular, so I believe I have some experience with pieces of opinion that are fuelled in equal measure by stupidity and hatred. And I must say, this excretion from the mind of one Peter Sprigg is a remarkable example of both qualities.
Sprigg cites a number of articles that note something that is not really surprising. Namely, that suicides amongst teens that identify as LGBT are more common the less accepting their environment is. But, he chooses to focus on another unfortunate fact, that LGBT-identifying teen suicides rates are higher than those of straight teenagers.
And what does Sprigg suggest as a solution? Why, that we should discourage teens from identifying as queer, of course!
It really shouldn't need pointing out how remarkably ass-backwards that is as a conclusion from the evidence. I shouldn't need to say that breeding an environment that says that you shouldn't identify as gay is a textbook example of hetero-normativity, i.e. that thing we already know causes more suicides.
I also doubt my pointing it out will enlighten anyone, because this is the kind of conclusion you get when you are a homophobic cunt who doesn't give a fuck about what happens to those icky queers. Sprigg is not genuinely interested in reducing LGBT teen suicides. He's looking for a way to deny that the obvious idea is, hey, let's do the one thing we know works and try to build an environment more accepting of alternative sexualities. After all, he is blogging for an organization whose entire raison d'être is the exact opposite.
Still, because I have a thing for beating my head against metaphorical walls, I did leave a comment explaining why he's wrong. Maybe one of those idiots will be temporarily less blinded by their homophobia and be able to think relatively straight for a few seconds. Probably not.
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