Maybe we all had a crush on the football quarterback or track star when we were in high school. Maybe we were all a little envious of the beautiful girl in the exclusive circle. I will go so far as to say that maybe we all felt a little excluded from that circle or set. A little over a year ago, I said that although we didn't pistol-whip Matthew Shepard, we did not take the gun away from his assailants, either. Every time we devalue someone based on who they are without knowing them, we put the pistol in the hands of another potential assailant.
Hate breeds hate.
Fear breeds fear. It is really that simple. Looking for the straight-acting frat boy because somehow it is as close as you're going to get to a straight man and you need that straight man validation is homophobic. That homophobia can steal the life from someone in your community maybe even yours. We don't live in a vacuum.