Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
A lot of homophobia, which is hateful, is rooted in irrational beliefs, broken logic, or weird ideas about what being a member of the LGBTQ community involves.
That doesn’t make it better or something above criticism.
The jersey doesn’t mean a specific thing “to me.” It means a specific thing. Some players purposely pretend it means something else, or give it meaning it is not intended to have, and use that as a reason not to wear it. That, again, is not something that should be above criticism.
If I were to go the opposite direction and say that wearing the jersey means a player is a member of the LGBTQ community, that would also be wrong, and also deserving of criticism. So, even the bigoted terminology these players use aside (lifestyle, choice), their interpretation is just plain wrong.
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This is the problem with symbolic gestures...they are just that: symbolic and gestures.
If you perceive a a logical conflict between what a player chooses to do symbolically and the direct statements they make, that's on you.
Reimer is a good example. He says everyone is welcome. I believe him. To make up a rigid definition of a symbol that you then impose on a person in conflict with their direct statements is a non-sensical position. Just take him at his word and make the very reasonable assumption that you both view the symbol differently.