Why are some users of this service so abusive to gay people wanting serious answers to serious questions?

Recently I answered a serious question raised by a gay questioner who was struggling with a difficult situation and I was horrified to see a large number of very abusive responses--name calling and vilification. No attempt to answer the questioners legitimate concerns and cries for help. Just a complete sidetrack onto homophobic matters. Why do so many people do this? How does it help to dump your homophobic views on these people? Is it going to change them? I think not. Okay you may find many aspects of gay life distasteful or disgusting and you are entitled to your views but what have your views got to do with helping other human beings who want serious answers to serious questions? Can't you leave their sexuality out of it unless you can demonstrate some clear relevance to what is being asked? Please explain your behaviour or stop it. I think that it is so unhelpful and unproductive and such a waste of time.

Religious based ignorance! they are the product of the presuppositions of childhood indoctrination

I agree with you.

When such abusive remarks include suggestions of suicide, I report them to YAHOO as being illegal. Telling a struggling teenager to to put a 357 in his mouth and to save everyone else the pain of his coming out should not be tolerated by any of us beyond the length of time it takes for us to report the "answer."

The term 'small minded bigots' comes immediately into my brain. While not having any interest in a gay lifestyle and being brought up in an old fashioned environment where that sort of thing would have been frowned upon, I don't have any problems about what people do in their private lives as long as it's not detrimental to others.

I must admit that I do have a problem with Graham Norton on TV, but that's got nothing to do with his sexual preference..

They are cowards hiding behind a computer screen, they think they have the right to say what the hell they want because they don't have to face the person directly. Ignore them, they give abusive answers because they are ignorant about the subject in question and too narrow minded to learn about it. : )

Some religious bigots want to push their beliefs onto everyone else and they constantly invade this section to 'save' people and they ignore that it isn't wanted or needed, many bigots will call LBGT people names and all-sorts and they don't see how that is a problem. then there's the fact (as already pointed out) that they are prats and stupid losers

There are too many homphobes on here, who like to foist their ingnorances onto others. I stand up to homophobes on here even if it means getting a violation notice. Such people are bullies..... http://www.bullyoffline.org/ they can learn how pathetic they are on this link!

There are some people out there who are so egotistical that they think all of our lives should mirror theirs,so anything different from them must,of course,be wrong.

If you look real close, they don't really answer any of the questions they answer. It's usually just some rant followed by scripture that loosely relates, if at all, to the question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTH-41HQQ...

I think they do it more for themselves than anything. I suspect that they are reaffirming to themselves that they are straight by picking on queers. Similar to how bullies reaffirm their low self esteem by hurting others.

Tiny-minded homophobic bigots will always be a nuisance, and the best thing to do is ignore them - but only AFTER you've reported them for INSULTING BEHAVIOUR ! ! !

Misunderstanding is always the fans of communication and we will never look back to our atitude to understand others.

People have become insensitive to problems that they know nothing about and the bigotry and ignorance shows.

I suppose all life, 'warts and all' is reflected here, but what interests me more is why these people 'choose' to visit the LGB site?

Fear...much easier to bash than try to lend a helping hand....just as in real life you have to gloss over the unwashed masses...

Coz they are ignorant losers that don't have the nerve to put their opinions out in the real world!

some people still cant accept gays they are very narrow minded people dont let other people worry you do what you want to do your a long time dead xxx take care

One word comes to mind they are PRATS

Don't worry about it... some people are just very narrow minded.

They are self-loathing cowards who are incapable of dealing with their own homosexual tendencies. They hate these feelings in themselves and project it onto their emotional and intellectual superiors. Once they realize they are giving themselves away with this kind of behavior,and aren't affirming their "straightness", but exposing the exact opposite,some of them might stop, but there are plenty more out there. You have to realize that at lleast 10% of all christians for example, are wired to be gay, yet many of them are brought up being taught that their god considers it an abomination, and their parents and friends would hate them if they knew. so they come here and vent. They are brainwashed and repressed. No one secure in their own sexuality, with a modicum of intelligence, would waste the time. I pity them, but let them know I see them for what they are. When you see these people for what they are they can't possibly hurt you, at least not in this forum. In real life situations they have to be dealt with in a different manner, but they are cowards for the most part, and never act out alone. In my experience, they back down when you challenge them even when they think have the safety of numbers.

They're scumbags.

Not to "name call" - I only call them that because that's what they are; and I'm not prejudging, I'm judging.

In just the same way, the KKK has its abusive terms for black people; and objective third parties, witnessing this scumbaggery, are absolutely justified in calling them scumbags.

I think it goes without saying that a lot of people who have "issues" with homosexuality really have issues with their OWN homosexuality. And many others have simply been indoctrinated into pseudo-"religious" ignorance and bigotry, and can do nothing but regurgitate their brainwashing on the subject.