Intolerable tollerance lessons

Is it just me that doesn't see a problem with this? For those who can't be bothered clicking through - it's a story about students being "asked at school to place themselves in an imaginary world dominated by homosexuals and lesbians" as a lesson in tolerance. I don't see the problem. They weren't being asked to pretend to be gay, they weren't being told that it was better to be gay. They were just being asked to think about how it must be for a gay person in our predominantly heterosexual society.

I suppose I'm more tolerant than most. I have lots of gay and bi friends, both male and female, and have never seen their sexuality as being a problem. Being hit on by a lesbian is no worse than being hit on by a guy that I don't find attractive - actually, it's usually not as bad, since the girls who have hit on me have taken no for an answer better than the guys. But some women find it really confronting. And most men seem to think that it's incredibly offensive. I just don't get that attitude. Why is it an afront to your manhood that a man who is into men finds you attractive?

I was having this conversation with a guy the other day and he said that I probably send out mixed signals, which is why I get hit on by women. I don't think that's right. I think that I'm just friendly with everyone and I'm very accepting, so a gay woman who finds me attractive figures she's got nothing to lose by hitting on me. I just tell her, "Sorry. I'm straight" and that's the end of it. I've never been abused for turning down a woman (and I sure as hell have gotten some lip over the years for turning down a guy!), and I've never lost a friendship over it.

Gay people exist. They are part of our community. So why shouldn't kids in their formative years be taught to think of how hard it must be for them to come out? *shrugs*

Listening to: Tamas Wells - A Mark on the Pane