same sex marriage, page-92

snider, there is a thing called "social distance". That means that people are less likely to have negative views of those of whom they don't normally come into contact, have negative views of, and then come across a member of that group in some kind of social space. for example, someone might be in the full throngs of telling a racist joke about Aboriginals, but then one comes in to the cafe. What to do? Stop telling the joke, because it might offend. It is why I sometimes address the posts of those who think homosexuals are just vile, really- awful, and that kind of thing. Because if that person comes across a member of the group, the closer "social distance", means that some might think a little before calling gays every name under the sun. It goes like this:

1. I hate gays
2. Oh, there's one. Seems ok.
3. Maybe I don't hate gays- well, not that one.
4. Maybe there are others like that one. Maybe hating a whole group is not working for me. Now I'm confused!
5. Ok, I'm gay.

Hehe. Ok, Number 5 was a joke. You may get my point, though. To clarify this "social distance" thing, I do not need to be liked. I do know that when we get to know members of a social group that we think certain thing about, we change as person- by just the interactions.