That's why I try to stay positive and support people who need it rather than wasting my energy on a fight that doesn't go anywhere. I mean, I try to spread the word on all sorts of LGBTQ+ (but also racism and sexism) issues and try to make people think about what they're doing and share thoughts that might not have occured to them before, but I don't know if I really have a big reach there. It just always looks like there are only two groups in every fight - gays and homophobes, feminists and sexists/misogynists, people of color and racists,... - but there is always a much larger group of people who are on neither side, who probably have never experienced the problem firsthand and have never really spent any time thinking about it. They might not actually be against anyone and are generally for equal rights for everybody but don't even know that something they do or say could hurt people. I think it is not enough to not be racist, not homophobic, not sexist, etc. anymore. We need to actively work against it. Yes, f***ot is a wort that can hurt and even though some gay people now use it for themselves it's not ok for you to use it. No, you can't expect someone to be more sensitive just because they're gay. No, it's not ok to ask a trans person if that's their real hair (or worse, "no, but what are you REALLY?"). Some of these things are more obvious than others, some I might not even know. The important thing is to actively try not to offend anyone, especially if it's not your intention to do so. That's why raising awareness is probably more important than ever.
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