Exactly. Minority groups that are tolerated within larger, harmful movements are often manipulated and leveraged in some way that negatively impacts that minority group or other minority groups. See also the Log Cabin Republicans.

I think having this data would be interesting, but to say

Proof of religious LGBTQ+ people pushes back against hateful movements

in the context of what the article is discussing is a big assumption. Hateful movements gonna hate. I’ve seen individual hearts and minds change once people realize that LGBTQ+ people aren’t “boogeymen” that must be watched out for, but are instead their neighbors, coworkers, sons and daughters (and I’ve seen those hearts and minds harden too…). But at the group level, in my experience, people who buy into those hateful religious movements don’t usually view their group actions as hateful—they view them as necessary to save themselves and others in the name of their beliefs.

Instead of shouting “those people are unlike us and we must fight against sin” in the direction of non-religiously affiliated LGBTQ+ people, it becomes “bless their hearts they want to be on the righteous path but we must help them overcome the scourge of sin” directed at religious in-group LGBTQ+ people. Maybe the hateful vitriol is softened, but the outcome tends to be the same.

But maybe I’m just jaded because I think organized religion is largely a scourge on humanity.

I feel for OP and the targeted ads that presumably led to this post. I also used to have a cat, though I need no reminding of that fact as I think of him daily. But this was jarring to read at 530am out of the blue. So OP is the asshole in my personal book. This could have been broached in a way that avoids re-traumatizing others.

Two father household here. We are Dad and Pop. We’ll use it until they’re old enough to want to call us something else if they choose to. We felt it was important to establish unique names for each of us from the outset to avoid the situation of having to use our first names later on, which is a personal choice.

Blanket whenever you need them

Haley Joel Osment did this back in 2000, and look where it got him!