I tend to place a higher standard on oppression, like the Jewish oppression at the hand of the Nazis, or my great-grandparents under slavery.
Hidden agendas and closeted racism can be equally dangerous. When you can't see the enemy oppressing you.
Can an openly gay man get upper level management job at the Marriott corporation? He can nail the interviews, have all the credentials, and they will treat him with respect during the process, but an LDS corporation is not likely to hire an openly gay man into an upper management position.
Think of all the scenarios where we rely on the honesty and integrity of a stranger making decisions that effect us. Renting an apartment, buying a house, applying for a job, getting picked for dodge ball...
If our government and churches portray homosexuals as less-than or sinners, this feeds into the mentality of all those people deciding who to pick.
After this election, President Obama needs to come out with a version of JFKs Civil Rights speech given when things were heating up in Alabama...
I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.
If homosexuals can be multi-millionaires, own their own businesses, say what they want, where they want, when they want, among other things, then I don't see that as oppression.
Until recently, an openly gay man
could not be a multi-millionaires. Gays were oppressed by our society and had to hide who they really were. Someone who was honest about who he was would have been stopped at the ground floor.