You Hate the Gays?

This morning, I was on the computer and my brother came into the kitchen. As he made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I told him, "I love you!" He responded with a classic, "I hate you, fag." I laughed it off (as I usually do) and went back to my YouTube videos.

But then, something came to mind. "Bro," I asked, "would you hate me if I was gay?" 

He said frankly, "Yeah, 'cause it's fucking disgusting!"

 This horror swept over my face, and I began to explain that you shouldn't hate someone because of who they happen to like. I then gave him an example. 

I told him:

"You know, hating gays is if someone came around saying they hated Hispanics*. If they came along and said 'OH I HATE MEXICANS. I WISH THEY'D ALL DIE!' how would you feel then?"

I complemented that with, "And as you grow up, you're gonna meet people who are like that. And you just can't grow up thinking like that."

He had this blank expression on his face, and as I followed him in to the living room to put up the curtain, I began again, "You should never hate someone because it's bad. If you are gonna hate someone, do it because they ran your dog over, or if they ran you over. Then you can hate someone."

I left him then in the living room, watching Spongebob Squarepants, eating his PB&J sandwich.

I'd just like to state that my brother is not a homophobe. 

But his thinking is somewhat along the lines of cultural thinking with Hispanics.

Rated "UR" for the personal angle and the social issue it confronts.