Comment by david_shaw | Hacker News Reader

Comment by david_shaw | Hacker News Reader

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I think the context you're missing is in the article. The narrator doesn't hate gays, he hates all of the people that have allowed his situation to occur. The whole (broken) social relationship between the media, society and homosexuals.

For others that might be busy at work thinking this is a bigoted piece, it's not. The narrator was walking with his friend (both male), when an unknown assailant threw a brick at his friend, landing him in the hospital, because he thought that the two friends were gay.

The hate in the title is a line from the story, in which the narrator describes his hatred for everything around him (concerning the situation) in a blindingly detailed and empathetic level.

Edit: As rightly mentioned as a reply to this comment, the piece is fictional, but poignant nonetheless. I've edited my use of "author" to "narrator" to try to clarify.

I read it and understand it isn't really an anti-gay article.

It's a thoughtful and very well written fictional story. What I don't get is why it is getting up voted. I am doubtful it really gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. IMHO, HN is just not the right place to share that kind of content.

It's an interesting question. As far as making one think, the piece succeeded (at least for me). I'm straight, but a definite supporter of gay rights.

The most interesting part of the piece (to me) was this excerpt:

I hate somebody’s sign saying you’re born that way, accusing your genes. I hate somebody else’s sign saying it’s a choice, and gays made the wrong one. I hate that either of those things would matter.

For some reason it struck really close to home. I see people debating the cause of homosexuality all the time, whether it's conservatives making guest appearances on CNN or Tea Partiers at protests. The truth, though, is that it really doesn't matter why homosexuals are gay. They're people, just like everyone else, and deserve to be treated as such.

Maybe HN isn't the best outlet for this kind of story; I'll definitely give you that. As far as stimulating thought, though (if perhaps not intellectual curiosity), I would call this one a win.

It should be pointed out that this is a fictional piece.

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