writes. “The sheer extremity of the anti-LGBT sentiment has me constantly worried about what my future will look like, and it’s starting to impact my mental health.”Now, this Redditor is wondering how other gay men are dealing with this homophobia. “Are you also afraid, or am I being overly anxious?” he asks.The NYPD is investigating the arson as a hate crime.His Reddit thread has accumulated more than 360 comments so far, with some commenters agreeing that homophobia is on the rise and others saying that today’s society is as homophobic or even less than it was during the height of the AIDS crisis.
Unfortunately, some commenters blamed a rise in anti-LGBT sentiment on the fight for trans and nonbinary equality—as if violence or bigotry that affects one of us doesn’t affect all of us—but many other comments offered useful advice.
Here are excerpts from those suggestions.“Never afraid. It’s having the opposite effect with me. Back in the ‘80s we were ‘fighting for our lives’.
Same thing. Don’t give in or back down; it’s what they want.”“The response we must make is to push back on the current wave of repression.